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“I had the honor of working with David when he served as set designer for a production of Victoria Kneubuhl’s The Conversion of Ka’ahumanu and for a production of William S. Yellow Robe Jr.’s Grandchildren of the Buffalo Soldiers, both of which I directed. These productions were produced by the Cultural Arts Unit of the Museum Programs and Education Department at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of the American Indian on the National Mall in Washington, DC. David is a bright and hard working designer with many assets who is a highly qualified set designer. David did valuable research on the plays’ locales and time periods, worked with myself as director and with the other designers on the production team, and then built and fully executed very functional, appropriate, and attractive sets. David also contributed in guiding the look of the shows with advice and expertise in such areas as set dressing and assistance with props. Both playwrights attended the shows and very much appreciated the sets!” -Vincent P. Scott, Cultural Arts Program Specialist |
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Hair, Summer 2010. "David proved to be the ideal collaborator. He was very sensitive to the world I was trying to create, yet still brought his own artistic touch. He created a design that was completely functional for the actors, created a playground for the lighting designer, and was flexible to instant changes from reality to imaginary. I feel fortunate to have teamed with David, and would do it again in a heartbeat." -Nathaniel Shaw, Artistic Director |
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“I have always found David to be a very good artistic collaborator. He’s easy to work with during a show’s concept stage and provides beautiful models and/or renderings. The productions I’ve directed have certainly benefited from his great visual style.” “Our stage has no wing or fly space, so there’s no place to store scenery offstage. David’s design solutions have often been to “store” scenery onstage by making the set pieces multi-functional or by having the individual flats expand or contract to create new locations. For instance, his concept for Fiddler on the Roof placed the entire village of Anatevka onstage throughout the show; however, one of the exterior flats of Tevye’s house folded open to create the interior set, the inn was created by opening a flap to reveal the bar, and Motel’s shop opened up in the same way, all in the manner of a pop-up picture book. When he directed Dancing at Lughnasa he built a house interior on the floor of our auditorium, with the rafters angling up towards the stage. When we produced Guys and Dolls, the primary set design appeared to be the New York street setting, but some of the flats representing the buildings were double-hinged and opened up to create the interior of the mission or the sewer system. Effective lighting designs further altered the stage dimensions in intriguing ways. In fact, I recall that our reviewer for Guys and Dolls from the American College Theatre Festival—who was also a set designer—was so fascinating by this concept that he spent a long time after the show carefully checking out how the scene changes were accomplished.” “David has always provided me with scale models and drawings of his designs, and when I’ve requested changes, he’s always supplied me with a revised model or plan. He’s extremely good at getting the most “bang” out of our budget buck. He’s very resourceful at recycling the set components into the next show and saving money through all sorts of practical ways.” -Professor Robert Stoddard |
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“I spent two very rewarding weeks this past summer working with David Dwyer at the MWVTC on "The Full Monty". In conceiving the design of the play, David and I agreed it would work best if it was a unit set; which depicted the waffling economy of Buffalo in the 90's. David's masterful abilities gave me exactly what I asked for; the set was specific to place, fluid in movement, and gave the audience, upon entering the theatre, a strong sense of the evening ahead. I was extremely pleased with the design, the execution and David's acumen in general. He is affable, smart and creative. I would gladly repeat the experience. “ -Richard Sabellico, Director / Choreographer, New York, New York. |
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"I've worked with David Dwyer as both a fellow designer and as a director on two theater productions. In both cases he was creative, professional and flexible. His designs were conceptually compelling based on an intelligent reading of the script. His technical drawings are meticulous. And most importantly, he's willing and able to modify his design in response to practical obstacles at the build phase. I enjoyed working with David and would happily do so again." -Chris Baumer, Director / Lighting Designer |
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“I have recently had the great opportunity to work with David Dwyer in a professional capacity at The Mountain Playhouse in Jennerstown, PA. David was the set designer on my production of Pump Boys and Dinettes. I have to say that rarely do I get the chance to work with someone so fully versed and proficient at so many technical aspects of theatrical stagecraft. Everything David did for me; from his sketches, to drafting, to implementation of his ideas, was way above industry standards and the call of duty and I am very grateful for his professional nature and his ability to collaborate with a Director who changes his mind a lot. His work with the technical director and the interns was especially impressive, having an easy way about him of guiding them and helping them to challenge themselves and increase their personal levels of accomplishment and professionalism. I think that anyone who has the good fortune to hire David should absolutely do so and they will be VERY glad that they did.” -Larry Tobias; AEA SAG/AFTRA SDC |
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Pump Boys and Dinettes, Scenic Design, |
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The Full Monty, Scenic Design, |
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Hair, Scenic Design, |
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Curtains, Spring 2014Niagara University Theatre “Many heartfelt thanks for the fantastic work on CURTAINS. As always, it's a real pleasure collaborating with you on a show, but this one was special! I'm always amazed by the ingenious solutions for our limited space and even more limited resources. A tremendous scenic effort. beautifully conceived and executed! Thank you! “
-Steve Braddock’ Director of Theatre Niagara University Theatre |
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The Conversion of Ka’Ahumanu, Scenic Design, |
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Dangeroud Liasons, Scenic Design, |
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Curtains!, Scenic Design, |
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-what people are saying- -testimonials-
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