"... led by a true visionary, an inventive director who understands timing and story, and who gets the best out of his performers: Nathaniel Niemi. From start to finish, this is one gorgeous, and gorgeously paced, production."
- Peter Nason, Broadway World
"Infused with characters new and old, the play also features a bevy of memorable, robust, and well polished songs (written by Niemi) that elevates the show’s production quality greatly."
-Hitting the Stage
"It’s a highly polished production all the way around, in fact. Director Nathaniel Niemi gets fine character work from his leading men." -Matt Palm, Orlando Sentinel
"... the blown-up, cartoon-like quality in which the story is told is something fresh and unique." - Kristen Fiore, The Villages Daily Sun
"This class helped me to become a better listener, ask the kinds of questions that would help another tell their stories, and also delve into my own life so as to discover experiences that would serve as connections with others. While the class curriculum is excellent, it was Nathaniel – his understanding of and empathy towards his students- that made this such an extraordinary learning opportunity." -Student
Artistic Statement
My primary focus is directing ensemble-based work, puppetry, clown and physical theatre, TYA, musical theatre, new work, and reinventing standards with dynamic choices that support resonance in the present moment. I love stories that are complex, that leave room for the audience’s imagination and emotional intelligence. I love “impossible” stage directions. I believe that theatre should be collaboratively rooted in the community it serves, that the work should promote diversity and inclusion, and that the pursuit of artistic excellence demands risk.
Bio
Nathaniel Niemi is a director, educator, devisor, and clown. He is currently the Education Associate at Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park. Nathaniel was previously the Resident Director at The Studio Theatre Tierra Del Sol and Education Director for the Sharon L. Morse Performing Arts Center. Studio directing credits include: Cabaret, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, La Cage Aux Folles, These Shining Lives, The Cake, Urinetown, It's Only Life, Company, Now. Here. This., Neighbors: A Fair Trade Agreement, Assassins, 9-5, Ada and the Engine and Elegies: A Song Cycle. Nathaniel holds a BA in Theatre from East Texas Baptist University and an MFA in Theatre for Young Audiences (Directing) from the University of Hawaii at Mānoa. In Hawaii, Nathaniel was an Artistic Associate of Honolulu Theatre For Youth (HTY) directing Pinocchio, Extraordinary Stories of an Ordinary Ohana, You and Me and the Space Between and the tour of H2O: The Story of Water and Hawaii. Other directing projects include The Cat in the Hat, The Thin Man on the Ladder, A Murder of Crows, Anne of Green Gables, and Rose and the Rime. As an actor, Nathaniel has appeared onstage with many companies in Hawaii and Chicago, and on Hawaii 5-O. Nathaniel is the recipient of the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival's National Directing Award and is an associate member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society.