By Debbie Adams
Remember his name – DeMarion Williams. One day you may be seeing his face on your TV or
movie screen; you may be buying a ticket to a Broadway show he is appearing in; you may hear
a song he has written and is performing, or see his name listed as “screenwriter.” And you can
say, “He’s from Vinton.”
acting school this fall. (photos courtesy of DeMarion Williams)
DeMarion graduated a year early from William Byrd High School in 2024 (as an honor roll
student), while also attending Roanoke County’s Burton Center for Performing Arts. This past
year he attended Virginia Western Community College. He will be spending the next two years
in the heart of New York City’s Broadway District in acting school.
He has been accepted at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in New York, where he
will study for two years to earn his Associate Degree in Musical Theatre, before finishing up at
the school’s program in Hollywood with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Musical Theatre.
DeMarion has lived in Vinton his entire life. He is the youngest of five, with one brother and
three sisters. Strangely enough, he was so quiet in preschool that the staff thought he might need
speech therapy. When he heard that, he quickly chose to become more communicative. Now he’s
appearing onstage with no qualms.
He began singing in the choir at church when he was just 5 or 6 years old, performing a solo for
the congregation at age 7.
DeMarion attended W.E. Cundiff Elementary, where he sang his first solo in a school production
in first or second grade, “Follow the Drinking Gourd,” and appeared in “Stellaluna.”
He says that as a youngster he initially hated acting, “especially in church plays.” However, in
2019, as a sixth grader, he auditioned for a role in William Byrd’s production of “Willy Wonka
Jr.” on a bet from a friend and was chosen for the role of Mike Teavee – one of the five winners
of Golden Tickets from a Wonka Bar. He worked with Carol Webster, director of the William
Byrd Players.
That play was the turning point in his life; he “fell in love with acting” and has been “hungry to
do it ever since, to get on stage, or behind the TV screen.” He came to see acting as a pathway to
self-discovery and self-expression – and his career goal.
He says he is no stranger to stage fright, especially on opening night which is the “scariest,” but,
in fact, “it is good to be scared; good to get comfortable when you are uncomfortable; good to
put that feeling back into your performance.”
During high school, DeMarion immersed himself in the program at the Burton Center for
Performing Arts for three years, with separate classes in acting, vocal performance (he’s a
baritone), and dance.
He has appeared in numerous productions – at Byrd, at the Center for Performing Arts, and
professionally in local theatres such as Mill Mountain Theatre and Attic Productions.
His theatre credits include roles in “Peter and the Starcatcher,” as the Escapologist in “Matilda
the Musical,” and as John Arable in “Charlotte’s Web” with Mill Mountain Theatre. He played
Kevin Bacon’s lead role in “Footloose,” Captain Long John Silver in “Treasure Island,” and was
in “Annie Get Your Gun” with Attic Productions. At the Center for Performing Arts he was cast
as Miles Tuck in “Tuck Everlasting” and as John the Baptist in “Godspell Jr.”
Film credits include his first short film, “Unfortunate,” “Roots of a Nation,” and a PSA on local
news channels on safe driving for YOVASO.
“Roots of a Nation” is a documentary filmed at Smithfield Plantation in Blacksburg, covering the 250-year history of the plantation “from the European immigrants who shaped a nation through their relationships with founding fathers to the enslaved Africans who built it through the work of their hands.”
DeMarion also performed as a student vocalist in Mill Mountain Theatre’s 60th Anniversary Concert and
as Landon in a table read of “This is the Night” with the Richmond Film Network. He was the
assistant director for “Matilda the Musical” at Mill Mountain and a member of the Student
Advisory Board, as well.
DeMarion has trained with the best – Victoria Buck (acting, who first saw his potential), Kelli
Manor (dance), and Patricia Clevenger (vocal) at the Center for Performing Arts; Brynn Scozzari
in musical theatre, Mix & Belt at Brynn Scozzari Studios; and Bethany Costello (musical
theatre), Francesca Reilly (acting), and AnnElese Galleo (dance) at the Mill Mountain Theatre
Conservatory.
He says his favorite roles have been in “Matilda the Musical” as the Escapologist, his first
professional production. That’s where he met many fellow acting students who have remained
his friends; and “Footloose the Musical” because “it was so challenging and there was so much
dancing” (and his mother, Enjoli Wiley, loves Kevin Bacon).
Lisa Stover, who teaches at WBHS, describes him as “an amazing young man. He definitely has
that ‘je ne sais quoi’ and I expect to see his name in lights! DeMarion has a bright future ahead
of him.”
She did not teach DeMarion but worked with him at William Byrd through his participation in
the VASCL (Virginia School Consortium for Learning Student Design Institute). The main
purpose of the design challenge is to give students a chance to engage in design process activities
that allow them to investigate for themselves solutions to challenges and issues that high school
students observe locally in their own communities.
“I led two teams through this process in 2022 and 2023,” said Stover. “DeMarion participated
during both sessions. In 2022, the conference was held online, and DeMarion made such an
impact that the speaker remembered him in 2023 when we attended in person. Students are hand-
selected for the VASCL conferences based on their demonstrated leadership, collaborative skills,
and work ethic. DeMarion is a natural leader, and his positive attitude is infectious.”
He met William Byrd Choral Director Matt Bartley in fourth grade, when he was returning his
sister’s kazoo, and later on discovered “choir was awesome.” He excelled and received honors in
choir, including being chosen for All-County and All-District.
Bartley says, “Demarion is one of the most selfless and remarkable young men I’ve had the
pleasure to work with. He sees the bigger picture and always finds a way to bring his best in
selfless pursuit of that vision. Any time I needed help outside of class, I could count on him – he
consistently showed up, not just for me, but for the good of the choir. He’s a talented performer
who takes direction well, and constantly seeks to grow, a trait that will take him far in any path he chooses. My only complaint is that he graduated early and robbed me of one more year with one of the best.”
