David McQuillen Robertson, originally from Champaign Illinois, attended Illinois State University for Theatre, and now resides in NYC.
Theatre has taken David around the country. He worked early in his career in the Space Coast of Florida, before moving to New York. From there shows have taken him back to the mid west, across the country to Florida and all around the Tri-State Area.
While in New York David worked as the Head of Design for Sleep No More, and Life and Trust. There he oversaw a team of artisans and carpenters maintaining the shows and advancing the ever growing designs. His time with the company culminated in David’s designing a portion of SNM’s final Apparitions Party.
Throughout David’s career Educational Theatre has always been important to him. While in Florida he worked at multiple area high schools, and was a part of running a summer theatre program. There he designed shows and worked with students to build and run them. In NYC David has continued to work with schools in NJ, and back home in Illinois.
REVIEWS
Newsies
Speaking of the set design, I love what David McQuillen Robertson did with this production to keep true to the original Broadway show. We still retain much of the magic of the scaffolding look while also bringing a new flare to that design. While there have been a few regional productions mounted of NEWSIES, very few have been able to take what was on Broadway and bring it to the regional stage as David does at La Mirada Performing Arts Center.
-Cody Rodriguez, codyrodriguez.com
Hedda (Gabler)
When it came to the visual of the world of the play, both scenic designer David McQuillen Robertson and costume designer Jason Frey gave a subtle modern flair to their respective design.
-Michael Block, Theatre in the Now
David McQuillen Robertson’s scenic and lighting design very nicely signifies expensive taste without having to display it, in a non-representational set that evokes stuffy propriety in black and red.
-Julia Polinsky, theatrescene.com
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
And those chills will get goosebumps from David Robertson’s big bold scenic design, complete with enormous stained glass window and an array of enormous bells hanging from wood scaffolding…and all that baptized by Joshua Huss’s gorgeous, evocative lighting design.
-Pam Harbaugh, Brevard Culture
From the time I entered the theatre until the houselights came up after bows, David McQuillen Robertson's scenic design commanded attention. The positioning and sizing of the bells, the impressive presence of the Notre Dame stained glass, and the usefulness of his tiered set are inspired.
-Kristy Johnson, Broadway World
Ain’t Misbehavin’
“Lighting and scenic designer David McQuillen Robertson has created the best sets this reviewer has ever seen at the Henegar. A bar, a table and a few chairs, a small stage where a torch singer might have performed, establish the rich atmosphere of the era. Molding carves into the wooden walls. A tin ceiling hangs above. It all is moody and evocative and so appealing.”
-Pam Harbaugh, Brevard Culture
Follies
“David M. Robertson’s scenic design is oh-so-smart and artistic. With a few elegant painterly gestures, he creates a drab, run down theater which, at the flip of a counterweight, turns into a vivid, lively venue.”
