The Optimist (Abilene, Tex.), Vol. 80, No. 44, Ed. 1, Wednesday, March 4, 1992 Page: 3 of 8
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! 53
By Roger Massey
t
I
hen you wish
upon q star your
dreams come
true. This line
may work for
Walt Disney but for Brandon
Thomas realization of his life's
dreams has involved more work
than wishing.
! The senior human communica-
tion major from Abilene took a
giant step toward one of his life-
time goals when talent scouts from
Disney World in Orlando Fla.
picked him out of 300 contestants
during an audition in Oklahoma
City.
"During the first audition if the
' judges didn't like what they were
'.hearing or didn't like the look tliey
'would just cut you off while you
were singing" he says. "I was
excited when I got all the way
'through my First song." He sang a
ballad called "A New Life" from
"Jckyll and Hyde." When they
j. asked him what else he had he
began to get nervous.
"I sang a song from 'Big River'
and they still didn't cut me off" he
says as he describes what it felt like
to be under the critical scrutiny of
the talent scouts. "I was really
excited. Then the worst tiling hap-
pened the most embarrassing
moment of my life" he recounts.
It wasn't enough that this was his
first professional audition. "They
just sat looking at me when I fin-
ished my song. Then they said
'Tell us a joke.' I thought a
moment and my mind went com-
pletely blank" he says describing
.the awkward situation. "I just said1
OK' and paused. It was so obvious '
that I didn't have a clue and I
couldn't think of a thing." So he
made one up. "I just said the first
thing that came out of my mouth. It
was the scariest thing you can
imagine" he says remembering the
lost feeling in the spotlight.
I "Once upon a time there was this
ant" he began and then paused for
a moment wondering where he was
going to take this. "And he met a
preacher" Brandon gulps. "The ant
said 'Hi preacher and the
preacher said 'Hi ant' and he
stepped over the ant. Then the ant
asked the preacher 'Why didn't
$you step on me?" Brandon pauses
again racking his brains for a
punch-line. "Cause you're not an
uncle!" he blurts out and waits on
edge for the critics' response.
"They just sat there and stared"
he says remembering the agony of
the moment. "Then they laughed.
w .Maybe it showed them that I'm
rI i.blc to think on my feet." The
t judges told him to stick around so
1 they could hear him again. Brandon
was number 22 of the 15U vocal-
ists. He spent the entire day waiting
for them all to go through the gen-
eral rehearsal. "There were lots of
weird people there" he remembers.
iHe had the time to see them all.
"The onlv ones who made call-
) backs were people who seemed
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randon won't know until
mid-March if he will be a
first choice or an alternate.
"Either way it works out there is a
good chance that I'll get to per-
form. Many times people drop
out" he says. If Brandon ends up
in Florida he will be in the Hip-Dee-Do
Review one of Disney
World's resort shows. "It's a really
good place to be. My show will be
a Country and Western review and
should just be a blast" he hopes.
The versatile singer expresses his
i way of looking at the chance he
I will have. "I'm having the faith
that if I'm supposed to oe mere r n
e there. If not - God has some
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Displaying characteristic perfectionism Brandon Thomas directs
thing better tot me."
Brandon learned something valu-
able and lasting when he audi-
tioned for the part of Huck Finn in
the 1991 Homecoming musical
"Big River." "I really wanted to
play Huck Finn" he remembers. "I
was so upset when I didn't get it
What I didn't know then was that
my dad would hava-died in the
middle of the show. I learned
through that to trust him."
As Brandon sees it "If God
wants me in Orlando I'll be there.
I may not be happy at first but I
will know the outcome is for the
best."
The death of Brandon's
father Sam in October of
'91 was a crushing loss for
the talented singer. "It's been the
hardest thing" he admits. "Some-
times I think I still don't have a
grasp on how hard it is. I am still in
shock. It is hard to let it sink in.
Some days are exactly like the first
day. One week I will be fine and
the next week the pain is worse. I
don't expect it to go away. It's part
of loving my dad."
His roommates have been a help
to him. He is also part of a grief
group meeting in Sikcs Hall lobby
on Fridays. "The grief group is the
best. It hooks me up with people to
talk to I haven't dealt with it (the
death of his father) very well. You
learn to cope - I just haven't
learned that yet. That is one of my
goals this year. I have alienated
people and don't have people when
I need to talk" he says.
