Hi, my name is Keean Daily. Throughout the years there have been many experiences that have played a crucial role in my development as a performer. My primary drive to pursue a career in theater arts mainly derives from my overwhelmingly positive past experiences in the field. All throughout high school I performed in shows such as “She kills Monsters” (a personal favorite), sang in musicals such as “Guys and Dolls” (another personal favorite), and even won awards such as “Best Performer” (Zone B) at Texas UIL OAP in 2023. My high school also provided me with plenty of opportunities to write plays of my own and pursue a directorial role to have them put on. All of which cultivated my love for both musical Acting and Playwriting as my career of choice. Outside of acting/ writing, I've had plenty of opportunities to express myself in other artistic ways. I was in choir ever since middle school, and my growing love for singing massively influenced my choice to follow a career involving musical theater specifically. I was in a production of "Carmen" in 2018 at the Longhorn Center as a member of the children’s chorus chosen by my choir director. It was my first “professional job” (as I was paid) and it certainly set me down the path I am on now. So as an artist citizen I try my best to take after my influences both personal and not. I certainly find myself inspired by playwrights such as “Lauren Guenderson, and people/ instructors in my life (like fellow castmates and theater teachers.) In the end I look to focus on collaboration and social justice in my work as a creative in the industry.

As an artist, I often find my creative works to be a mix of diverse influences (with my own distinctive touch), informed by my life experiences. I firmly believe that much of art is a reinterpretation (subconscious or not). In my view artists who embrace this, acknowledging the ways in which their influences inspire them rather than attempting to distance themselves from this fact are better able to transform the materials into something new. However my inspiration extends beyond singular encounters with different artistic works but rather, it is rooted in my personal life and the connections I’ve made such as my father (who with his children’s books) always served as a source of inspiration. Also, my high school theater teacher left her mark on my journey as a performer, helping me learn and develop my passion for performance that continues to shape my creative pursuits to this day. And as a less conventional form of inspiration/ influence, watching my friends succeed in getting roles they really wanted has always inspired me a lot. Seeing how hard they worked to achieve their goals always made me want to work even harder to get roles for myself, theater is community, and that on it’s own made the industry appealing to me.. Even everyday experiences  have influenced my art. They made me want to put my feelings and experiences into my senior year SDOAP script, making it feel real and capable of connecting with others. Basically, my journey as an artist shows how the things around me and my own imagination work together. By accepting and appreciating all the different things that influence my art, I hope to create something that not only shows who I am but also connects with everyone who sees it.

Look at the Value categories you laid out in the earlier One of my biggest dreams in the arts is to see my own original plays performed. I don't necessarily aim for them to be famous or anything, but hopefully over time I can find an audience of my peers. There are lots of plays that started off in colleges, and I hope to write shows like that someday. As an actor, my goal is to focus on musical theater and follow a clear path in playwriting. If things go smoothly in the theater, I might even give the film a shot down the road (I've already gotten involved with several RTF lead student organizations and it's a field of work I'm interested in). I believe that working together makes us better artists. When another person joins the creative process, the final result can be even better than what each individual could have made alone. A good artist is open to this idea for the sake of making something great. When I co-wrote not one, but two full length One Act plays in high school, I saw firsthand how collaboration improves art. While some projects are solo efforts, I encourage every artist to give collaboration a chance, even if it's just working with a scene partner. And even now in college I just finished the 5-7 minute devised theater unit which had me exploring my own abilities to collaborate in theater unlike i've ever done before. I aspire to engage with more opportunities like that throughout college.