When Major Davis portrays “Old Deuteronomy” in February in Northwest Mississippi Community College’s production of "Cats," it will be his third appearance on the Northwest stage. Ask Davis if he ever thought this is where he’d be, and he will answer with a resounding “No!” Ask him if he is enjoying it, and his answer will be decidedly different.

The 26-year-old broadcast communications major took the long road to come to where he is today. The son of Major Davis, Jr. and Teresa Lang Davis of Charleston, he graduated from Charleston High School in 2001.
In high school he excelled in sports as well as academics. He played football, and participated in track and weightlifting, was a member of the National Honor Society, and “Who’s Who Among American High School Students.” Immediately after high school, he attended Mississippi Valley State University as an architecture major for two and a half years, before deciding he wanted to take a different direction.

Davis has always had a desire to make his community a better place for young people, so he joined the Charleston Police Department. While working as a patrolman, he began coaching Pee Wee football through the Wesley Foundation. When it came time for him to go to the Police Academy to become certified, he found to his dismay, that he could not pass the physical training requirement. “I missed it by two seconds,” Davis said. “That is when I decided God had something else for me. I was just trying to find myself.” An opportunity to become a truck driver came along, so Davis started in a career that would last for three years. “It was a good experience for me. I learned a lot about the world. I found out how beautiful our country is. I learned how cruel some people can be, but also how a stranger will help you when you need help. It is not for everybody. You have to love it,” Davis said.

Toward the end of the time he drove, Davis became disenchanted with it, and began to seek a different direction for his life.

He had to pay off his school loans from before, and he did. Now he felt like he should go back to school and to his surprise, doors began to open for him. He chose Northwest mainly because it was close to home, but then he decided to stay on campus and pursue his degree.
That led to a work- study job, which became a part-time job in the cafeteria. “Things just fell into place,” Davis said.

As for the acting, Davis is just as surprised as anybody that he is on stage, and he is enjoying it. “I love the Northwest stage because it has given me the opportunity to do something different. I  can be somebody different for a while, and develop the character that I am portraying,” Davis said.

He remembers his high school teacher Miss McCool making him recite a poem at church to help him with his English class. “I think that was my first acting job. She told me I could do anything I wanted to if I would try. I guess that stuck with me,” Davis said. His speech and theatre instructors Sam Weakley and Jo Ellen Logan helped him get a small part in “Guys and Dolls,” as one of the gamblers.

That lead to the role of Sergeant Kelly in “Musical Comedy Murders of 1940.” This fall he tried out for the spring production of "Cats" and landed the significant role of “Old Deuteronomy,” which he describes as kind of the “Messiah” of the cats.

“This is the first time I will be singing on stage,” Davis said.
Music is a part of Davis’ life. He sings and records music for local churches and for the Boys and Girls Club in Charleston. He has performed for actress Giovonnie Samuels, who appeared in “Bring It On, Part 3” and “Freedom Writers” and has been seen in several Disney television productions.

After he graduates from Northwest, he would like to attend the University of Mississippi and finish his degree. He has dreams of owning his own radio and television station. “I want to do what God wants me to do. I try to pray the right prayer, asking him for his will in my life, not my own will.” He also wants to continue to work with the kids in his hometown, and be a role model for young people.
“I believe what Nelson Mandela said, ‘The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.’ That kind of sums me up,” Davis said. “Sometimes things turn out totally different than I expect.”

"Cats" will run Thursday - Saturday, Feb. 26-28 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, March 1 at 2:30 p.m. at the Fine Arts Auditorium on the Senatobia campus. For more information, contact Tracy Mclaughlin at
662-560-5243 or e-mail tmclaughlin@northwestms.edu.