Curriculum Vitae of
Brother Augustine Denis Towey, C.M.

Niagara University
Department of Theatre & Fine Arts
Niagara University, New York 14109
(716) 286-8481 or 286-8133

At present, Br Augustine serves as Professor of Theatre Studies, Niagara University; Director, The University Theatre, Niagara University; and Director, Artpark Repertory Theatre, Artpark, Lewiston, New York.

Directing | Theatre Administration | Board Memberships and Other Service
Honorary Inclusions | Selected Writings/Publications | University Committees and Service
Professional Associations and Unions | Honors | Performance | Teaching

Directing experiences include:

  • Port Washington Towndock Theatre:
    • John Ferguson, 1958
    • Catch a Fallen Star (original), 1959
    • The Diary of Anne Frank, 1959

  • St. John's University:
    • The Blessed Trees (original), 1958
    • The Mission from Folleville (original), 1960

  • Niagara University, New York (1964 to present):
    Death of a Salesman; The Diary of Anne Frank; Ashgrove; The Living Room; Mr. Biggs; The Fantasticks; The Dumb Waiter; The Three Maries; The American Dream; The Dwarfs; Saint Joan; Waiting for Godot; A Streetcar Named Desire; Twelfth Night; The Caretaker; A Man for All Seasons; Macbeth; Mame; West Side Story; The Tempest; Our Town; Dames at Sea; Lovers Sacred and Profane; Fiddler on the Roof; The Glass Menagerie; The Merchant of Venice; Arsenic and Old Lace; That Championship Season; Cabaret; Old Times; You Can't Take it With You; Watch on the Rhine; The Wizard of Oz; Cat on a Hot Tin Roof; An Evening of American Ladies; The Death and Life of Sneaky Fitch; Foolsgold; Godspell; Ah! Wilderness; King Lear; You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown; Peter Pan; The Chalk Garden; The Rose Tatoo; A Midsummer Night's Dream; The Little Prince; Endgame; Story Theatre; The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie; Equus; Man of La Mancha; Pippin; Murder in the Cathedral; The Elephant Man; The Most Happy Fella; Amahl and the Night Visitors; Hamlet; Taming of the Shrew; Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat; The Cradle Song; Babes in Arms; Nightingale; Barefoot in the Park; My Fair Lady; I and Albert (North American Premiere); Mass Appeal; Snoopy; Zorba; I Remember Mama; Sweeney Todd; Rags; Cabaret; Oklahoma; Brighton Beach Memoirs; Broadway Babies; Follies; A Tale of Two Cities; Charlotte's Web; The Playboy of the Western World; The Crucible; Company; Carnival; Little Women; Broadway Babies, II; Picnic; Nunsense II; With Kander From Ebb; Sweet Bird of Youth; Saint Joan; Pajama Game; Olympus On My Mind, The Secret Garden.

  • P.B.S. Television:
    • The Soldier's Story (Stravinsky), with Buffalo Philharmonic, 1972.

  • Artpark, Lewiston, New York:
    • Artpark Repertory Theatre, 1975 to present
    • The Fantasticks, 1975
    • Godspell, 1980
    • Jesus Christ Superstar, 1982
    • The Soldier's Story (Stravinsky), 1982
    • Carousel, 1983
    • Brigadoon, 1984
    • Oliver, 1985
    • Teddy and Alice, 1990
    • Gift of the Magi, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995
    • Funny Girl, 1991
    • Dames at Sea, 1992
    • West Side Story, 1992
    • Damn Yankees, 1993
    • Some Enchanted Evening, 1993
    • Brighton Beach Memoirs, 1994
    • Phantom, 1994
    • I Do! I Do!, 1994
    • The Most Happy Fella, 1995
    • Broadway Bound, 1995
    • Guys and Dolls, 1996
    • Always ... Patsy Cline, 1997

  • Opera Sacra: (Buffalo)
    • The Beggars' Christmas (workshop), 1987
    • The Beggars' Christmas, (world premiere) 1989

  • Irish Classical Theatre (Buffalo)

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Theatre Administration experiences include:

  • Founder and Chairman, Festival of the Arts, Niagara University, 1964 to 1971.
  • Director, Theatre Studies Program, 1973 to 1990, Niagara University
  • Director, The University Players, Niagara University 1964 to present
  • Director, The University Theatre, Niagara University 1973 to present

Board Memberships and Other Service:

  • Adviser, New York State Council on the Arts, 1966/68
  • Adjudicator - Western Ontario Drama Festival, 1971
  • Auditor, New York State Council on the Arts, 1976/77
  • Treasurer, New York State Performing Arts Association, 1972/75
  • Executive Board, Niagara Frontier Performing Arts Association, 1972/76
  • Board Member, Niagara Falls Philharmonic, 1975/76
  • Board Member, Artpark and Company, 1976/77
  • Consultant, Artpark, 1975-1985; 1989 to the present
  • Theatre program development and implementation,
  • Buffalo School System, 1985 to the present
  • Director, "Touch," Lewiston Porter Central School System
  • Child Sexual Abuse Prevention Program, 1990; 1991
  • Director, "No Easy Answers," Lewiston Porter Central School System
  • Child Sexual Abuse Prevention Program, 1991.
  • Advisory Board, Television Productions, Diocese of Buffalo, 1991 - 1993.
  • Member, Niagara Council of the Arts Board, 1993.
  • Member, Board of Trustees, St John's University, 1992 to the present.

