My name is David Coonan. I'm a teacher and theatre artist from New York. Here's a little bit about me:

• I teach theatre and English, direct school plays, and run a drama club. I'm lucky to work in a place that embraces and encourages all kinds of artistic expression. Theatre is my chosen path.

• I started and run a theatre company. I've been doing it for over 10 years. The projects we do are, for the most part, not typical community theatre stuff, and I'm proud of that. Check us out here: Malverne Community Theatre

• I was named the 2022 Person of the Year by the Malverne Herald newspaper. 

• I worked as a theatre teaching artist in NYC. This was incredibly rewarding work and I enjoyed every moment of it. I taught playwriting and, eventually, production (to bring those new plays to life). 

• I've directed college productions and have run college workshops. 

• I've also created several outlets for young people to express themselves artistically (both in and out of school).

• I've consulted on, coached, edited, and facilitated a variety of theatrical projects.

• I really enjoy lighting design. I actually won an award for it (here is my acceptance speech).  I consider the stage a canvas and the lights my paint. I always infuse my directorial vision with what I want the lights to do. 

• I run an improv group. We're called MPROV. 

• I'm a co-creator of something called "Mike & Dave's Garage Theatre" with a guy named - you guessed it - Mike. It's a theatre project that we hope will educate and inspire people to look at how unique theatre is as an art form, and how important it is to humanity.

• I like books. Old books, new books, valuable books, cheap books. I have a growing library of theatre books. 

• I'm a member of The Players, a private club in NYC founded by actor Edwin Booth. 

• This is just an overview - if you have a question about anything mentioned above, or anywhere else on the site, just ask.