Meet David LaDuca

We were lucky to catch up with David LaDuca recently and have shared our conversation below.

David, we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.

I always wanted to perform, to entertain, as long as I can remember. After decades of work in theatre, film and television, I felt there was something lacking in my ability to connect with the audience. Taking bows eight times a week in this show or that had lost its specialness. I was bowing, but I didn’t hear the applause anymore. It had simply become a perfunctory ending to my workday.

Then, several years ago I read an article about a researcher who was interested in studying the effects of music on people experiencing various forms of Alzheimer’s and dementia. This researcher took iPods and headphones in to a Memory Care facility where there were approximately 20 residents who had been non-verbal for decades. He would gather them in a common area each afternoon for a week, and have them listen to Swing Era music for an hour each day. By the end of the week, most of the residents were humming along with the music, others actually mouthing the lyrics or singing along.

After reading the article, I felt I had found a way to repurpose my existing performance skills. I began learning a repertoire of songs from The Great American Songbook, and shortly thereafter, I began singing in Senior Communities. Jazz standards are the soundtrack of the lives of this generation of seniors. As I sing these treasured tunes, the memories and emotions of the audience are palpable. The profound connections music can make has filled my heart with a deep sense of fulfillment ever since.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

David LaDuca Creative Services is an umbrella company that captures my varied creative interactions. As a singer, my tagline is “Concerts That Connect.” I often share with my audiences that a singer needs ears and hearts for their music to land on, as much as an audience has the desire to hear it. So, within that space we establish a temporary community with a mutual benefit. It’s a two-way street!

I’ve learned over the years that one of the greatest assets any person can cultivate is the ability to listen. This sounds obvious. I mean, we listen everyday, right? But to listen more deeply, not only with one’s ears, but allowing a penetration rich enough that impacts the heart and accesses emotion is really what it’s about. That is the essence of what I try to create as I work to realize the expectations of clients and in my own work.

I am fortunate enough to have achieved my vision of having a fulfilling creative outlet as my ‘day job,’ I now perform in over 35 communities in the greater Houston area. This, in conjunction with my other work performing in plays and commercials, writing scripts, teaching Creative Writing, coaching Executives on effective Speech delivery, and corporate video content creation, all come together to utilize as much of myself as I have always wished.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

I have always been interested and curious about acquiring knowledge about the various elements of creative processes I have experienced. I started out as a dancer and traveled all over the world doing that. Then I was drawn to acting and singing. Then directing. Then writing and composing. Along the way, I watched lighting, set and costume designer apply their respective art and craft. I asked questions. I watched everyone. That sort of sustained curiosity fuels personal growth along the intimate journey of self-actualization.

All arts are related in one way or another. I feel grateful to have many skills and tools in my creative tool belt. Being able to draw from different areas of interest has helped to create my unique brand. For example, when I am engaged in a script writing project, I can pull from my varied experience to inform how the actor might deliver a line, envision what the set could look like, imagine stage direction, etc…With these elements all playing in my head, my work is rarely a shot in the dark. There are legitimate reasons and subliminal strategies for the both the grounded choices I make and the measured risks I take. There is an adage that writers learn: to “write what you know.” So, the more you know, the richer the writing.

Each time I set out to do a project, I make a concentrated effort to stay open so I am able to draw on what I know. Being curious is important. And as I get older, staying tenacious about being curious is key. The more I learn, the more I realize I don’t know!

To close, maybe we can chat about your parents and what they did that was particularly impactful for you?

My parents stressed to follow one’s heart. On the surface, that phrase sounds naive. The truth is, our world is not always set up to facilitate our dreams and goals. But the Universe conspires. So, a good degree of courage must always be part of the equation, especially when you dream of a life in the arts. Yet, there have been times when I would panic and vacillate between following the dream and being practical and secure.

I worked in Savings & Loan and as an Executive Director of a non-profit. Both were wonderful experiences, but they felt off-track from my original vision. Since then, I have come around again to understand that it feels best to commit myself to the noble and rewarding goal of blending passion and purpose every day that I can. It’s a harder path than taking a lucrative, yet mindless job. But at the end of the day, it’s important to me personally to be able to say that I was able to make an impact.

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