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Honorary Inclusions:

  • International Who's Who in Poetry (London), 1971 to the present
  • The Dictionary of International Biography (London), 1975 to the present
  • Who's Who in Entertainment, 1989 to the present
Selected Writings/Publication:
  • General:
    • Form and Content in Selected Plays of Harold Pinter, New York University, Ph.D. dissertation, 1973
    • "The Arts and Higher Education in New York State," The New York State Commission on Cultural Resources, 1972
    • "A Dream of DelMonte," in Actors by Actors, Vol. II, Catherine Gaffigan, ed., New York: Excaliber Press, 1993
    • "Raphael," in Actors by Actors, vol. III, Catherine Gaffigan, ed., New York: Excaliber Press, 1995
  • Plays:
    • And in the Morning, 1956
    • The Blessed Trees, 1958
    • The Mission from Folleville, 1960
    • Exit, Pursued by a Bear, 1960
    • Ashgrove, 1963
    • Foolsgold, 1976
    • The Little Prince [music by Frederick Loewe, lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner], 1979
    • The Common Room, 1982
    • Vincent in Heaven, 1988
    • Broadway Babies, 1989
    • The Beggars' Christmas [Opera libretto, music by Richard Proulx], 1987
    • Memento Mori, 1990
    • Broadway Babies II, 1993
    • With Burning Hearts, 1995
    • Broadway Babies III, 1996
  • Television:
    • N.B.C. Television Network: The Guardian, (Doris Ann, Executive Producer), 1978.
    • The Maudelene Company: The Anniversary (Television), 1992.

  • Poetry (Selected):
    • Waiting for Snow in Lewiston, Edwin Mellen Press: Lewiston, New York, 1990
    • The Things of Man, Edwin Mellen Press: Lewiston, New York, 1991
    • Silences, Edwin Mellen Press: Lewiston, New York, 1996
    • "August 22, 1990" The Buffalo News, Buffalo, New York, October 7, 1990
    • "First Snow with Orange," Niagara Gazette, Niagara Falls, New York, December 25, 1983
    • "Ten Rhymes," Poetry, The Buffalo News, Buffalo, New York, May 4, 1980
    • "Christmas Letters," Sunday, The Buffalo Courier-Express, Buffalo, New York, December 14, 1980
    • "Marriage," The Aquila, Niagara University, New York (no date), 1970

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University Committees and Service (Selected):

  • The Niagara Index, Moderator (1965 - 1969)
  • The Festival of Arts, Chairman (1964 - 1971)
  • The Aquila, Adviser (1966 - 1972)
  • Consultant and writer, Nursing Program Curriculum Revision (1973 - 1974)
  • Co-chairman, Image and Reputation Committee, Strategic Planning (1982 - 1985)
  • Sabbatical Review Committee (1987 to 1994)
  • Promotion and Tenure Review Committee (1988-1989; 1990 to 1992)
  • Niagara University Research Council (1992)
  • Niagara University Research Council (1996)

Professional Associations and Unions:

Honors:

  • D.F.A., St. John's University, Jamaica, New York, 1989
  • Medal of Honor, Niagara University, New York, 1989
  • Faculty Service Award, College of Arts and Sciences,
  • Niagara University, New York, 1989
  • Citizen of the Year, Buffalo News, 1991
  • Chair Dedication, Artpark, 1994
  • Career Achievement Award, Art Voice, 1997

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Performance (Selected):

  • The Barber, Man of LaMancha, 1975
  • Frosh, Die Fledermaus, 1981
  • Ambrosio, The Barber of Seville, 1980
  • Narrator, "A Lincoln Portrait," (Copland), Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, Christopher Keene, conductor, 1988
  • Reader, New York State Council of the Arts, Poets and Writers Series, 1975-1985
  • Narrator, "A Lincoln Portrait," (Copland), Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, Arie Lipsky, Conductor, 1991
  • Reader, "Waiting for Snow in Lewiston: An Evening of Poetry." The poet reads selections from his three volumes, joined by actors Vincent O'Neill and Josephine Hogan. Music by Pat Shaughnessy, 1997.
Education:
  • B.A. (English and Philosophy) St. John's University, New York 1958
  • M.A. (Dramatic Literature) St. John'sUniversity, New York 1960
  • Certificate (Elizabethan Drama) University of Birmingham, England 1960
  • Ph.D. (Theatre) New York University 1973
Scholarships and Grants:
  • Experiment in International Living, France, summer 1958
  • Teaching Fellowship, St. John's University, 1958 - 1960
  • Scholarship, Reader's Digest Foundation, England, 1960
  • Rotary Foundation Fellow, England, 1969
  • Niagara University Research Grant, England, 1970
  • Niagara University Research Grant, 1985
  • National Endowment for the Arts, 1986
  • Niagara University Research Grant, 1988
  • Niagara University Research Grant, 1991
  • Niagara University Research Grant, 1993
  • Niagara University Research Grant, 1996

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Teaching:

  • 1958-1961: St. John's University, New York (Teaching Assistant; Instructor)
  • 1964-present: Niagara University, New York (Professor)

Students on the Web:

home page | poem page

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