A Friendship Made at D&E Has Stood the Test of Time

Jason Headley and Lonnie Martin came to D&E with eyes wide open and did just what students are encouraged to do. Explored their interests. Got involved in campus activities. Found the place where they fit in and felt accepted. Their experiences – and friendship – shaped their lives and both discovered their career passions and success. “This place changed my life,” Headley said. “It’s rare that you can point to a thing and say that. I came here as one person and left entirely different.” The two met in Darby Hall when Headley was a sophomore and Martin was a freshman. Their interest in music ignited their conversation – Headley played guitar and sang, and Martin thought it was cool to hang out with him. Their friendship grew out of deep discussions on the meanings of lyrics and how they could express themselves through creative outlets. Although Headley was an environmental science and political science major, he decided to join Martin and other theatre majors in campus stage productions. “Within that group, it was OK to feel things. Through art, theatre and music, you could feel safe,” Headley said. “It was just guys in the arts,” Martin explains. “Guys who could show they were sensitive and not be judged for it.” Theatre wasn’t all fun and socializing. It was important that students were on time for rehearsals and met the timeframe for learning their lines off-book. They took their craft seriously, even in their leisure time. Many Friday evenings would start with running their lines before heading out to The Icehouse. “Our group was super committed and we all liked to be funny, so that’s how we lived it,” Martin said. The two kept living it that way – pouring their efforts into their work while chasing their dreams. After graduation in 1996, Headley drove to California with plans to start a band. His life took what he calls “a thousand tiny turns.” “I was just paying attention to where I truly found some version of meaning in life, picking up things I enjoyed, putting down things I did not,” Headley said. “It’s a journey that continues to this very day.” That path, with a few bumps along the way, led to success. He co-wrote Pixar’s “Lightyear,” recently released by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, and “Onward,” released in 2020. Headley also wrote and directed the SXSW Special Jury Prize-winning feature “A Bad Idea Gone Wrong.” His short films – including the viral videos “It’s Not About the Nail” and “F*ck That: An Honest Meditation” – have been featured at Banksy’s Dismaland, NBC’s “TODAY Show,” SundanceTV, the TED Conference and Vimeo Staff Picks, among others. Headley says along the way he realized he had more interest in acting than he had ability. The knowledge of acting that he learned at D&E and from Martin stayed with him and played into his career. “Much later when I started directing it was helpful because I have an understanding of acting and I have so much respect for it. Actors, at any level, are just like my friends from D&E,” he explained. Although Martin took a break from college, he returned and earned his degree in 2002. After receiving his master’s degree, Martin has worked as a filmmaker, actor and producer. He returned to D&E in 2018 as instructor of theatre and film and continues with filmmaking projects. Through his company, Ningen Manga Productions, Martin has written, directed and produced “The Last of the Manson Girls,” “Matchmaker,” “Cougars” and “Women’s Studies.” He is currently working on “Maynard Came Back,” a feature-length horror film produced in West Virginia. They even returned to the Boilerhouse in 2009 to put on a play with their friend and fellow D&E alumnus Dave O’Neill ’98. That show, “The Gathering,” was a celebration of 10 years of the three of them getting together annually, tending to their friendship, and keeping it alive and vital. It’s a tradition that continues to this day. Their story and friendship might not be so different from those of other alumni, and yet it is. The bond they made on campus has transcended decades and life challenges and come out untarnished, if not stronger. In some way, it comes down to what they were seeking as young students – their true place in life. “It’s the kind of friendship that when something happens in my life, I have to tell Lonnie. It makes it real,” Headley said. “We’re not the guys we were in college,” Martin said. “You make the choice to evolve together and I think that’s a big thing.”

Jason Headley performs an original song in the CAB Talent Show in 19951996 academic year. Lonnie Martin ’02, right, introduced his friend and commencement speaker Jason Headley ’96 as “the coolest guy on campus.” In their early theatre days, Lonnie Martin and Jason Headley dance in a scene from “The Diviners” while cast member Steve McAveney looks on in amazement.