Daniel J. Watts ’04 returned to Elon this week to work with students on a spoken word performance piece, “As We Journey From Mind to Mouth…,” which premieres this weekend in Yeagar Recital Hall.
On a rainy Tuesday morning Daniel J. Watts ’04 stood on the McCrary Theatre stage. The seats were empty, but his mind was full of memories. It had been 10 years since the Broadway actor stood on that stage. Ten years spent traveling the country and delighting New York audiences in shows such as The Color Purple and The Little Mermaid.
Watts, a music theatre major, returned to Elon this week to work with students on a spoken word performance piece, “As We Journey From Mind to Mouth…” Students auditioned Monday and then devoted their evenings to rehearsals for performances Friday and Saturday in Yeager Recital Hall. Watts spent his days guest teaching and talking to students about his professional experiences.
“It’s good to check in. It’s almost like going back home,” Watts says. “Homecoming is easy, but come back on an ordinary week, talk to your professors. You’ll recognize just how far you’ve come.”
In Watts’ case, that’s quite a distance.
Since his graduation in 2004, Watts has been in the cast of seven Broadway shows, created WattsWords (a company specializing in poetic, spoken word art) and will soon appear in a series of short films.
“Probably a day doesn’t go by that I don’t think of Elon in some way,” he says. Watts credits the influence of Elon’s General Studies (now Core Curriculum) for the opportunity to study a multitude of subjects outside of his major. He says without that opportunity he wouldn’t be able to draw on the depth of knowledge that is crucial for his profession.
Watts says spending a full week at Elon has given him the opportunity to remember some of his own stories as he met a new generation of Elon students.
“Coming back is empowering but it’s also humbling,” he says. “It’s a good check-in point so you can get to your roots again, and get reenergized to do whatever else you want to do.”
“As We Journey From Mind to Mouth…” premieres Friday, Sept. 26 at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday, Sept. 27 at 7:30 p.m. and 9 p.m. in Yeager Recital Hall in the Elon Performing Arts Center.
The performances are free and open to the public. No tickets required.