David Longest has directed more than 120 theatre productions during the past 25 years ranging from university, dinner theatre, and touring children's dramas to community and educational theatre. His first play, American Dreamers, won a distinguished Lilly Endowment award for creative teaching excellence. He has received numerous arts and education awards including two outstanding teaching awards during his 20-year high-school theatre tenure. Longest is currently director of theatre at New Albany High School in New Albany, Ind., where his students have been selected to appear as evening mainstage performers at the prestigious International Thespian Festival three times during the past six years. He is a member of the Educational Theatre Association, the International Thespian Society, the Southeast Regional Theatre Conference, the American Alliance for Theatre and Education, the Dramatists Guild of New York and Theatre Communications Group. Longest is also the published author of five books devoted to antiques and collecting, and he has worked as a national columnist and reporter for many publications relating to that field. He holds both a bachelor's and a master's degree from Indiana University.
