David S. Jewett '08

He’s been called director, actor, and producer, but those in the theater community know him best as technician, carpenter, set builder and light designer. Basically, if you need a free-standing, removable 15x4 plank of wood on the set of your play, David S. Jewett ’08—one of this year’s recipients of the Louise Donovan Award—is the person to call.

A Minneapolis native, Jewett has always had an interest in theater but only got involved in set construction after coming to Harvard. “I went to acting camp as a kid, but when I came here I knew I wanted to build sets, and they were more than happy to get me into it… and since then everyone I’ve worked with has been great.”

Having been involved in more than 25 productions, Jewett quickly got involved in Harvard’s small, tight-knit community of tech and light design people during his freshman year. As a freshman he was active in 11 different plays, including the Freshman Musical, which he produced. Despite an impressive track record, Jewett’s not in it for all the fame and glory that normally comes with set carpentry.

“I’ve been pretty subdued when it comes to gathering credit for what I’ve done,” he says. “I enjoy what I do and that’s why I’ve been doing it, because it’s really fun. There’s something really fulfilling to me about the fact that even if you’re producing, sometimes even the cast doesn’t necessarily know who you are, but at the end of the day you still had a part in making it happen.”

Though he has done work for just about every theater group on campus, Jewett is most involved with the Harvard-Radcliffe Gilbert & Sullivan Players, and serves as treasurer on their board. He’s been involved in all eight Gilbert & Sullivan productions since his freshman year, acting in two and directing their most recent show, “Patience.”

Being a part of the Gilbert & Sullivan shows, which sell more tickets in the fall semester than any other production, is an honor for Jewett, but he’s had great experiences at just about every Harvard theater venue.

He points to set designing and light ‘opping’ at the Currier fishbowl for a play called “Peanut Butter and Juliet,” written by Michael Mitnick ’06, as one of his best experiences. But he doesn’t really have any single favorite production or memory from all the time he’s spent doing theater work.

“When I sat down at the Louise Donovan awards I couldn’t pick a specific memory but all the memories from all the shows started coming back to me and I started to realize, sometimes as a technician you kind of forget how much fun you’re having.” Jewett was one of two seniors honored with the Louise Donovan Award, awarded every year for outstanding work behind the scenes in the arts.

If he had to pick a defining moment in his tech career though, Jewett would point to a particularly challenging piece of woodwork from a play he did freshman year.

“We had to move these 14-foot-by-six-foot wagons that were suspended so that they didn’t touch the ground across the stage in only a few seconds. That was kind of tough.”

Jewett is an Earth and Planetary Sciences concentrator who grew up sailing and particularly likes the fact that Boston has so much water. The Winthrop House resident also serves as treasurer on the Winthrop House Committee. Outside of theater and house life, Jewett plays trumpet in the marching band. Not surprisingly, he also lends a hand on their prop crew.

––Ross S. Weinstein