He faces the audience; his purpose is found in the crowd.

For senior Daniel Percy, thinking about the arts is “constant.” They have been a “fact of life” from the first time he picked up an instrument to playing a lead in his most recent theater performance.

Percy gravitated towards music first. He started playing the bass in a small club at his middle school. From there, he quickly learned the guitar and piano.

“It was exponential,” Percy said. “When I learned bass, the first thing I did was break it down to its fundamental core: this is the headstock, these are the tuning pegs, this is the neck, this is the fretboard, these are the frets. Every single part, I learned and memorized, and once I had that down, I started to understand all other instruments.”

For Percy, it was easier for him to learn new instruments after adapting to the bass.

“I hadn't realized how easily it was coming to me,” Percy said. “Out of curiosity, I looked up a few chords, and then I just knew how to play guitar.”

Percy hadn’t planned on exploring other art forms until he came to Bellaire High School. His brother, Joshua Percy, introduced him to Red Bird Productions, Bellaire’s theater company. Percy had an interest in playwriting, so he decided to join tech class.

“My brother said the community was great,” Percy said. “I originally wanted to take piano, but I took theater for him.”

Percy stayed in tech his freshman year until he volunteered to work backstage for “She Kills Monsters.”

“At some point, I was just attending a rehearsal for the show, and I just knew this is what I want to do,” Percy said. “I want to be one of these actors. I don't know how I'm gonna do it, but this is my dream, right here.”

After participating in Red Bird Productions as an actor and gaining experience in lead roles in shows like “Peter and the Starcatcher” and “25th Putnam County Spelling Bee,” Percy decided to take his newfound passion to the competition level. He competed at the 2024 Texas Thespian Festival with a duet scene alongside senior Aiden Gross. There, they got a perfect score, and a main stage callback, meaning they were chosen among the top performers as candidates to perform at the closing ceremony.

Gross and Percy began preparation for the Festival two months in advance, giving them time to dissect the characters they would be portraying for the judges.

“We took advantage of [the time], first starting out with just scoping out what the scene was, and the story that we're trying to tell,” Gross said. “What is the condition that our characters are in? I think that was the most special part of that scene–you would get so lost.”

Outside of being successful at competitions, Gross admires Percy’s willingness to “put as much as [he] can down” when it comes to what he loves.

“He’s somebody that wants to do it, is eager to do it,” Gross said. “I trust him with my whole heart in regards to the arts, and I think it's just solely because he cares so much about it.

Percy not only leaves a lasting impression on his peers. Bryce Ballew, the new theater director, is still getting to know Percy. Still, Ballew looks forward to working with him.

“My first impressions came from what other people told me about him, and they just had wonderful things to say,” Ballew said. “Very earnest, very talented and very respectful l— brought a lot to the program. He just seems like he's the type of person who's level-headed and wants to get to work.”

Percy’s dedication to his work isn’t limited to theater class. He often finds himself subconsciously getting into character.

“In [class], I [forget] about the work we’re doing, and I try to get into the mind space,” Percy said. “I’m making faces, and then I start to say my lines, but I'm also trying to be quiet because I'm literally sitting there looking like a crazy guy.”

Percy characterizes up until the very moment he starts his performance, but he encounters challenges when putting this strategy into practice on a different stage.

In preparation for HITSs Theater's latest production, “Hadestown”, Percy felt the negative effects of his driven efforts for the first time.

“When you’re playing a role and you really want to get into it, there comes a point where you almost forget who you are”, Percy said. “Hades has all this self-doubt, and I think that might have just been the character kind of seeping into my real-life thoughts.”

Percy worked to embody his character to the best of his abilities, but it had unintentionally affected his emotional well-being.

“I felt pain," Percy said. “I yelled at people, I was being so rude and just relentless. After I had done that for so many nights, I felt, ‘What have I done?’”

The psychological changes Percy experienced were coupled with conflicting realizations about theater–he accepts that it won’t always be easy or fun.

“Towards the end of that year, I had started to feel [tired]”, Percy said. “I’m starting to realize this is genuinely work. This isn’t some easy stuff.”

But through the mental challenges, he found his inspiration and motivation–the audience.

“I'm not supposed to look at the audience, but there are times I can feel their energy,” Percy said. “In “Hadestown”, we were in a very small theater, and there would be moments where I walk right up to the front of the stage, and I can feel [the audience’s] shock at me, because I'm playing a god, I'm playing this guy who's got all this power.”

Throughout all of his artistic performances, Percy hopes to provide the audience with the genuine connection he believes every person deserves.

“It's all about making the audience feel seen,” Percy said. “Nobody wants to be alone, and if you see someone on stage who looks alone, you realize that you're really not. That's the kind of stuff that keeps me going. It's the people you're doing it for.”

Along with his passion to influence his audience, Percy finds meaning in his work through the legacy he leaves behind.

“I think the real purpose of work is to help somebody,” Percy said. “Every artist wants a legacy, and every artist wants their work to have an impact on somebody. That is a form of help [for theater].”

Percy “is not afraid to make choices or look stupid.” He will put his dedication for acting before the way others perceive him.

Despite the occasional doubt he faces, Percy knows he is exactly where he is meant to be.

“I do my art because I love it,” Percy said. “I believe it is, in a sense, what I'm on earth to do.”