The Curtain and the Cross
We were created by a creative God. Nathan and Grace (along with some of other friends) discuss what it's like to be a creative Christian in both the public school system and the theatre world.
The Curtain and the Cross
Light Up the Stage: Finding Faith in Theater
Dive into an inspiring conversation that intertwines faith and theater with our special guest, Natalie Davis! From her artistic roots in Jackson, Mississippi, to her journeys through Disney and Broadway, Natalie shares how her life as a performer has shaped her Christian faith.
Throughout the episode, we encounter the struggles of balancing a creative career with faith in a diverse industry. Natalie opens up about finding her place in the theater world while remaining true to her identity as a Christian. She reflects on the significance of having a supportive community, viewing Sunday church as a spiritual reset, and how her experiences allowed her to share her faith authentically in everyday interactions.
With a heartfelt discussion on the difficulties many face in upholding their beliefs in a creative environment, this episode dares you to consider how you can embody your values wherever you are. Listen in as Natalie talks about her current work as an usher on Broadway and her exciting plans for future projects. Be prepared to be uplifted, challenged, and motivated to shine your light in your own artistic endeavors!
Join us for this captivating journey, and don’t forget to subscribe, share your thoughts, or leave a review to help us reach more listeners eager to explore the meeting point of faith and creativity.
Hello everyone, welcome to another episode of the Curtain and the Cross. I'm your host, Nathan, and with me, as always, is Grace.
Speaker 2:Hi Grace, how are you? I am fabulous. Nathan, how are you doing this evening?
Speaker 1:I'm tired. I'm good, trying not to go insane with the fact that we've lost two weeks of rehearsals at school because of snow.
Speaker 2:I'm in the same boat. It is the worst.
Speaker 1:Yeah, the threat of snow days that didn't have snow but yet we were out of school because of snow and our show is at the end of this month, so it's coming down to the wire, but it's going to be great because kids are awesome and theater is amazing and it always comes together. Speaking of theater being awesome and it always coming together, because god created us to be creative, don't quote me, grace, don't I'm not this time.
Speaker 1:I learned my lesson but we have another special guest on the show. I'm super excited. Um, I'm just gonna say I kind of took a look at, like, all the things that she has done in her luscious career of the theater arts. She's worked at Disney folks, and that's all I need to know. That's all I literally need to know. But, without any further ado, we are going to introduce our guest, grace. This is someone that you know, so I'll let you introduce. Okay, don't do that. Don't bring Chip and Dale to the table. Okay, well, now I need to know, before we actually officially introduce you were you ever friends with chip or dale while you worked at?
Speaker 3:the happiest place on earth. You can, you can I can say it okay, yeah, you can say it if you were friends with them okay, so, uh, I don't work there anymore, so I guess it's not illegal for me to say it. But yes, yes, I was, yes, I was, I was friends with Chip and Dale and also Buzz Lightyear, which is really unexpected for people to know. I know we're getting the live reaction.
Speaker 1:That is awesome. Yes, because we do release this on our YouTube channel, so people will see the happiness in my face when I learned that someone was friends with Buzz Lightyear and Sheeran Nell. So now we're going to officially, officially, introduce you. Grace, would you like to do the honors?
Speaker 2:Sure. So tonight we are, we have my special friend Natalie with us. We are, we have my special friend Natalie with us. So Natalie and I met in college in Boone where we were both doing summer theater at Horn in the West, and we literally, within what was it, nat? Like 10 minutes of meeting each other, we were like, oh, you're a dancer, guess we're best friends, honestly, yeah, that's how it happened.
Speaker 2:Yes, so Natalie is a wonderful human being and I'm going to just open the floor to you. Yeah, that's how it happened, yes, so Natalie is a wonderful human being and I'm going to just open the floor to you, natalie, and just tell us a little bit about yourself. You can tell us about your love for theater, what got you into theater arts, and just let's start there. So who are you, natalie?
Speaker 3:Davis Wow, who am I? That's mentioned, like, multiple times in the Bible. I feel like I'm like whoa. Okay. So hi, I'm Natalie. I feel like we're at a meeting right now where I'm like hi, natalie, hi, natalie, but hi, I'm Natalie. I currently live in New York City. I am currently in my tiny little Brooklyn apartment and I love it.
