Engaged couple Jeremiah Davison and Candy McLellan share a common drive that has led them both to successful, multi-hyphenated careers in Atlanta theater. And it was that drive that attracted them to one another.
Davison is a sought-after performer, director and sound designer who has worked at many professional theaters across the Atlanta area, including True Colors Theatre’s “That Serious He-Man Ball” and the Alliance Theatre’s “The Incredible Book-Eating Boy.”
McLellan, who directed “It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play” at Stage Door Theatre and appeared in Theatrical Outfit’s “Passing Strange,” regularly works as a choreographer, actress and director around town.
As their careers have expanded, they have often worked on the same productions. Together, the couple co-directed a stunning production of “Wait Until Dark” for Georgia Ensemble Theatre, transforming the Jennie T. Anderson Theatre stage into a claustrophobic apartment full of terror. The couple said they next hope to collaborate on “Coming Home to Roost,” a new show by Chris Lane developed through the Stripped Bare incubator series at Synchronicity Theatre.
They live in Decatur with goldendoodle puppy Woof, named by Davison’s nephew, and got engaged on Dec. 29, 2022, after Davison promised McLellan he would propose by the end of the year. To throw off the surprise moment, however, Davison said he told her on Dec. 23 that he wouldn’t be able to make it happen. But happen it did — the two of them rode eScooters to Piedmont Park after she chose multiple random destinations throughout the day.
The wedding is planned for March 18, 2024, in Mexico, and, as with all good theatrical productions, the couple is using a stage manager to help prepare for the event. Caroline Caldwell, whom McLellan met at the Aurora Theatre when they were apprentices, is maid of honor.
Credit: Arts ATL
Credit: Arts ATL
ArtsATL recently discussed with them what their creative lives have taught them about their relationship, their engagement and upcoming wedding.
Q: How did you meet?
Jeremiah Davison: College. I transferred into University of West Georgia in 2015. Candy was already there. And a month before school started, she texted me and was like, “Hey, I’m your theater buddy.”
Candy McLellan: Yeah, our professor assigned everyone to be theater buddies to someone new coming in, just at random. So I looked him up on Facebook and was like, “Hey, Jeremiah, I’m your theater buddy, and I’m going to meet you in a month. How you doing?” And he said, “I’m good. I’m good.” And then did not respond ever again after that. And I was like, “OK, this guy hates me, whoever he is!”
Davison: I’m a super-bad texter. I remembered the text, and I responded in my head. I just didn’t press send. But when I saw her that August, I was like, “Hey!” Then we did a show together.
(That show was “Romeo and Juliet,” where Davison played Tybalt and Benvolio and McLellan played the Nurse.)
Davison: From that show, we got very close and would hang out and just chill. Just really good friends. I think it was that year or the next year that you said you had a crush on me.
McLellan: I might’ve said you were cute. We were best friends for five or six years before we even thought about dating.
Davison: Now we talk about how there always felt like there was something there, natural chemistry. She’s super talented. That alone attracted me to being a good friend, a best friend. I’m big on surrounding myself with people who have positive vibes and energy, ones who follow their dreams without letting anything stop them.
Q: Candy, what attracted you to Jeremiah?
McLellan: His drive. He had so much drive, ambition and passion. With everything he did, he went 100%. There was no halfway. The confidence in him. He was working three jobs and still fighting to be great.
Davison: It’s funny because we did a lot of vacations that year (2022) — we did Italy, Canada and Jamaica, and everyone thought (the proposal) was going to happen on one of those trips. But it wasn’t the right time for me. I was working as an associate at the Alliance on a Christmas show, and I was on TikTok and saw this trend about flashcard dates. You give your person a choice of two cards, and they pick one without seeing it. And that’s what I knew we would do.
Credit: Arts ATL
Credit: Arts ATL
Q: Were you expecting the proposal when it happened?
McLellan: Honestly, not at all. We date-night a lot, so I thought he was just making a day between us. I almost fell off my scooter because I wasn’t expecting my family and friends to be at the park. I was completely shocked, not going to lie. He did pretty good — usually he can’t get anything past me.
Davison: That’s why I had to deflect by saying it wouldn’t happen. I know my lady.
Q: What are the highlights from when you work together?
McLellan: It’s interesting because we just discussed our co-directing experience. We realized that there were things we did while directing in the room that we struggle with in our relationship. But it was so easy in the room. So now that we know we can do it, we can use that in our relationship — things like compromise and learning to pivot.
Davison: We realized that there’s strength in knowing who’s taking the lead in this moment or who needs to take the lead. We ask who needs to have the final decision in a situation and find that balance. In college, when we first did our scenes together, that balance was something we naturally had.
Benjamin Carr, a member of the American Theatre Critics Association, is an arts journalist and critic who has contributed to ArtsATL since 2019 and was recently named an editor at large. His plays have been produced at the Vineyard Theatre in Manhattan as part of the Samuel French Off-Off Broadway Short Play Festival and at the Center for Puppetry Arts. His novel, “Impacted,” was published by The Story Plant in 2021.
Credit: ArtsATL
Credit: ArtsATL
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