A Prescription for Living

Last night David Spencer opened in the terrific Vic Theatre Production of The 25^th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, turning in a stellar performance as Vice Principal Panch. David is a highly successful Music Theatre performer who has toured the UK, and has appeared in many main stage productions as well as being Resident Director for such shows as Anything Goes. But that’s not where his talents begin and end. In a Jekyll and Hyde existence, David has another life. He’s a Doctor with a practise in a medical clinic, and he doesn’t see anything strange about the combination of two careers.

“It actually works perfectly for me,” he tells me. “Too often we have months, or even longer, between shows. Some of the most talented people have to take part time jobs in bars or even in retail. I’ve never had to take a part-time job, I just swap careers.” David returns to his medical practise and dispenses to the sick. And it has to be a great show and role to woo him away from his patients for even a short time.

That’s not to suggest that David uses his Doctor degree as a fall back position. He takes both his careers very seriously.

“For as long as I can remember I wanted to be a Doctor – I wanted to heal people, comfort them, make a difference. It truly is a vocation, not a job, for me,” he tells me. But there was this other side to David, and it was calling him just as insistently.

“I love musical theatre,” he says. “I mean, it’s a glorious obsession with me. All through High School I performed in shows and that didn’t change when I went to Medical School. I still performed whenever I could. People told me I would have to choose between them, but I really didn’t want to give either of them up.”

Some people never feel even one vocation in their life, and here was David being pushed to choose one of two. And he felt equally passionate about both.

“I did take a year off after I got my Medical degree to concentrate on theatre, but I found myself yearning for medicine,” he tells me. “Then, initially, when I started practising, I missed theatre, but I just couldn’t make a choice.”

These days does David feel that conflict between his two careers? “I’ve come to a happy place where I can immerse myself 100% in whatever career path I’m following. Each satisfies a different part of me, and I’m so glad I didn’t discard one for the other.”

But are they really that different to each other? After all, musical theatre makes you feel good, and a positive attitude improves your health.

“Absolutely,” David agrees. “The two professions complement each other perfectly. Both are about giving something of yourself to people for their welfare. To see an audience laughing and applauding has the same reward as hearing a patient say, “I feel much better Doctor.”

And occasionally Doctor Spencer’s patients come to see David Spencer, performer, and are a little gob-smacked to see their doctor without his stethoscope.

“So far I haven’t played a doctor on stage, but it’s bound to come sooner or later,” David says.

Meanwhile you can see David, and hear his great voice, in “Spelling Bee”.

The Doctor is in the house, and that’s certainly worth singing about.

Images: Rebecca Moore and David Spencer, & David Spencer.

Writer: Coral Drouyn.