Speaker 3:Um, I am from Jackson Mississippi and I grew up there, born and raised. I no longer live there. I didn't really like living there once I got older because I don't really like heat Um. And then I moved to Florida, which doesn't make sense, but you know, that's where you're called Um, and that's why I'm no longer there is because I didn't like the heat Um. But yeah. So I went to school for theater and dance. I have a double major in both of them, so I have two BFAs. I will toot my own horn about that, um. And then during my uh, college experiences, where I went to horn of the west for multiple years, it's where I met Gracie. That's where I met multiple other friends. That is honestly one of the most pivotal points of my personal upbringing in theater not even just like career wise was Horn of the West. So, um, that was really cool.
Speaker 3:Um, and I got into theater because I have just a really artsy family. Um, my, both my parents are musicians and my brother is a sound designer. My grandmother was an opera singer, my grandfather was a viola player, I mean it was. If I had like come out and been like I want to be a lawyer, they would be like, who are you? Um, so everybody kind of expected that I would do something in the arts. I did go through a lawyer phase and my mom was very excited, um, but sorry, sorry, that didn't happen. Um, and yeah, that's kind of who who I am in a nutshell. Uh, my favorite color is purple. I love cats, I love coffee. What more do you want to know?
Speaker 2:the lawyer phase based on Legally Blonde. How did you know?
Speaker 1:Yeah, that makes sense for me. It's funny that you say that you got into theater because your family was artsy. Mine is like the complete opposite. My whole family is in the medical field. Like my mom was an rn, my dad was an x-ray tech, my sisters both work in the hospital world in some capacity, so I'm kind of like the oddball of the family, so, but my dad my dad did do some singing in college, so I guess that counts a little bit.
Speaker 1:But yeah, I think I think that's a really cool story that you come from a family of artists and you yourself are an artist as well. So the cool thing about this show is that, yes, we talk about theater because Grace and I are both theater teachers in the public school system, but we also are Christians in the public school system system, but we also are Christians in the public school system. And one thing we like to discuss is how do we balance, or how do you balance, or how do people in the theater who also profess their faith, how do you balance your Christian faith with what I would call the world of theater?
Speaker 3:um. So it's not gonna lie, it can be rough if you let it, especially up here in New York City. Everybody's, very everybody has their own beliefs and they're very expressive about them, which is is great, is great, um, but it thankfully. Personally, I really really value my Sunday morning church time. Like that is at least how that is.
Speaker 3:Like my main key point and how I balance it like point blank is, no matter what happened during the week, I know that Sunday mornings I'm right back where I need to be and what's really helpful is, through ways that I will never be able to understand, I ended up at my current job as an usher on Broadway, working alongside another Christian in theater, and that is sometimes how it happens is, you know, god just puts people that you need in your life, in your life, crazy.
Speaker 3:But that that really brings me back to it, at least up here currently, like recently, is really having that person that I know I can talk to about godly things at my work, that I go to every day and I know is going to be there for me on Sunday mornings, like when I'm at my most vulnerable, when I'm at my happiest, and we can kind of go through that godly life together, godly life together, and like if I, if I feel like I have really grown away from from God that week or something, every Sunday morning it's like a reset button and it's that reminder of God says come as you are God knows exactly what I've been doing the past week and like where I've been, who, who I feel like I'm leaning towards being and he says all right, sunday morning, fresh start.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's awesome. Yeah, I mean cause, cause, grace and I have discussed that, that we, we both kind of started in the theater world. I've done some local production I'm not, as I'm not as good, as you know, to go to Broadway and stuff but I've done some shows locally and Grace has done some shows, and we both discussed that. We found ourselves having a hard time balancing our faith and, uh, justifying being in the theater world. So it's really cool to find people that can do both, that are, I guess, better than Grace and myself. So, but going back to that, so I guess this is kind of a good segue into share as much as you're comfortable with. But what is your testimony of your journey to Christ?
