Theo Dolan: Film Major Spotlight
Theo Dolan, a senior at Wesleyan University, is a film major and history minor. He is currently working on his senior thesis film “Quack On,” supervised by Professor Simakov. Alongside his film thesis workshop, Theo is enrolled in guitar lessons with Professor Scott, Intro to Time-Based Media, Recent American Fiction, & Scripting Series for the Small Screen.
In Theo’s free time, he can be found poarching (serenading Home Ave with his guitar on the porch), yoyoing, or hanging with Miss Connecticut, pictured below.
Theo has been involved in many projects throughout his Wesleyan career with co-collaborators and housemates, Noah Frato-Sweeny and Ivor Clarke. The three have worked together in comedy and film thesis projects alike.
Ivor Clarke describes his relationship with Theo as mutually playful and productive. The two work on Monkey Business improv club and Wesleyan Tonight together. Ivor is also the director of cinematography and photography on Theo’s thesis film “Quack On.” He described the atmosphere of the set as built upon a mutual bond and trust in each other. Ivor said it was important to Theo that people were having fun, and he attests that everyone on the crew was. Ivor gives a special shoutout to Noah Frato-Sweeny and Ariana Blaustein for being great producers, as well as Bannon Brody for rolling with the punches, keeping things fun, and making sure the film was on track. Ivor hopes to do a little bit of everything in the film — mainly, his passion lies in being in creative partnership with people and helping to communicate a creative vision. (You can find more of Ivor’s work on his website here).
In my discussion with Noah Frato-Sweeny, he said “For much of our Wesleyan experience, Theo and I have been doing short and big projects and then moving on to the next; this is why Theo’s thesis is so special because it’s a year-long project that he needs to do a lot of work on to make it succeed. He’s done a lot of it right so far.” Noah and Theo have partaken in extensive creative partnerships over the past four years, namely with their Money Business improv club, Wesleyan Tonight, their summer internship, and various thesis film projects. Noah is a film major and the producer of Theo’s film thesis. He is also heavily involved in theater on campus, currently as the writer and lead in the Spike Tape production of BONAR! Noah gives a special shoutout to Sara Parmet, without whom Quack On could not have been created.
I went to high school with Theo. It has been an honor and a pleasure to continue our academic journey together at Wesleyan, especially to see how his creative visions have grown and blossomed over the years. Overall, he is a fun guy that likes to do fun things.
Did you come to Wesleyan knowing you wanted to be a film major? Was that part of the plan?
TD: Yeah, that was part of the plan. My interest in a film career started when I was growing up. In one of the first seasons I ever watched of Survivor, someone mentioned being a TV Writer. I didn’t even know that was a job possibility! Then in middle and high school, I started making short movies, like “Venus de Milo” and “Empty House,” with my friend Oscar. (You can watch Theo’s early film explorations here). Those are my most enjoyable memories from high school. That’s why I was like: if I can do this professionally, I might as well try. I wanted to go to a liberal arts school and Wesleyan stuck out to me because of its notable film program.
Has there been a professor or class that confirmed that the film major is the right place for you?
TD: I liked the class I took last semester, Contemporary East Asian Cinema with Professor Dombrowski. The writing classes at Wesleyan are also really strong. It’s nice to be writing and workshopping because I think that’s ultimately what I want to do in film. A notable class for me was Screenwriting with visiting Professor Williams; it allowed me to learn a lot of useful techniques and helped me write my thesis!
Do you have a favorite film screened in one of your classes?
TD: Nobody Knows (Hirokazu Koreeda, 2004) from my Contemporary East Asian Cinema class. The film is about these children surviving and nobody knows if they’re alone. It’s beautiful and tragic. Mustang (Deniz Gamze Ergüven, 2015) and Make Way for Tomorrow (Leo McCarey, 1937) are other great films I was introduced to in my Sophomore Colloquium with Professor Longnecker.
Who is your advisor?
TD: My thesis advisor is Yaya Simakov. We have regular meetings to talk about my thesis work and my script. Richard Parkin is my film major advisor. He taught a class I took called Sight and Sound. That was a crazy class… we learned to shoot on film with those old Bolex cameras you have to wind up; we were also cutting the film and taping it together. I loved the opportunity to do this type of hands-on work.
Were you working with any modern equipment or was it all old shooting devices?
TD: Nope, it was all old. You only get one roll of film, too. So you have to be really careful and really thoughtful with lighting to make sure everything is exposed properly. Using this old equipment really teaches you how to value every shot. It just makes you intentional. With digital, you can just shoot willy-nilly. But you should really always be in the mindset that all of your shots matter.
For those of us who don’t know: What are the Wesleyan film thesis requirements?
TD: As a film major, you’re not required to make a thesis. But if you do, there are many different types of thesis work you can be involved in like a screenwriting thesis, a TV writing thesis, an analytical project (for people who want to do film criticism or academic film work/research), and the option to make a film or shoot on film. I am making a digital film! The first step of this process was applying for approval from the film department. Once approved, the requirements for a digital film state that it has to be under 12 minutes and have a Wesleyan student production crew.
What is the thesis production process like?
TD: The pre-production stuff is the hardest part in my opinion and requires a lot of organization. You need to build your crew, create a shooting schedule, a shot list (including every angle you’re gonna shoot for the whole movie), and a schedule that spells out all the shots you will do on each filming day. Shooting is fit into four days. You need to submit this shooting schedule before you can check out any film equipment. The editing process is massive, as well. This is why everyone is shooting their films now, while they will not be shown until next semester. You have to do sound mixing, color correction, and make sure everything is organized well. Throughout the thesis creation process, you have advisors to help but can pretty much do whatever you want. It’s a lot of self-direction — it's on you to find spaces to shoot, host auditions, etc. and there's not a ton of guidance on that front. The idea that you come up with is really just your idea.
