Allan Nicholls

Filmmaker Allan Nicholls has joined the faculty of the Burlington College Film School as the Director of Film and Video Production. Nicholls has had a long and varied career in film, stage and music.

After extensive touring with his successful rock band, JB and the Playboys, Nicholls began a career on the Broadway stage, where he was part of the earliest casts of the hit rock musicals Hair and Jesus Christ, Superstar. His talents drew the attention of acclaimed Director Robert Altman, resulting in an association that spanned thirty-three years and included work both in front of and behind the camera. He has won many notable awards including an Emmy for his work on Robert Altman’s Tanner 88, and a Gold Record for his work on the soundtrack of Ready to Wear.

Over the years, Nicholls has worked with such acclaimed film directors as George Roy Hill, Tim Robbins, John Madden, and Philip Noyce, and alongside such actors as Paul Newman, Robin Williams, Susan Sarandon, Kris Kristofferson, Keith Carradine, Geraldine Chaplin, Shelley Duvall, and many more of the leading actors in film and television.

The feature films in which Nicholls participated as producer, assistant director, production manager, writer, composer and actor include such internationally-acclaimed and academy award-winning films as Nashville, Slap Shot, Popeye, Dead Man Walking, the Player, and Cradle Will Rock.

Nicholls has also worked as an Associate Producer of Saturday Night Live, spending three seasons with the legendary show. Most recently, after relocating to Vermont with his family, he worked at JDK Design as the Senior Broadcast Producer responsible for the company’s extensive video projects.

“I have spent a good part of my career in film and television,” said Nicholls, who has lectured at various academic institutions throughout the country when not working on a film project. “I have always enjoyed talking and telling tales – that’s what I do when I am not writing them down – and film is a great way to tell stories. The opportunity to impart some of my 30+ years of experience upon some willing and open minded students of film is the most rewarding offer that I have had in years.”

Jane O’Meara Sanders, President of Burlington College, who met Nicholls when he was working on a film in Vermont with Robert Greenwald, expressed strong support for his faculty appointment. “We are delighted to have Allan join our community,” said Sanders. “His expertise in film, writing, music production and producing is a great asset to our growing Cinema Studies and Film Production Program and further solidifies our position as the premier film school in New England.”

Nicholls explains that his “emphasis on learning by doing is one of my mantras. You cannot teach ‘art.’ You can inform and expose the student to the history, the basis, the technique, the vocabulary and give them the tools to proceed. Then they must make it art.” The faculty/college synergy is evident in the Sanders statement that “Burlington College is a unique learning institution which embraces experiential learning and fully recognizes the importance of the student contribution.”