Speaker 3:So I was really, really lucky and I grew up in a family that went to church every Sunday and they were very, they were very kind about it, like they had us going to church every Sunday. But once we got older they were like they weren't going to force us to go to church, which some people may disagree with, but I really appreciated because it allowed me to not feel that it was an obligation to go to church, but that I wanted to go to church. So, around I think I was about 10, it was about when everyone, in the South at least, is getting baptized and you think, okay, I'm next. And you know, as 10-year-old little Natalie, I was like, well, you mean, I get to be on stage in front of everyone and get dunked in the water and I get to have my own personal star moment with God. I mean, looking back, that makes a lot of sense to me. So I got baptized and I gave my life to Christ when I was 10. And it didn't really take off the way I thought it would. I think when you're 10, you think, oh my gosh, my life's going to be perfect now, and I think I was. So I at least my the way my brain was working. My head was way too up in the clouds to realize what God was doing in my life. I mean, I was focused on like my cat and and like what I was going to have for lunch at school the next day, let alone what John was doing in chapter four. And so I continued to grow up in the church and just kind of just just kind of go with the flow and think, oh yeah, this is what I'm supposed to be doing, this makes sense to me.
Speaker 3:And then I got into middle school youth group and got friends there and it became the social thing where it's like oh well, this is all, this is where my friends are. And I remember I think I was a sophomore in high school I had become really good friends with someone in my church and she with someone in my church and she, we, we went to like this, this conference, and they were. They were like asking people to come forward and give their life to Christ and I just kind of felt this tug on my heart. But I I didn't want to do it alone because I was so scared. And I see my friend Anna, who we're still friends to this day, but I see my friend Anna start to walk up and I just feel myself start to follow her and I run up and I grab her hand and I'm like I'm going with you. And it was kind of one of those moments where you're like did I do that or did something else do that? And so we like walked up there hand in hand and we gave our life to christ on the same day and I just remember having this moment. I'll never forget it, I'll just have this moment of this is when I actually give my life to christ, because I understood what was happening, I had made that decision and I had seen what God was doing in my life and I kind of recognized that it was real.
Speaker 3:And then you know you're in high school and things start to get harder. And looking back, I think high school does get harder as you go on, but I think, especially as a Christian, in high school, specific things get harder that aren't as hard for other people or in different ways. So, like I started dealing with things as a dancer that I hadn't dealt with before, I started dealing with things as a student that I hadn't dealt with before I started dealing with things as a student that I hadn't dealt with before and I really, I really truly believe that it was because I gave my life to Christ that those things were becoming harder, because they were now obstacles and mishaps and things that were trying to pull me away from what I was supposed to do. So then we get into college and, honestly, my freshman year of college I was so alone and so depressed and of course, our God never wants us to be alone and depressed and sad but I fully believe that he allowed that to happen so that I could come back to him.
Speaker 3:Because when I got into senior year, you know all the senior year stuff happens and you're like when am I going to go to church? I have so many things to go to. And so freshman year of college, I was in the coffee shop in my Bible every day because I didn't have any friends, which is so sad to hear, but it's how I continuously got back to God is something would happen every few years where, even if I didn't realize that I was pulling away, god knew that I was pulling away and it was like all right, right on time. And so something would happen that would bring me back. And yeah, here we are now.
Speaker 1:That's, that's funny, that you say like you got to a place where you felt like you didn't have any friends, but God allowed you to be in that place. Yes, because Grace and I have discussed that. Like I was like heavy involved in a theater company locally and I felt like that was my, that was my community, that was my home. And then just one day I was sitting in the midst of them and they're like having like a season party, like they're celebrating their new season, and like within me I was just like why, why am I here? This is not, this is not where I need to be. And it was a hard decision because, like I said, I built that community with those people but I felt like God was the one who was like pulling me back from that community because it was just the environment was different, it was just it didn't feel like the place that I, like I said like I needed to be.
Speaker 1:And so I do believe that God allows us to feel not like, allows us to feel that that sense of loneliness, like, like but not not like. Live in it. Right, because he wants us, he's, he is jealous for me. I mean that's the quote of the song that we sing. You know he is jealous for me and so god is going to allow us to feel those things because our deepest yearning should be for him, right? So I think's yeah, that's awesome that you shared that. So another thing that we talk about is have you ever dealt with kind of like what Grace and I dealt with and what I just shared about, like being in that theater community and feeling like maybe this isn't where I'm supposed to be? Have you ever felt like that?
