David Towlun

Theatre Production Manager

Contact
Phone:
+1 (781) 2832031
Email:
dtowlun@wellesley.edu
Department
Theatre Studies

Theatre production lecturer, production manager, and professional set designer.

As an artist, I am fascinated with theatre as a collaborative art form where one can be individually expressive within the greater framework of humanity. As a designer I am always looking for new ways to express an idea through a visual medium that is both succinct and abstract. As Production Manager, I am fortunate to have the opportunity to work with and help facilitate the ideas of a wide variety of both professional and student artists. What makes me most excited about working at Wellesley is the freedom to be vigilantly analytic of the creative process through the experiences I have with my students who are themselves, experimenting with new ideas. It is the notion of one's process being just as important one's product that makes working and creating theatre at Wellesley College a unique experience.
I started my career in Florida as a freelance scenic designer and technical director, pausing it for a few years to earn my MFA in Scenic Design from The Conservatory of Theatre Arts and Film at SUNY Purchase College. From there I continued my professional career working in New York City as an assistant for legendary theatre designer Tony Walton on numerous projects off and on Broadway. Outside of working at Wellesley College, I continue to pursue a career as a freelance scenic designer for numerous theatres in New England and am able to bring those experiences with me to my students.
I have a deep fascination of the north Maine woods and often find myself camping along and paddling through Maine's interior waters in one of the several wooden canoes I've built. In fact, I am passionate about canoeing so much, that you may catch me paddling across Lake Waban as I commute to work from my house on the far side of the lake, where I live with my wife (a Wellesley Alumna) and our young child.

Education

  • B.F.A., SUNY at Purchase College
  • M.F.A., SUNY at Purchase College

Current and upcoming courses

Practicum: Theatre Production

THST345

This course offers the advanced students of the theatre arts an opportunity to incorporate the performance, stage management, set design, lighting design, costume design, sound design, and directing disciplines available within the department into one focused and fully-produced project through an immersive investigation of a full-length script. Students will conduct dramaturgical research to contextualize the world of a play, establishing connections among the text, actors, and production elements, and creating a platform for conversation in the Wellesley community. Concurrently, students will implement performance and production techniques, engaging every aspect of the collaborative process of theatre-making.  Actors and stage management will commit to 3+ scheduled rehearsals weekly. Students interested in participating as a designer or stage manager should contact the instructors significantly prior to registration.   Students interested in performance must audition in the first week of each semester - invitations will be issued by the instructors within the add/drop period. The course will culminate with a fully supported public production, to be directed, managed, and advised by Theatre Studies faculty, serving as a capstone of integrated learning in the department. 

More Info

  • Devising Theatre Performance

    THST355-2

    This course is for the advanced theatre student who aspires to put into practice the collaborative creative and research responsibilities of devising and producing a one-act performance as an ensemble. Enthusiasm and curiosity (but no course prerequisites) required.  In '24-'25, we will focus on creating a piece centered around the theme of climate change. The live performance will be intended for young audiences, and shared in partnership with local organizations. Students will take inspiration from the examples of renowned devised contemporary global theatre companies, whose work we will investigate. Students will learn how to build a production from physical impulse and observation, game, improvisation, research, sound and image collage, group gesture, collaborative writing, and more - and to learn to engage consistently with a scenographic team as co-creators. To prepare our students to become autonomous artists in the world, this course uniquely provides the opportunity to explore the creation of a performance event outside of text-driven modalities. To support this goal, students will receive the technical & training tools, ensemble rehearsal and individual assignments, concurrent critique, and an intensive structure within which to immerse themselves in the exciting devising process.

  • Stagecraft for Performance

    THST207

    This course studies the craft and theory of the production arts in the theatre.  We will cover the practice of intent creation and explore how that intent is interpreted - from the designer's process to how that process is implemented by various craftspeople and specialists.