David Bell

David H. Bell (Director) is a professor and Director of the Music Theatre Certificate program, and Artistic Director of the American Music Theatre Project at Northwestern University. David has worked all over the world as a director, choreographer and author. His work has received 43 Joseph Jefferson Award nominations, for which he has won 11; the Dramalogue Award (L.A.); the Helen Hayes Award (Washington, D.C.); five Carbonall Award nominations (Florida); a Laurence Olivier Award Nomination (London); seven Atlanta Journal and Constitution Awards; the Atlanta Circle of Dramatic Critics Award; and three National Endowment writing grants.

He has served as Artistic Director for the historic Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C., and as Associate Artistic Director for Atlanta’s Tony Award-winning Alliance Theatre. He has had more than 40 new plays and musicals produced internationally, including the Laurence Olivier-nominated musical HOT MIKADO. He has collaborated on world premiere musicals with Craig Carnelia, Cy Coleman, Russell Baker, Jimmy Buffett, Herman Wouk, David Crane and Marta Kauffman, Bob Gaudio, Henry Marsh, Barry Mason, Jim Stafford, Eddie Seago and Mike Leander, among many others. He directed and coauthored KNUTE ROCKNE: ALL-AMERICAN at The Theatre at the Center, and his adaptation of THE BOYS FROM SYRACUSE played at the Drury Lane Oakbrook for which he was nominated for 3 Jefferson awards. He recently directed his musical THE BOWERY BOYS at the Marriott Theatre in Lincolnshire, and directed and choreographed ONCE ON THIS ISLAND at Marriott and HOT MIKADO at Drury Lane. For the Northwestern University’s Theatre & Interpretation Center David has directed the last three Waa-Mu shows, FLYING HOME, OFF THE MAP and WHAT’S NEXT? and A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM.

In summer 2011 David directed his own FANNY BRICE musical at Florida’s Asolo Rep Theatre; wrote a program of musicals to accompany the AIDS MEMORIAL QUILT to Washington D.C.; directed HAMLET at Notre Dame Shakespeare Festival and a World Premiere of HERO at the Marriott Theatre (currently optioned for Broadway), with a second production planned for 2014 at Asolo Rep; and wrote THE FORTY RULES OF LOVE in Istanbul with Turkish rock stars Sertab Erener and Demir Demirkan. In July 2013 David opened SHAKIN’ THE RAFTERS for Kenny Leon’s TRUE COLORS THEATRE in Atlanta; directed Comedy of Errors for Chicago Shakespeare Theatre and 9 to 5 for the Marriott Lincolnshire.

David Bell recommends the work of Turkish novelist Elif Shafak and Turkish pop musicians Sertab Erener and Demir Demirkan.