As Trinity Valley Community College student Kamden Magee prepares to walk across the graduation stage, he reminisces on the experiences he had and the impact TVCC had on him.

“I’m leaving TVCC with my first two years of college completely debt free,” Magee shared.  “Plus, I had such an incredible start in my theater and musical theater education. Everyone at TVCC wants you to succeed. It’s such a wonderful community!”

Magee’s passion for acting and theatre started at the young age of six.

“I remember I would try to rearrange my mom’s furniture and I would try to mimic what I saw on the movie screens,” Magee mentioned. “I would try to memorize all the lines and act like the characters in my favorite movies or TV shows.”

His first production was a spin-off of “Grandma Got Ran Over by a Reindeer” where Grandma sues Blitzen, Magee explained.

“It was my first taste of acting and I thought ‘Ok, this is really cool and fun!’”

Magee continued his acting career at Whithouse High Schol and their production of “Badger” by Don Zolidis. The production focuses on five young women working in factories during World War II and they must deal with safety hazards of the job, Magee explained. Magee was casted as Bert, a sleazy, sexist character who makes the women lives difficult.

“It was interesting to play a character who was so unlike my personality,” Magee shared. “It was my first time to see how I could play on theses different characters on stage.”

Unfortunately, Magee’s acting career had to take a pause due to health concerns. Around the time the pandemic happened, Magee’s health took a turn for the worse.

“I was born with a chronic kidney disease, and I thought I had it under control,” Magee explained. “But, it came back with a vengeance. I was bedridden due to the pain. There were days I wouldn’t get out of bed because it hurt so bad to move. I became depressed and gave up on everything.”

One night, Magee found motivation in the most unlikely of ways.

“I had a dream,” Magee shared. “In my dream, I was under stage lights, and I couldn’t make out anything else. I looked down to see a black suit with a silver lapel on it. When I woke up, I wondered what it could all mean.”

To Magee, the dream was a sign to pursue his passion for acting and being on stage.

“I remember thinking ‘I must do something with my life’,” Magee said. “I want to be someone that changes the world and makes it better.”

So, Magee started to look for a college to start his acting career. He mentioned that he and twin sister Khloee began his search for colleges. Living in Houston, his original pick and dream school was University of Houston but decided to find a community college to start at.

“We wanted to find a school that is very affordable, and we could take our core classes,” Magee said. “I wanted to find a school that offered me a solid foundation to start my theatre and musical theatre education.”

That was when they found TVCC.

Magee mentioned that he was impressed by the TVCC Theatre Department and the department’s previous productions.

“I didn’t expect to see a program that offered so much!” Magee mentioned. “Plus, the school is so affordable and felt like a great way to start my college career.”

After being accepted to TVCC in the Spring 2024, he met his instructors for Theatre and Vocal Performance. His instructors included Head of Performance Studies and Director Craig Lee, Head of Theatrical Design Elizabeth “Biz” Nelson, Technical Director Bohb Nelson, and Division Chair of Fine Arts and Kinesiology, and Professor of Voice and Interim Choral Director Dr. Kristin Huggins. He quickly noticed how passionate they were to teach him everything he needed to know.

“The wisdom and drive they have for their students are so incredible,” Magee mentioned. “My instructors were some of the greatest teachers I have ever had. You can see they were meant to teach. They have done so much for me. I’m going to miss them so much.”

Magee shared that he was nervous when he auditioned for the TVCC Theatre Department’s Spring 2023 production of “Clue: The Musical.”

“I started the semester a day late due to a housing issue, so I was nervous about everything,” Magee said. “I was worried about my audition and Craig telling me ‘It’s okay, you’re doing great!’”

To Magee’s surprise, he was casted as the charismatic Mr. Boddy.

“When I saw my name listed as Mr. Boddy on the cast list, I couldn’t believe it,” Magee expressed. “It was my first leading role and my first musical theatre role. It was obvious Craig could see I could do it and had faith in me. Because of that, I began to have faith and confidence in myself. Plus, it helped me realize the meaning of my dream I had previously, because the suit in my dream was the exact same suit I wore as Mr. Boddy in Clue.”

During his time in the Theatre Department, Magee grew his acting career as Mr. Boddy in “Clue: The Musical,” Lelio in “Androcles and the Lion,” Fire Chief Beatty in “Fahrenheit 451,” and Charles Gordon Windsor, Jr. in “Mystic Pizza: The Musical.

Each production Magee was a part of was special for him, but “Fahrenheit 451” is his favorite production to be a part of.

“Fahrenheit 451 was the first-time I was the villain in a show,” Magee explained. “My character, Captain Beatty, was so domineering, so evil and had such a presence to him that made people think ‘Okay, what’s about to happen.’ I feel like that was my best acting performance at TVCC.”

Not only did he grow his acting career in multiple productions, but he was recognized during the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival (KCATCF) in late February 2024 for his performance as Fire Chief Beatty.

In November 2023, TVCC Theatre Department’s production of Fahrenheit 451 was entered as a participating entry in KCATCF, and respondent’s chose Magee as one of the Irene Ryan Acting Scholarship nominees.

To compete for the Irene Ryan Acting Scholarship, Magee had to enter a self-taped monologue into the preliminary round of auditions. The preliminary round of auditions consisted of 109 entrants from two-year and four-year institutions, as well as graduate programs. Magee advanced to the semi-finals.

Out of the 109 entrants, only 32 students were chosen to advance to the semi-finals.

Magee then advanced to the final round which consisted of only 16 students from the original 109 entrants. In the final round, Magee was asked to perform two monologues and a scene with TVCC student Raelin Evans. Magee was recognized for his monologue and awarded for Outstanding Monologue.

“That was my first acting accolade,” Magee mentioned. “When I was presented the award, Biz was the person to hand me the award. It was such a great moment. She hugged me and kept saying ‘I’m so proud of you.’ All my friends were cheering me on. Craig gave me the biggest hug. I was almost in tears.”

Upon graduating from TVCC, Magee plans to transfer to the University of Houston to pursue a degree in Fine Arts with an emphasis in acting with a minor in vocals.

“University of Houston has one of the best Fine Arts programs in the country, plus it’s in my hometown,” Magee explained.

While on a campus tour at the University of Houston, he explained to the Admissions and Recruitment Department his goals to become a star on television, movies or Broadway and asked if they could make it happen.

“I want to be on Broadway or the big screen,” Magee shared. “I want to do it all and they said ‘This is the place to be. We train actors like that.’”

Magee mentioned that it was incredible to see so much support and recognition from his friends, his instructors, TVCC’s staff and administration during his time.

“I think about where my life has gone and all the accomplishments I have made here,” Magee expressed. “The people at TVCC want you to have the best experience and will support you. I am so lucky to be a Cardinal. Thank God, I came to TVCC.”