Speaker 3:I am currently going through that right now. I uh, honestly it so this kind of goes back to this, this kind of goes I don't want to say it goes out of the God conversation, because I truly believe, like all of this is involved in something that I don't understand just yet. But I have constantly dealt with the separation of the dance world and the theater world and it hang on, keep following me and when I like. Even when I was in college, the theater community did not feel like I was supposed to be there, whereas when I was in my dance classes it felt like I was in a family, not in that dance family, where people were like I could talk about God with mic drop.
Speaker 1:There you go.
Speaker 3:Uh-huh, uh-huh, and now uh, um, I'm kind of facing that decision again where, even when I was at Disney, I the people I could talk about God with weren't in the dance world when I was down there. So it really is not not. Where do I feel comfortable right now? Where is God pulling me and where are the people that I need to talk to? And um, so right now I'm at that place again where I'm feeling a pull more towards the dance world, but the people I talk about God with are in the theater world. So I'm like, hmm, what's going on here?
Speaker 3:Honestly is a constant thing for me is I have never exactly quite feel like I fit into that theater community because I'll always also be a dancer and for some reason those things happen to be separated so much. But I it, I get pulled towards whichever one, depending on what God is working on. That I do not see, nor do I understand, and I'll be sitting here like, okay, where am I supposed to go? And he's like you'll find out. I'm like what do you mean? And he's like you'll see.
Speaker 2:And then part two. From what you you're saying, it feels like maybe the dance world is where you're called to, because that's where the people who aren't in christ are. So maybe that's where god's like hey, you badly, um, go shine your light from you, yo what you doing you're so smart no, I do, but that's what. Like you saying this is what, maybe that's where God wants you.
Speaker 2:And on that, like another question for you, either at Disney or or wherever, how do you shine your light for Christ? How do you go about sharing God? Cause Nathan and I have talked about in, like the public school setting. We can't just go to our students and be like, hey, jesus loves you, right, right, right. So we talk about a lot how we like show through our actions and through like creativity. Um cause, like someone said, that Nathan stole. Oh, we are made to be creative or whatever the saying is, created to be creative. That's what it is. Um. So, anyway, how do you witness? How do you in the Disney world, the New York world, what is your go to? Shining of the light?
Speaker 3:So I can talk about this more in the New York aspect, because another topic of conversation is that when I was at Disney, I definitely was pulled away from my faith, and we can talk about that in a different topic if you want. But I can definitely talk about the New York world where I uh it. It's kind of always been a struggle for me to do that just like outright, because I'm I'm such an introvert, like I'm a very bubbly person, but I am not one to just go up and talk to strangers, which is how I know that, gracie, you and I were meant to be friends is because that's how that happened. That is not a normal thing for me. So, honestly, I kind of have to push myself to outright witness to people. I'll kind of be like oh yeah, I went to church today and like this happened, and kind of hope that someone is like oh, you went to church today and I think that honestly, I wish I could answer this better, but I'm. So that's such a struggle for me and so I really am trying to like get myself to start small and kind of hope that those conversations happen and also just like be a godly person to people, because I, I think this is it.
Speaker 3:We, we as Christians, have that natural, godly, holy spirit light about us, where people will come up to me. And I'm not I'm not just saying this, I'm, I promise. I'm not like I'm amazing, but like people will come up to me and they'll be like you know, you're just so, you're there. There's something different about you. Like you, like somebody came up to me that I was starting to become friends with and he was like I feel like I can just talk to you. Like you, you feel like like home to me, like you feel like someone that is safe. And I was like that is amazing, that is not me, that is the Holy Spirit and like I.
Speaker 3:That came up in conversation and I was able to be like you know, I've gotten this before. This is why. And then we ended up getting into a conversation about, like, his beliefs and his struggles with God, and he hasn't come to church yet, but we're still working on it. And so I to reality check it. That is probably one of the hardest things for me to do is to witness people in my field, because everyone is so different and everyone is like, oh my gosh, everybody's beliefs, like they're entitled to them, which, like you, can think that that's absolutely fine, but, like I'll definitely tell you about mine, so it really is to me, starting small, and something that I'm currently working through and also kind of kind of praying about it and waiting for God to give me those opportunities as well waiting for God to give me those opportunities as well.
