David Alford (writer of Smoke and Spirit) is a native of Adams, Tennessee. He attended Austin Peay State University and the Juilliard School for Drama. He was awarded a Fox Fellowship for the foundation of Mockingbird Theatre in Nashville, where he served as Artistic Director from 1994-2004. From 2004-2007 he served as Executive Artistic Director of Tennessee Repertory Theatre (now Nashville Rep), and in 2008 became the Rep’s first Artist-in-Residence.
One of David’s greatest passions is creating theatre pieces about the places he has called home. Besides Spirit and Smoke, he created the documentary theatre piece Boycott: Pulaski, Tennessee And The Legacy Of The Ku Klux Klan. His play Ghostlight was named Best Original Play by The Nashville Scene (2004). He edited a collection of his father Rev. Ben Alford’s writing, The Dance Of The Holy Nobodies for Martin Methodist College press. Most recently he co-authored The Morning After Drama School: A DIY Guide To The Acting Business for Kendall Hunt Publishing (with Brian Horner). Screenwriting credits include On Music Row (MTV Networks),and the independent releases Prisoner, Adrenaline, and Deadbox.
Best known for his acting work, David appeared as Bucky Dawes in the television series Nashville for the show’s six seasons. Other screen credits include The Blacklist (NBC), The Last Castle (Dreamworks), A Death in the Family (PBS/Masterpiece Theatre), Stoker (Warner Bros.), and the web series Local Air. Recent stage credits include Marshall in the Tony-nominated Broadway revival of Little Foxes, Billy in Long Lost (Illinois Theatre), and the title role in The Columnist (Nashville Rep). His one-man performance of Truman Capote’s A Christmas Memory was a holiday staple for Nashville audiences for over a decade.
Besides directing the original productions of Spirit and Smoke for CSI, he has directed for Tennessee Rep, The Arkansas Shakespeare Festival, The Nashville Shakespeare Festival, and others. Also a teacher, in 2011 he completed the design and implementation of a first-ever Dramatic Arts Major at Martin Methodist College. He and his wife Kahle now split their time living and working in Nashville and New York City.