Mel Nieves
.
  • Home
  • Actor
  • Playwright
  • LAByrinth Theatre Company
  • Actor's Reel
  • Theatrical Photos
  • Film & Television
  • Acting Resume
  • Playwriting-Screenplay Resume
  • Play & Screenplay Synopsis
  • Arts Educator
  • Awards & Recognitions
  • Education/Training
  • Current Comings & Goings
  • Publications
  • Contact

​

Picture
The word theatre comes from the Greeks. It means the seeing place. It is the place people come to see the truth about life and the social  situation.
Stella Adler

Picture
                                                                                       The Traci Reyes Syndrome
                                          LAByrinth Theater Company Barn Series at 59e59 Theaters
Picture

Picture
                                                                LITCouncil in association with The Tank.
                                                                                       Race Uncut 
                                                         .
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
                                                     TGIF Can't Get Here Soon Enough                                                                                    Westcoast premiere 2021 Latinx Playwrights Workshop Festival
Picture
                                                  LITCouncil in association with The Tank.
                                          Title: Race Uncut - Caged written by Mel Nieves
                                                         Directed by Rebecca Martinez
​                                                         Date: Sat June 19th, 2021 7pm


Picture
                  Lester Collins Takes Five - Downtown Urban Arts Festival 2020
Picture
                                           LITCouncil Men of Color Playwright's Residency
Picture
                               LITCouncil Men of Color Playwright's Residency 2019-2020

Picture
"Full Moon Inside a Red Sky" presented as part of BrooklynOne productions New Works Reading series at Dimensions On Stage, directed by Michael Lo Porto, 2013, NYC

Picture
*In Da Boogie Down presented as part of Urban Theater Company"s R.A.W. (Real. Aggressive. Writing) Series at Chicago's Batey Urbano, 2013

*2012 Metlife Foundation "Nuestra Voces" Playwrighting finalist nominee

Picture
*Midnight Mass presented as part of The Breath of Fire Latina Theatre Ensemble's First annual New Works Festival,
Santa Ana California 2008

*2006 - Metlife Foundation "Nuestra Voces" National Playwrights' Competition runner up "Best Play" award

Picture
Night Train presented as part of The Breath of Fire Latina Theatre Ensemble's Second annual New Works Festival,
Santa Ana California 2009

Picture
Scene from W.A.C. Iraq: A Work-in-Progress
2008 The Breath of Fire Latina Theatre Ensemble,
Santa Ana California
directed by Jose Casas


Picture
W.A.C. Iraq: A Work-in-Progress
"The great evil in this play isn’t a nation or a policy, but war itself.
Nieves skillfully avoids turning a divisive, emotionally charged subject into overt propaganda, focusing instead on the struggles
and hopes of his female protagonists. While most of the women
are American G.I.s or their family members, the two most
intriguing are anything but: a devout Iraqi Muslim who questions America’s involvement in Iraq, and another devout Muslim,
a Kurd, who has agreed to become a U.S. soldier in order
to jump-start her devastated life. These are seldom-told,
intensely fascinating stories and the highlights of the piece."
reviewed by Joel Beers for OC Weekly



Picture
Scene from By the Dawn's Early Light: Los Embrujados 
2011 Apple Core Theatre Company/NYC
directed by Walter J. Hoffman
photo credit: Joey Castillo




"As Los Embrujados, begins we are greeted with the sounds of a newscast playing over, immediately we try to discern if it is the announcements of the two towers, however it seems to be rather just newscasts from that Tuesday morning. And what Nieves does so well is allowing us to sit in on the everyday of two immigrant brothers, Arturo and Miguel, as well their restaurant co-workers Aamir and Nadia; all of them unknowing what will  occur in less than an hour. While watching, one can’t help looking for signs or hints to the impending events, but what I found myself thinking more about was how the events of that momentous day will, and did, disrupt the lives of people like this, people living in New York City by absolute choice, people working long hours for very little, people perhaps more excited to be in this  country than most longtime citizens even remember. "
reviewed by Matthew Paul Olmos for New York Theatre Review