Speaker 1:Yeah, definitely. Well, no, I mean and, and and what you're saying. You're not alone in it being a struggle to witness. I know it's a struggle for me to witness to people and, um, because my, my whole thing is the people that I have been around. I know now that they have dealt with what people would call church hurt, yes, and so they already have a preconceived notion of what Christianity is like anyway. And so I'm of the mindset and I need to get over this that even if I do share Christ, they're going to poo poo it because of other examples of Christ that they have seen through other people and so like.
Speaker 1:And I kind of got myself in trouble the other day I talked to Grace about, like, how I chose to vent on Facebook about a topic that is not the best to vent about on Facebook, like, anything is not good to vent on Facebook, and there were people that I knew that were genuine, genuinely hurt by what I said, and that's the, that's the last thing that Christ would want us to do.
Speaker 1:So, of course, I deleted it and I messaged every single person I could think of that I thought would be hurt by it, and the people that I found out that were most hurt by it have not contacted me, have not reached out back to me, so that, right there, just ruined my witness to some people. So I say all that to say that you're not alone in feeling that that nervousness when it comes to witnessing to people, because you don't know how people are going to react to it. And I think we have to remember that Christ didn't care how people would react to the message. Like honestly, like I know that sounds kind of blunt, but I think that's how Christ mindset was like I'm here to give you the good news. You can accept it or you don't have to, but I hope you do, because I want to see you in paradise so sorry, that was like a little rabbit drill because I want to see you in paradise. So sorry, that was like a little rabbit drill.
Speaker 2:So, grace, do you have any other good questions? Because that was a good question, just my other one, if you're willing to share, nat, because it might be personal, so I won't force you, but just either at Disney or in New York, was there ever a time that you faced a difficult decision between your life and your career or anything, and how did you deal with that? Or how do you overcome that and you can say, no, you've had a perfect time and it's you're great, that's fine too.
Speaker 3:Can you be a little more specific? There's a lot of answers I could give you. Um, can you be a little more specific?
Speaker 2:there's a lot of answers I could give you I guess, basically when were you faced with issues between theater and your faith, like either people that you couldn't didn't see you the same after they found out you were a christian, or ways people were behaving and they wanted you to join in and you felt pulled one way or the other because of your faith or your calling and you just felt like you weren't supposed to be in a situation or a place and kind of thing?
Speaker 3:I, oh gosh, I'm trying to think, for I really have been extremely somehow protected by stuff like that. Um, oh man, I'm trying to think, I think anytime that I probably did my, my sweet little brain probably like blacked it out. It's like you don't need to think about that.
Speaker 2:Um, hmm that or you were just.
Speaker 3:Like it's raining, I'm gonna go dance in the rain and then make cookies, so I'm honestly, yeah, like I think I just I have somehow always been someone that's like, okay, you go do that, I'm gonna go do this, and I do remember there was this. I do remember there was this. I Okay, I'm not going to tell this isn't a story about me, but I can tell a story about, like, someone else that inspired me. So they were doing, they were doing the King and I, and they asked. For those of you who don't know what the king and I is about, it is a very controversial musical now, but there was this king I'm not really sure where it's at, but there was. There's King and he ends up bringing in a teacher to teach his children and the from america and there's some somewhere else. There is a girl that's supposed to get married. I do not know. Nathan looks like he's looking it up it is set in bangkok thank you, thank you.
Speaker 3:I don't know this musical very well. I chose to be in something else when they did this and they asked her to bow to the king and she said no. And this was when I was a freshman in college, so you know I was not really talking to people. I was over there with my Bible so I was like what is going on? So she said no and they threatened to take her out of the show and she said no, I'm not bowing to someone that isn't my one true king, like I'm not going to bow to anyone that is showing false gods and false idols. And I think she's like happily married and we kind of grew apart. But I will never forget that, like I will never forget that, like I will never forget that, and I think I think that that kind of followed me for the rest of my, for the rest of my time.
