Two paths to a life in performance

Having forged a friendship during auditions for Melbourne Grammar School productions, Old Melburnians Kahlia Davis and Jack Martin ended up studying at the same New York conservatory to complete their performance training. Today, they’re both pursuing successful careers in a demanding industry, and making the most of every opportunity.

Kahlia Davis

A willingness to take on anything is the quality Kahlia Davis (OM 2013) says aspiring actors need most. “Train in every area and make yourself as hireable as possible,” she says. “The industry demands so much more of us as performers these days, so you need to be prepared to invite as many opportunities as you can.”

Kahlia is still remembered for her role as Dorothy in Grimwade House’s Year 6 production of The Wizard of Oz in 2007 “Grimwade had such great music and drama programs and such incredible opportunities in all the arts,” she says. “I didn’t necessarily know I was going to become a performer, but I’ve always loved it, and where I am today is a culmination of following that passion.”

Staying Open When Things Change

After being accepted into the American Musical and Dramatic Academy, where she studied with fellow Old Melburnian Jack Martin (featured opposite), Kahlia’s first contract was with the US national tour of 42nd Street The Musical at just 19 years of age. Working as her own agent, each of her roles has led to the next, including undertaking a world tour as a vocalist on a cruise ship.

“On the cruise we started in Alaska, circumnavigated South America, went back up through the Caribbean and Mexico to San Francisco, Hawaii, French Polynesia, New Zealand then landed in Sydney on 1 March 2020,” Kahlia explains. “I had been planning to go back to the US, but I ended up staying here in Australia and enrolling in a Master of Business, which was my pandemic project.”

Bringing Joy To Melbourne Audiences

Today, Kahlia performs in as many as eight shows a week in the touring production of Moulin Rouge! The Musical, working as a swing that covers 11 roles, including the lead.

“The beauty of this show is the opportunity to bring joy to people,” Kahlia says. “It was especially moving to perform in Melbourne after the lockdowns. I’m looking forward to the rest of our Melbourne run, which will be early next year. I’d also love to get to London one day to perform over there.”

“I think I’ll always be involved in musical theatre, either as a performer or on the production side,” Kahlia adds. “It’s a fastpaced, changeable industry. I love the opportunities to travel, and love pushing myself to try new things.”

You can see Kahlia on stage in Moulin Rouge! The Musical which is currently touring Australia.

Jack Martin

One of Jack Martin’s first reviews was in the 2013 Melburnian, where he was commended for his “spectacular poise and comic timing” playing Malvolio in Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night.

“I did every play I could at Melbourne Grammar,” says Jack, who goes by J.D. Martin on screen. (His friends still call him Jack.) “My first role was as Myra the Maid in a Wadhurst production, wearing a straggly black wig and a bonnet. That was when I found out that no matter how my day was going, I could always find joy on stage.”

How Early Support Made The Difference

“Our Drama teacher, Mark Brady, was incredibly supportive and got us all thinking outside the box,” says Jack. “He saw that there were a few of us who were hungry for it, pushed for Drama to be included as a VCE subject, and gave us great real-world advice. To have a resource like that at that time was priceless. I can’t sing his praises enough.”

Having been part of the first Melbourne Grammar cohort to study Drama as a VCE subject, Jack was encouraged by his friend Kahlia Davis (featured opposite) to try out for the American Musical and Dramatic Academy. Almost 10 years, countless theatre productions and a growing number of screen roles later, Jack is still based in New York and making a good living through his craft.

Looking Back To Appreciate The Journey

“I was having coffee with a friend the other day and we were grumbling about how busy we were, feeling pulled in too many different directions or perhaps not connecting with a project our agents had been pitching us on,” Jack says.

“I stopped for a moment and said, ‘Can you believe the problems we have right now? Our 18-year-old unemployed selves would be stoked to hear this is what we’re complaining about!’

It was my dream to make a living as an actor, and I’m achieving that.”

Jack’s advice to aspiring actors is to focus on the journey, rather than the destination. “It’s a marathon, not a sprint,” he says. “When I started out, I did theatre shows in the basements of bars and abandoned furniture shops, with more people on stage than there were in the audience. I walked all the dogs of the Upper East Side to pay my rent. It’s a grind but it’s all working towards something, and today I love every moment I’m on set and feel incredibly grateful.”

You can see some of Jack’s recent performances in Manifest (Netflix) , FBI Most Wanted (Paramount+) and the upcoming season of Moonshine (Binge).