With friends urging him to give it a try, Brandyn McGhee got involved with theatre when still a student a few years ago at Frankfort Community High School in West Frankfort.

It’s a decision he has not regretted.

“It was ‘Once Upon a Mattress’ and I played a character in the show and also helped with the building of sets. I really liked it a lot,” McGhee said.

So much so, in fact, that the 22-year-old son of Beth Graff of West Frankfort and Matt McGhee of Atlanta, Illinois, is now working on completing an associate’s degree in theatre at John A. Logan College and has plans to pursue a bachelor’s degree from SIUC beginning next year.

Moreover, the 2005 FCHS grad is employed full-time at Logan as a theatre technician.

In short, he designs on the computer and then builds sets for plays and musicals, works on lighting and even sound on some occasions. In his spare time, he does some acting with local groups like the Benton-based Pyramid Players and the Carbondale-based Dance 4 Grandma Productions. He has even played a lead role or two.

“I still don’t know if I like acting best or production work,” McGhee said. “I just want to thank Beth Hanner (Logan job placement office employee) for helping me get the job at Logan. She knew I was into theatre and told me about the opening there a year ago. So, I put together a portfolio and was fortunate enough that Adrienne (Barkley Giffin, the College’s Director of Student Activities and Cultural Events) hired me.”

Barkley Giffin said McGhee has been a good hire.

“My nickname for Brandyn is ‘Triple T’ (Terrific Theatre Tech) because he does a wonderful job with a consistently positive attitude. He cares about the quality of his work and how it reflects the College’s image.”

Barkley Giffin said McGhee has a solid reputation in the local theatre community.

“Brandyn is a hard worker who is dependable and honest,” she said. “He has reworked our scene shop into a more functional and organized workspace. That’s important for our theatre students to see and experience.”

JALC music and theatre director Nathan Arnett said the College is lucky to have McGhee on staff.

“As a director, I recognize that my art is at his mercy,” Arnett said. “Brandyn is more than willing to step up to the plate and often supersedes our expectations of a technical director. So many see Brandyn as a carpenter, sound-man, lighting designer, and few realize that he is a super talented vocalist and artist that really gets what is happening both on stage and behind the scenes.”

McGhee also enjoys doing charity work. He is vice president of the Southern Illinois Scare Association in West Frankfort. He is one of several young adults who annually organize the tour of a haunted house in the community with all the proceeds going to organizations like Franklin County CASA, Shop with a Cop, Toys for Tots and local food pantries.

“We raised $10,000 one year,” he said. “We’re in our seventh year and have held our haunted houses at the old civic center and hospital, coal mine and park band shelter. Last year, we donated $1,000 to the food pantry to help buy Thanksgiving Day dinners. That kind of thing really makes you feel good.”

McGhee said he is unsure whether he will make his career in Southern Illinois, but would like to someday start a full-time theatre program at the high school in West Frankfort.

“I think I would like that,” he said.