Speaker 1:So I feel like other people need to hear that yeah, because I mean it's it's really tough to to be in the theater world and not feel pressure to, I guess, do what the script says, you know like, but there are roles that that I've said that I would never take. Like there was one time that a theater was doing Avenue Q and I had friends like, oh, nathan, you'd be really good at that. That's a really funny show. And you like doing puppets and I'm like, but I don't think the Lord wants me to do that, because puppets do weird stuff in that show.
Speaker 1:And so like there are there are, like I think there are, there should be standards. That Christian said, even if, like, even if I was still doing theater regularly, right, I would still have a set of standards. Like, even if I was still doing theater regularly, right, I I would still have a set of standards. Like I can't do this show, even though I I had done shows that, looking back, I probably should not have done because I could have been ruining my witness. Um, to people like, oh well, he says he's a christian, but he's up there doing drunk Shakespeare. I mean, how does he balance that out?
Speaker 1:And so, like, I mean, it was fun at the time, but looking back, it's like that probably wasn't the wisest choice for me, because I'm not a drinker, but like I felt like in that environment I had to be a certain way and speak a certain way and do certain things to to fill that environment somehow. And so, yeah, again, saying all that to say that it is tough to make those decisions and to have those boundaries that I think Christ wants us to have. Yeah, so I mean, I think that's that's a great way to end the episode. I mean, so, christians out there, you can do theater, but make sure you set standards and boundaries for yourself so that you're not ruining your testimony to others out there who need your light to shine for them. So, yeah, that's awesome. So, natalie, what? What are you doing right now? I guess that could be a good way to end the show, like tell us like are you?
Speaker 1:are you presently doing any shows and, if not, are there? Are there ways that people can follow your theater journey?
Speaker 3:Yes. So, um, I feel like I feel like what I'm doing now. I was telling my mom this. I forget that other people think my life is exciting, where it's like this is just another Tuesday for me and I feel super behind in my career. But that is not important right now. But currently I am doing the grind of. I have a survival job as an usher on Broadway, so I get to see Gypsy with Audra McDonald like every night, which is pretty cool, and I'm currently doing classes and workshops at a place called actor therapy. So I have a showcase in like two weeks, highly recommend.
Speaker 3:I met my I call her my God best friend because she's like my godly life partner, at least here in New York. I met her through that and I fully believe that God brought us together through that way, and I'm also taking dance classes at Broadway Dance Center. So I I may not be doing any shows right now, but I am trusting the process that there's something in the works. And also, you can follow me on Instagram is where I normally. I normally follow um, like, post my stuff, and it's Natalie Davis 13. I can spell it out if you want me to. Um, but yeah, that's kind of what I'm doing right now. I'm kind of in a I. I feel like I'm in a waiting period where something is coming and I can't see it, or at least that is what I need to trust. But I also need to acknowledge that my life is not is not the normal way to live life for some other people as well. Anyway, that was a really long answer, you also saw Natalie on TikTok You'll see her.
Speaker 2:Daily different coffee shops, I think. Are you trying to try every coffee shop in New York Like it's? Like? It's a new one every day? They look so cool.
Speaker 3:So I I post a lot of that on Instagram, but I need to like make a TikTok series about it. I just moved to a new neighborhood and there's like local coffee shops everywhere. So I have like a list going and I'm like, okay, I'm going to try this one today and I need to make a Manhattan one when I run out of the ones in my neighborhood. So if you ever need Manhattan or New York coffee shops, I got you. I went to a new one today.
Speaker 1:Well, I can't wait to hear all about it. Thank you so much, natalie, for being on the show. We really appreciate it. It's great to be Christian artists who are doing the work and doing God's work at the same time, and you can quote me on that. One that was good, that's a quote, one that was really good.
Speaker 3:That's an Instagram bio if I've ever heard one.
Speaker 1:Totally didn't even mean to. Yes, put that as your Instagram bio right now and give me all the credit.
Speaker 3:It was the Holy Spirit speaking through you.
Speaker 1:I mean, I like to think I'm pretty smart. No, you are, but yes I'm smart through the Holy Spirit. Exactly, holy Spirit gives me wisdom that I could not have on my own. All right, we're about to go on a down another rabbit trail. Thank you for being on the show. This is the curtain and the cross, and this is Nathan and. Grace signing out. Thank you.
