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David Dower

David is a co-founder of HowlRound, the artistic director of ArtsEmerson, and a Vice President at Emerson College. Priors: Z Collective, Z Space, Arena Stage.

David Dower (he/him) began his journey as a theatre producer in San Francisco, where he founded Z Space and produced more than fifty productions over a twenty-year span. David led Z Space for twelve years before assuming the role of associate artistic director at Arena Stage in Washington, DC. In six seasons there he oversaw the production of three Tony-winning shows (33 Variations, Next to Normal, and Edward Albee’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf) and the development of three shows that ultimately earned the Pulitzer Prize for Drama (Next to Normal, Fun Home, and Sweat). David then became artistic director at ArtsEmerson in Boston, where he presented several seasons of international theatre in four venues in the city’s theatre district. He returned to San Francisco at the end of 2020 to assume the role of executive producer for the 7 Fingers United States operations and lead the Club Fugazi project. David is a founder of HowlRound Theatre Commons.

Friday Phone Call # 58
Podcast

Friday Phone Call # 58

600 HIGHWAYMEN's Michael Silverstone and Abigail Browde

25 April 2014

Listen to weekly podcasts hosted by David Dower as he interviews theater artists from around the country to highlight #newplay bright spots. This week: 600 HIGHWAYMEN.

The Scarcity Matrix
Essay

The Scarcity Matrix

23 April 2014

ArtsEmerson Artisitic Director David Dower questions the competitive culture of theatre and advocates for a commitment to truth seeking and resource sharing.

Friday Phone Call # 57
Podcast

Friday Phone Call # 57

Olga Garay-English

18 April 2014

Listen to weekly podcasts hosted by David Dower as he interviews theater artists from around the country to highlight #newplay bright spots. This week: Olga Garay-English.

Friday Phone Call # 56
Podcast

Friday Phone Call # 56

The Wilhelm Brothers

11 April 2014

Listen to weekly podcasts hosted by David Dower as he interviews theater artists from around the country to highlight #newplay bright spots. This week: The Wilhelm Brothers.

Friday Phone Call # 55
Podcast

Friday Phone Call # 55

Deborah Stein and Suli Holum

4 April 2014

Listen to weekly podcasts hosted by David Dower as he interviews theater artists from around the country to highlight #newplay bright spots. This week: Deborah Stein and Suli Holum. 

Friday Phone Call # 54
Podcast

Friday Phone Call # 54

Deborah Cullinan of Yerba Buena Center for the Arts

28 March 2014

Listen to weekly podcasts hosted by David Dower as he interviews theatre artists from around the country to highlight #newplay bright spots. This week: Deborah Cullinan, Executive Director of Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco.

Friday Phone Call # 53
Podcast

Friday Phone Call # 53

ArtsEmerson's Creative Producers

21 March 2014

Listen to weekly podcasts hosted by David Dower as he interviews theater artists from around the country to highlight #newplay bright spots. This week: ArtsEmerson's Creative Producers.

Interview with David Dower
Essay

Interview with David Dower

17 March 2014

In this installation, Alan Dupont interviews David Dower about his work with ArtsEmerson. 

Friday Phone Call # 52
Podcast

Friday Phone Call # 52

Matthew Glassman & Amrita Ramanan of Double Edge Theatre

14 March 2014

Listen to weekly podcasts hosted by David Dower as he interviews theater artists from around the country to highlight #newplay bright spots. This week: Matthew Glassman and Amrita Ramanan of Double Edge Theatre, located in Ashfield, Massachusetts.

Friday Phone Call # 51
Podcast

Friday Phone Call # 51

Lana Lesley & Kirk Lynn of Rude Mechanicals

7 March 2014

Listen to weekly podcasts hosted by David Dower as he interviews theatre artists from around the country to highlight #newplay bright spots. This week: Lana Lesley and Kirk Lynn of Austin's Rude Mechanicals.

Friday Phone Call # 50
Podcast

Friday Phone Call # 50

Annie-B & Paul Lazar of Big Dance Theater

21 February 2014

My guests are Annie-B Parson and Paul Lazar, the team behind Big Dance Theater, New York. I was interested in hearing them talk about the ideas underpinning their decades of collaboration and how they have maintained a space for themselves in these times and in the blurry, hybrid world their work inhabits. Listen to audio podcasts hosted by David Dower as he interviews theater artists from around the country to highlight #newplay bright spots. Subscribe in Apple iTunes or via RSS Feed.

