Valentine shrugs off holiday, loves stage

by Kim Smith
Senior Culture Writer

For David Valentine, the only time the day filled with ‘Be Mine’ candy and construction paper hearts really mattered was in nursery school.

“It was pre-kindergarten when all the kids would say, ‘Hey David Valentine’s Day,’” said the musician and sophomore Ohio University theater major.

While cupids and chocolate do not faze him, good music, puppets and the stage are inspirations, Valentine said.

“As far as careers go, I want to be a puppeteer. But I’d never stop playing the guitar or performing,” he said. “Maybe I could just collaborate all these things together.”

Valentine grew up in Wallingford, Penn., near Philadelphia, watching Sesame Street and playing soccer. In third grade he started playing the violin until sixth grade when he traded it in for a bigger model- the upright bass. He picked up his first bass guitar in seventh grade.

“By tenth grade I started getting serious with the acoustic guitar,” he said. “My friend gave me a tape of Ani DiFranco and that was inspiration.”

Theater was Valentine’s chosen major, but open mic night at the Front Room was the deciding factor for applying to O.U., he said.

“The first weekend of freshman year I started playing at the Front Room,” he said. “I used to play at The Point outside of Philadelphia, which was a carbon copy of the Front Room­ except it was more cruel and critical.”

To gain appreciation with The Point crowds, he would play Sesame Street songs, Valentine said.

“It would throw them off because they weren’t expecting it,” he said. “They’d cheer at the end; it usually goes over well.”

Being prepared for the unexpected is one of his goals, Valentine said. The objective is to never be tied down.

“I want to be able to say ‘yes’ at an audition to moving to London at a moment’s notice,” he said. “My dad put it best: be dedicated to the things you want to do, not to what everyone else thinks you should be doing.”

While his parents pushed education first, Valentine motivated himself to practice and become an actor­ participating in his first play in eighth grade.

“I grew up in a ‘soccer town,’” he said. “Instead of soccer I wish I could have done more acting, singing and dancing. There was never a challenge of gender roles and it made me sick.”