Nick as a Creative
Nick is a Director and Choreographer who specializes in bringing musical productions to life.
His fresh take on the stories he guides has garnered him regional recognition and acclaim in the Pittsburgh arts community.
As a director and choreographer, Nick guides actors and dancers through organic discovery in the rehearsal room allowing performers to make choices that are in alignment with the overall storytelling of the piece. Instead of demanding specific movements and line readings, Nick creates and leads a community amongst his casts that allows for moment-to-moment choices to be made in adjustment with the needs of all participants in the piece. He feels that this allows for questions to be asked and conversations to take place regarding the point of view of all performers, allowing for all members of the cast to know exactly what role they play in the stroytelling of the piece.
As a collaborator, Nick belives in creating and leading an environment where all individuals he collaborates with have an amilpified voice at the table. Nick believes in a "text-first" approach. Any decisions made about creation or design of a production Nick is helming references the text as the "rule book". Bringing playwrights', composers', and lyricists' works to life in new ways is one of Nick's true passions. He values their work and handles it with deep care and appreciation. He encourages his teams and casts to do the same. It is a true honor to bring someone else's work to life on stage.
Nick's artistic leadership recently lead two casts to The Gene Kelly Awards for Excellence in High School Musical Theatre. His cast of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee ('22) at Westinghosue Arts Academy won 6 Gene Kelly Awards including Best Musical. A year Later, his cast of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat ('23) at Westinghouse Arts Academy took home 5 Gene Kelly Awards including Best Musical. Although the Gene Kelly Awards are a competition, Nick appreciates the GKA's for the opportunities they offer student participants and the value they give to musical theatre performance and education in the Pittsburgh region. The awards are lovely, but the opportunities the Gene Kellys provide far outweigh the physical award.
Below are some of Nick's most recent works as a theatre creative.
Click on the image or the show title to be brought to the project's individual gallery.