Can you tell us about your thesis? You know, what you can tell about it.
TD: My thesis movie, “Quack-On,” centers on a protagonist who desperately wants to be a singer. While working one day at the arcade, a successful musician comes in. The successful musician needs an opener for her band, so our protagonist sees this as an opportunity to impress her and become the opener. What I was most interested in capturing with this film are the unique challenges that come with being creative. In the beginning, creative pursuits are embarrassing and validation-seeking — You’re putting yourself out there in a vulnerable way.
You are currently in the process of production. You shot last weekend and you’re also shooting this upcoming weekend. How was the first production week?
TD: It went a lot better than I thought. I was honestly so nervous to be a director because I am not the most demanding person. I trust other people to have ideas that could be better than my own. Plus I’m also not good at telling people what to do. That’s what I was thinking, at least. The smoothness of the first production week is a testament to my amazing crew; they just so happen to be a lot of people I’m friends with, which can sometimes go really well and sometimes can be a bit distracting. However, we were ahead every single day, which is crazy and doesn’t normally happen! We were getting great shots and great scenes and everyone was also having loads of fun. There are some issues that obviously came up, like with sound… the arcade is a loud place. But you just deal with them and you move forward. It went a lot smoother than I really ever expected it to go.
How did you go about building the cast and crew?
TD: A lot of my friends who operate within film and comedy spaces at Wesleyan are interested in film creation. So basically I was like, what roles can I fit people into?
Do you think you mostly met people through comedy or film? Or the combination of the two?
TD: I think mostly through comedy. It’s a lot of people in different grades, that I wouldn’t have the chance to meet otherwise. Michael, a junior, is an amazing lighting designer and he’s doing the lighting for “Quack-On.” Charlie (Assistant camera) and Shanti (Script supervisor) are both sophomores whom I met through comedy spaces at Wesleyan.
Can you tell us a bit about the Quack On Instagram? It’s become quite the public spectacle.
TD: Yeah last year, I worked on Oliver Bijur’s thesis film called “The Pledge.” I was the producer, and I also had access to the “The Pledge” Instagram account. At a certain point in filming, I posted a ton of videos of everyone on set. My philosophy is that if you ever have an idea to post something, post it. Who cares? It’s just fun and not a big deal. So when I was thinking about having my own thesis Instagram account, I went into it with the mindset of getting as many followers as we could. Then when we start filming, we post so much that it’s overwhelming and we lose all our followers. That didn’t end up happening… we are actually continuing to gain followers. The Instagram has been a hidden success for me. I’m so grateful for all the support. It promotes the film and makes people want a picture with Quackie, which has been helpful for fundraising. It’s funny to build hype for a movie that will be shown in a string of other movies. (Find the Quack On Instagram here)
Can you tell us about your evolution through the comedy world at Wesleyan?
TD: Another reason why I was drawn to Wes was because of the comedy scene. Luckily for me, two people in my hall freshman year were also interested in improv. So I started doing comedy with them for fun. Second semester of my freshman year, I was inspired to start my own improv club on campus called Monkey Business. I felt like there was a lack of opportunity to do improv on campus; since all groups on campus were audition-based, if you don’t get in, you don’t have the opportunity to do improv. I’m of the mindset that anyone can do improv and anyone can be really good at it. It’s just being honest and true. Sophmore year I took the steps to make Monkey Business an official club open to anybody. Ivor and I started it together, and Noah came in to lead with us. So now it’s us three running it. Monkey Business has been a really big part of my experience in comedy at Wesleyan.
Do you do shows?
TD: No we don’t do shows because that’s not really what it's about. It’s just about practicing and having fun with it. We do shows for ourselves. It's Monday nights.
Are you involved in any other comedy on campus?
TD: I am also involved in New Teen Force. I’ve been doing it since sophomore year. They’re an audition-based improv group that’s been around since 1999. We do shows, generally once a month. I also joined Awkward Silence at the end of my sophomore year. It is an open standup comedy group, which I now run as a senior.
Wesleyan Tonight is another comedy group I’m involved with on campus. It started my sophomore year as a John Oliver-type show that was Bell Brown’s environmental capstone. A group of very talented students kept it going with digital sketches and Wes news. Those are my comedy ventures on campus. All of the things that I am doing are so much fun! I’m overwhelmed in the best way possible, running from one fun thing to the next.
What other work are you involved in outside of Wesleyan Comedy?
TD: I used to run the Theo Dolan show that aired on the Wesleyan radio. The Theo Dolan show was kind of like the Eric Andre show, where I interviewed people and made them uncomfortable. A lot of the episodes are on Spotify, (which you can access here). I don’t run it anymore, but I am on the board of the Wesleyan radio station.
This summer I was also involved in an internship with Noah Frato-Sweeny. We got a grant from the University Gordon Career Center and shared it, allowing us the resources to ‘go after our own careers.’ For this project, we made a comedy TikTok or Instagram reel every day (You can find Theo and Noah’s daily social media videos here). We also spent the summer working on an hour-long show that we had in NY. It included three sketches, 10 mins of improv, stand-up sets, and three songs. It’s always fulfilling when you put a lot of work into something and it pays off. (Watch Theo and Noah’s summer internship comedy show here.)
Do you have any idea what you want to do after Wesleyan?
TD: I want to write for sure. I think that the most approachable way for me to get into film is by working in a writer's room. I think it's also the most rewarding — to see something that you’ve written appear on the screen. I’m having so much fun directing that any opportunity to be on set would be great, too. However, I think the path that I see myself going forward with is writing.
Any advice for film majors?
TD: For film majors working on a thesis — when you work on a set where people are having fun, that reads through in the movie. That is one of my main goals on set. If you’re not having fun, what’s the point?
