Senior Steven Day didn’t initially come to Taylor with the sunniest of dispositions.
“When first accepted, I was initially upset,” Day said. “But I am so glad every day that this is the school I ended up at because it’s 100% of the place I’m supposed to be.”
Day became a Taylor University student in 2019, transferring from a school in Florida to work towards a Bachelor’s of Fine Arts (BFA) in musical theater with a new community.
Prior to the switch, majors and connections remained unsatisfying and obstacles innumerable. After considering Taylor however, the then-sophomore knew he was headed in the right direction.
“I’m learning the things I’m supposed to be learning, and I just think God knew this was where I was supposed to be,” Day said. “Despite the weather.”
Since switching to the Midwest, he has continued moving and adapting to the seasons as well as potential. The senior has participated actively in a large number of projects and performances. These include the most recent productions “To Kill a Mockingbird,” and J-term musical, “Little Women,” where he played Atticus Finch and Laurie, respectively.
As he discovered possibilities in and outside of acting for his future career, he has shifted into more diverse work. While playing leading roles, he also takes on the responsibilities of sound director, designing and managing all audio used in production.
In the past, Day worked as Taylor Theatre’s social media and marketing manager, helping market and provide synopses for each piece. But while the switch to sound director this past year did not lighten work, the position does better apply to his interest in music composition.
While Day is well-known and recognized for his work on stage, he is also committed to developing his musical ability. This next year, he will prepare and present his senior recital as a self-titled “Super Senior.”
He will also finalize his education with stage work, which will include directing a one-shot performance and continuing to contribute to the next season of theatre.
“My study, my education here, has opened a lot more avenues than I thought in terms of my career in theatre and what I will be doing,” Day said.
Day has put everything he can in theater and music, and still somehow manages to be more than approachable. In conversation, he is friendly, with a sense of humor and humility that makes his accomplishments all the more valuable.
“It’s been an experience of learning about the value of community with others, and the importance and the power that storytelling has, and truth (that) telling has,” said Day. “It’s been a lot of leaning on God, not on myself. Leaning on others, looking around at a cast of actors and crew members, and reminding myself that we all rely upon each other and that I rely upon them and cannot do this alone.”
Having been in the majority of the Theatre’s productions during his time at Taylor, Day is committed to the Taylor Theatre community. He wants to encourage fellowship and hopes to inspire a connection between peers of different grades.
“I hope that we've reached out and connected the gap between years, and (helped) the underclassmen feel more welcome, able to ask questions,” Day said.
With another year ahead for Day at Taylor University, there is already a large number of responsibilities ahead, but an unchanging devotion to connection and quality that will undoubtedly better both the actor and those with him.
With so much already accomplished, Day will surely have a noteworthy story, which will be as worth the limelight as those he tells today.
