Five Questions for David A. Miller, Director

David A. Miller is a theatre & dance division faculty member and Director of The Nosemaker's Apprentice. We asked him five questions.

King Duncan received Macbeth and Banquo
in Macbeth, directed by David A. Miller, Fall 2014

What first interested you in directing?
I believe that I began my theatre experience in Cub Scouts. We would do skits for the Pack Meetings and on camping trips. I have a vague memory of wanting to rehearse the skits more than the other scouts. I knew that we could get more out of the comedy… I was trained first as an actor, but by the end of undergrad I began to shift my focus to directing.

What do you find interesting about The Nosemaker's Apprentice? 
This play is fantastically ridiculous. As the playwrights guided us, it is a great chance to be shameless. As long as we are grounded in some sort of emotional truth we get to take things as far as we can. I love that freedom. And I love this style of comedy—the mix of highbrow and lowbrow, the mix of family friendly and far-from-family friendly humor.

Where have you found your inspiration for directing The Nosemaker’s Apprentice?
My love of Monty Python’s Quest for the Holy Grail, the Naked Gun series, Princess Bride and other comic sources have been great guides and inspiration. I always do a lot of research and the visual images that I find are pretty important in my understanding of the play and to how I share my understanding of the play with designers in early meetings. Several quotes from the play have been driving forces as well, including “You never know what horrors may be revealed to you when the masks be lifted and bandages unfurled.” and “…they lived short, brutish lives filled with magic and wonder.”

Who is an artist you admire? Why?
There are many artists I admire, that’s for sure. The visual artist Anselm Kiefer is one who springs to mind. The work that he does is socially conscious and visually impactful. I love the work of actor Mark Rylance. The way that he really lives on stage is phenomenal. I admire director Arin Arbus for the clarity and heart that she brings to her productions of Shakespeare’s plays.

If you were a fruit or vegetable, what would you be?
I would like to be a star fruit. There’s something so unique about it. I don’t know that I would be a star fruit, but I aspire to be a star fruit.

David A. Miller is a director, playwright and educator in his third year of teaching for the division of theatre and dance at Bloomburg University. He is a resident director for Amphibian Stage Productions in Fort Worth, TX (where he directed The Nosemaker’s Apprentice this past summer) and is the former founding artistic director of The Artful Conspirators in Brooklyn, NY. David is also a big fan of visual art and loves spending time in museums and galleries.