Class Act

Making music takes backseat to teaching for Bonham theater instructor

May 13, 2023

Megan Brucker, shown with her new Gretsch guitar, is a popular performer at Central Texas restaurants and night spots. But, her first love is teaching theater to students at Bonham Middle School. Megan will be releasing her first single at the end of May and an album will follow later this year. David Stone photo

DAVID STONE | OUR TOWN TEMPLE

Megan Brucker is quickly becoming one of Central Texas’ most popular singers, but despite her growing success, the guitar and microphone still take a backseat to her day job — teaching theatre to students at Bonham Middle School.

“I thoroughly enjoy what I do — and that’s teaching,” she said. Teaching is my first love, my passion and my career. Music is fun, but I don’t want it to become a job.”

Megan has been teaching theater at Bonham for two years, and she was one of the Temple ISD school’s volleyball, basketball and track coach for a decade before trading her whistle for a director’s chair.

This week, she has been exceptionally busy getting ready for the end of the school year and readying her students for a joint Shakespeare presentation with kids from Travis and Lamar middle schools.

Many teachers use their summer break for vacations, spending time with their families and enjoying the time away from the rigors of the classroom. But Megan will strap on her guitar and get busy preparing for upcoming shows and her first single.

Megan is a relative newcomer to the Central Texas music scene, and she became a regular circuit musician quite unintentionally.

“It was actually a fluke,” she recalled. “A couple years ago I was asked by a friend to play a fundraiser at 3 Texans Winery. I did, and at the end of my set I was invited back. It kind of took off from there.”

Now the theater instructor performs on weekends and occasionally on Wednesday nights at local night spots such as 3 Texans, Cork & Barrel, Collective Bar-tique in Salado, BJ’s Tasting Room, O’Briens, Laughing Llama Farm, Trenos, Fire Base Brewing, Wilson Valley Mercantile and the two Fuzzy’s Taco locations in Waco. Although she’s easy to find in Central Texas, don’t look for her in Nashville anytime soon.

“I’m staying pretty booked,” she said, “but I don’t aspire to be a full-time musician.”

Megan’s performances have changed slightly during the past two years. Her shows still cover a wide range of genres and artists, but her love for country music is beginning to shine.

“I’m definitely leaning more toward country,” she said. “I still do some Joan Jett and Fleetwood Mac, but I’m leaning more toward the country sound.”

Megan has been working with local musicians and songwriters Scott Foster and Chad Heyroth, and her first single is expected to be released in late May. The release — Highway Signs — is being recorded in Temple by Rockin’ Rick Bell. An album likely will follow in the fall.

“The album will feature some of my songs and some penned by Scott and Chad,” she said. “I’ve been polishing up some of my own music for the album. It’s going to be all original music — no covers.”

Megan said scheduling can present challenges when she’s trying to juggle her teaching career with making music. But, it's a challenge she is glad to face.

“It’s really worth it,” she said. “I can show children that you can have a career and still chase a dream. You don’t have to choose.”