David Towlun

Theatre Production Manager

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

  • M.F.A., Purchase College (State University of New York)
  • B.F.A., Purchase College (State University of New York)

Current and upcoming courses

  • 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.