David Wheeler
Professor, Design/Technical Faculty
Technical Director
David has been teaching in Radford University’s Department of Theatre and Cinema since 1998. Previously, he was a professor for the Department of Communication and Theatre at Vanderbilt University. David studied Theatre at Lynchburg College and later received his MFA in 1992 from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale with a concentration in Lighting Design and Technical Direction. At RU, David teaches Introduction to Lighting and Sound and contributes to the Theatrical Design class sequence. Professionally, David has designed Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day for Mill Mountain Theatre and as a Guest Artist, Othello, at Marshall University. Other favorite designs include those for The Voice of the Prairie, Liza and the Riddling Cave, Pippin, A Doll’s House and The Lion in Winter.
Beyond his scope as technical director he also mentors student designers, supervises student stage managers and serves as production manager for most RU productions. Outside the university he is actively involved in the United States Institute for Theatre Technology (USITT) and Southeastern Theatre Conference. He has served on the USITT National Conference Committee for 12 years and is currently the Chair of the USITT-Southeast Section. David enjoys life in the New River Valley with his wife, Kelli, daughter Natalie and son Patrick.