His father was principle at Bowie
Elementary school in Abilene at
one time. When his mother called
to tell him about a tree planting in
honor of his father he thought
"Big deal a tree planting." As it
turned out "there were hundreds of
people there and the media. The
fifth graders had a special song
and I had to speak. (Another on the
spot situation for the quick thinker.)
It made me feel like Dad was a
super-hero It made me feel really
proud and I cried" he remembers.
Brandon's father's name is on a list
with 10 others who may be selected
as names for four new schools
being built in Abilene "That would
be an hond?1" he says.
Brandon's parents instilled a
respect for education in their son.
"I like school a lot" he says. "I
want to go on and get my master's
and doctorate. My parents are edu-
cators and have always encouraged
me.
He couldn't wait to get out of
high school so he could come to
ACU. "I have bled purple from the
day I was born" he says of his her-
itage. "My parents both graduated
from ACU and everyone in high
school knew where I was going. I
had more ACU school spirit than
high school spirit."
Coming to college plugged the
busy musician into more of his
dreams: "I have done everything I
could possibly do. I've felt like
every part of my body would fall a
part from exhaustion. I couldn't
wait to be in Sing Song" he says.
Last year Brandon was selected as
a Sing Song host Thjs year he
directed Gamma Sigma Phi's first
place winning show. "It's the crazi-
est thing" he comments. "Other
than being drum major in high
school it's one of the most stress-
ful things I've done in my life"
The Vice president of the senior
class has also been in the singing
group Reflections for two years.
After graduation the musi-
cally inclined senior has
tentative plans to go to
Nashville. "I have friends in the
music business Who have asked me
to come. But I don't feel ready for
that yet" he reveals. "It is a hard
world and when I was in Nashville
last time it opened my eyes to
everything I'd have to give up. I'm
not sure I'd be willing to give those
things up" he says.
His flamboyance has been chal-
lenged by trusted friends who have
encouraged him to live a simple
life. "I want to guard against letting
things become my god" he con-
fesses. Another dream he wants to
hold on to is a family in the future.
"That's high oil hiy list of goals"
he says. "Watching kids at church
sing and seeing their parents watch
them I got a glimpse of what it
must be like to be a parent"
He believes there are lots of ways
Gamma Sigma Phi's winning Sing
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Eyes are focused on the leader
to be happy "Not just in goals and
dreams and success as the world
sees it" he says. "In music I'd
want to do Christian .music so I
could sing what I want to sing to
reach people."
That's the main reason he
likes Disney. "It's a great
family place" he says. "Per-
forming is like magic - it's like
food for you a part of you. It's not
just being on a stage but knowing
you're entertaining people and that
they're happy. They have come
somewhere they can leave worries
and troubles for a while."
The young hopeful would even-
tually like to be in a management
position with Disney. "It's all 'if
of course" he reminds himself
"I'm a big believer in being a child
at heart. I'd like to work in a place
' where I can keep in touch with the
Song show photo by shannon aod
J
and winning photo by sh.nnon cod
child in me.
i.
"I'm the biggest Mickey Mouse
freak you've ever seen. For '.a
Christmas gift my dad got me a
Mickey Mouse alarm clock .It
plays the Mickey Mouse anthem
and Mickey says 'Good morningy
Wake up!' My roommate just hate's
it" he says with a chuckle ' ''
While Brandon's dreams anc(
goals lie in a land of make-believe!
he has plenty of sobering chain
lenges to remind him how painful
and trying reality can be. "A good
friend of mine died last week" he
confides. "It reminded me of whal I
learned through Dad's death. Ever)"?
moment is so precious in life. The
things you're doing and the friends
you arc with really matter a lot.""
The things Brandon wants to do
are no longer just grandiose yishds.
He i busy doing them and doing
them well. "'
" jm Mnnft'fM'taJi
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The Optimist (Abilene, Tex.), Vol. 80, No. 44, Ed. 1, Wednesday, March 4, 1992, newspaper, March 4, 1992; Abilene, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth96292/m1/3/?q=%22%22~1: accessed July 15, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Abilene Christian University Library.