Several stacks of coins.
Practical Applications of the Culture Coin
Essay

Practical Applications of the Culture Coin

28 May 2013

David Dower examines the Culture Coin, and provides a sneak peek into a world where this new currency replaces cash in the theater industry.

Video
Essay

Video

Culture Coin—Watch, Share, Vote Daily!

23 May 2013

HowlRound presents a video on Culture Coin, a peer-to-peer digital currence and resource sharing economy for all

The H logo for HowlRound.
Modeling a Theatre Commons
Essay

Modeling a Theatre Commons

14 February 2013

P. Carl, David Dower, Jamie Gahlon, and Vijay Mathew define their visions of HowlRound as a not-for-profit theatre commons.

The cover for Outrageous Fortune by Todd London and Ben Penser, which features two dice with tragedy and comedy masks on their sides.
Playwright Residencies
Essay

Playwright Residencies

Success on Whose Terms?

10 January 2013

David Dower traces the landscape for playwright residencies in the American theatre, advocating the need for redefining what success looks like in these programs.

Friday Phone Call # 49
Podcast

Friday Phone Call # 49

Robert Orchard, Executive Director of ArtsEmerson

25 October 2012

Listen to weekly podcasts hosted by David Dower as he interviews theater artists from around the country to highlight #newplay bright spots. This week: Robert Orchard, Executive Director of ArtsEmerson.

Friday Phone Call # 48
Podcast

Friday Phone Call # 48

Quita Sullivan of the National Theater Project, New England Foundation for the Arts

19 October 2012

Listen to weekly podcasts hosted by David Dower as he interviews theater artists from around the country to highlight #newplay bright spots. This week: Quita Sullivan of the National Theater Project, New England Foundation for the Arts.

Portrait of Jocelyn Prince.
Friday Phone Call # 47
Podcast

Friday Phone Call # 47

Jocelyn Prince, Connectivity Director at Woolly Mammoth

12 October 2012

Listen to weekly podcasts hosted by David Dower as he interviews theatre artists from around the country to highlight #newplay bright spots. This week: Jocelyn Prince, Connectivity Director at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company in DC.

Photo of Noah Siegler.
Friday Phone Call # 46
Podcast

Friday Phone Call # 46

Noah Siegler, Artistic Director of StageNorth in Washburn, Wisconsin

5 October 2012

Listen to weekly podcasts hosted by David Dower as he interviews theatre artists from around the country to highlight #newplay bright spots. This week: Noah Seigler, Artistic Director of StageNorth.

Portrait of David Dower.
The Theater of Our Understanding and Enlargement
Essay

The Theater of Our Understanding and Enlargement

17 September 2012

David Dower, the Co- Artistic Director of ArtsEmerson, on the differnece between Art and Entertainment, and the nessisity to create work that includes both.

Friday Phone Call # 45
Podcast

Friday Phone Call # 45

Jeni Mahoney of Seven Devils Playwrights Conference in McCall, Idaho

14 September 2012

Listen to weekly podcasts hosted by David Dower as he interviews theater artists from around the country to highlight #newplay bright spots. This week: Jeni Mahoney of Seven Devils Playwrights Conference.

Friday Phone Call # 44
Podcast

Friday Phone Call # 44

Julianne Brienza of Capital Fringe

30 August 2012

Listen to weekly podcasts hosted by David Dower as he interviews theater artists from around the country to highlight #newplay bright spots. This week: Julianne Brienza of Capital Fringe.

Friday Phone Call # 43
Podcast

Friday Phone Call # 43

Trey Lyford & Geoff Sobelle of rainpan 43

24 August 2012

Listen to weekly podcasts hosted by David Dower as he interviews theater artists from around the country to highlight #newplay bright spots. This week: Geoff Sobelle and Trey Lyford of rainpan 43.

Friday Phone Call # 42
Podcast

Friday Phone Call # 42

Richard Newman of The Hinterlands Ensemble, Detroit

16 August 2012

Listen to weekly podcasts hosted by David Dower as he interviews theater artists from around the country to highlight #newplay bright spots. This week: Richard Newman, co-director of The Hinterland Ensemble.

Friday Phone Call # 41
Podcast

Friday Phone Call # 41

Paula Kerger of PBS

10 August 2012

Listen to weekly podcasts hosted by David Dower as he interviews theater artists from around the country to highlight #newplay bright spots. This week: Paula Kerger of PBS.