November 5th, 2025

Written by Brook Doersam

From Grade 5 choir to high school musicals, David Connolly found his love for theatre through school. Today, David applies that passion as the artistic director at Drayton Entertainment where he oversees seven theaters in Ontario. This year, the company will produce 21 shows. 

David was born with a congenital abnormality that required amputating both legs below the knee to be fitted with artificial limbs that allowed him to walk, run, and eventually dance. Today, he is a proud disability and inclusion advocate and was the first amputee to perform on Broadway. In 2024, David was the recipient of the Canadian Actors’ Equity Association’s inaugural Change Maker Award. 

David’s passion for theatre can be traced back to his first solo performance in a Grade 2 choir at Winston Churchill Public School. That moment ignited a lifelong love for the arts, which he nurtured through his years at MacGregor Public School, Waterloo Collegiate Institute (WCI), and later Forest Heights Collegiate Institute (FHCI), where he graduated in 1987. Throughout his elementary and high school years, David immersed himself in choir, musicals, and drama club, embracing every opportunity to perform and grow as an artist.

He fondly remembers the teachers who nurtured his passion for the arts. 

“At MacGregor, they had an incredible group of teachers who were committed to the school musical,” recalls David. “That’s where it all started. I just got the bug there.”

Teachers who went the extra mile really helped David realize his passion and how to nurture it. 

When speaking about past mentors and those who impacted him over the years, David felt that he was “standing on the shoulders of all those people. All of those teachers and all of those people who went the extra mile to create opportunities for kids who didn’t fit other places, didn’t fit into sports or didn’t fit into science. We could find each other there.”

David has been involved in theatre since age seven and has taught theatre for more than 30 years. At Drayton Theatre, he focuses on making a difference in the arts community for students who share the same passion.

Included in his Artistic Director role is helming the Drayton Entertainment Youth Academy; a brick and mortar Arts Education hub in Waterloo. Beyond skill building in singing, acting, dancing, or backstage technical arts, the Academy offers what’s harder to quantify but perhaps more important: confidence, community, bravery and a sense of belonging. The Academy’s High School Project brings together 55 secondary school students from 25 different schools, bringing David’s high school learning full circle.

David encourages students to find their passions. 

“If you think there are not enough opportunities, just dig harder, knock on more doors, ask more questions, and create opportunities for yourself,” he said. “Write your own musical, find the class, find the friends, and lean on each other to find your community.”

Celebrating Alumni of the Waterloo Region District School Board (WRDSB)

Graduates of the Waterloo Region District School Board (WRDSB) are accomplishing incredible things in our community, our country and around the world. We are putting a spotlight on their success in their chosen pathways, and how their time at WRDSB supported them to graduation and beyond. WRDSB provides students with a solid foundation for success and we are excited to celebrate the contributions and achievements of WRDSB alumni. 

Learn more about our incredible WRDSB graduates.