Picture
Scene from By the Dawn's Early Light: Midnight Mass
2011 Apple Core Theatre Company/NYC
directed by Walter J. Hoffman
Photo credit: Joey Castillo
 



"Midnight Mass, brings its focus to the afterwards of 9/11 where we watch several characters all impacted by the events in various, but similar ways. All  of them uniquely hurt and often angry at everything from the country, or each  other, to their God above. It remains relevant to watch how
the lives  of the working class were torn this way by the attacks."
reviewed by Matthew Paul Olmos for New York Theatre Review


                                   

Picture
By the Dawn's Early Light: Los Embrujados & Midnight Mass
"The real strength in what Nieves and company are doing here
is allowing us to view the events of September 11th from the perspective of  characters who live along the bottom and are
trying not only to cope with their losses, but doing so from a disadvantaged lot in life. "
reviewed by Matthew Paul Olmos for New York Theatre Review

Picture
*Voices from the Front 
*Brooklyn Arts Council’s NYC Department of Cultural Affairs Award, NYC 2006.  Directed by Padraic Lillis, Illustration by Linda Wulkan

Picture
"By The Dawn's Early Light: Midnight Mass & Los Embrujados" West Coast premiere/Working Artist Lab at
The Missing Piece Theatre, Burbank, CA 2012                                   Directed by Hector Rodriguez

Picture
"By The Dawn's Early Light: Midnight Mass & Los Embrujados"  West Coast premiere/Working Artist Lab at
The Missing Piece Theatre, Burbank, CA 2012                                  
Directed by Hector Rodriguez

Picture
Rehearsal photo of benefit reading of "Los Embrujados (The Haunted Ones) presented by Working Artist Lab for The Robin Hood Foundation at CASA 0101 Theatre in Los Angeles, Ca 2012

Picture
LAByrinth Theatre Company MasterClass Summer Intensive workshop of "In Da Boogie Down" directed by Craig "Mums" Grant at Connecticut College, NYC 2012

Picture
Undertow
2012 Downtown Urban Theatre Festivals' Tenth Anniversary 
at HERE/NYC
directed by Walter Hoffman

Picture
AfterLoss
2010 Downtown Urban Theatre Festival at Theatre for
a New City/NYC
directed by David Jackson
Pinero Resurrected
2010 Downtown Urban Theatre Festival at Theatre for
a New City/NYC
directed by Mel Nieves

Picture
Solo Man Watusi
2009 Downtown Urban Theatre Festival at HERE/NYC
directed by David Jackson


Picture
W.A.C. Iraq (One Act Version)
2008 Downtown Urban Theatre Festival at Cherry Lane Theatre/NYC
directed by Taibi Magar

Picture
*Tours of Duty
2005 Downtown Urban Theatre Festival at Cherry Lane Theatre/NYC 
directed by Padraic Lillis

 *Co-winner "Best Short Play" award

Picture
Karen & Tomas: I Touch Myself
2006 Downtown Urban Theatre Festival at Cherry Lane Theatre/NYC , directed by Padraic Lillis

                                                                         

Picture
NY Madness at  ITATI Theatre. NYC 2011
"Ashes to Ashes" directed by Walter J. Hoffman

Picture
"Night Screams" BrooklynOne Productions Vince Mazza One Act Festival 2013, dir. Shira Segal

Picture
Picture

IN DA BOOGIE DOWN
Written by Mel Nieves
Original poetry by Craig "Mums" Grant
Directed/Co-developed by Paula Pizzi-Black
Barefoot Theatre Company's Barenaked Reading Series 2014 at West Beth Community Room, NYC

 

Picture
Between a Hotdog and a Hard Place
Written by Mel Nieves
Directed by Frank Solorzano
Barefoot Theatre Company LA BareNaked Reading series 2014 at
Art of Acting Studio, Hollywood, CA

Picture
Rochester Latino Theatre company stage reading presentation of "W.A.C. Iraq", 2014, Rochester NY, Directed by Jose C R. Casado

Picture
"W.A.C. Iraq" presented by the Rochester Latino Theatre company as part of the 2014 Rochester Fringe Festival, Rochester, NY, Dir. Jose Casado

"Rochester Latino Theatre Company's "W.A.C. Iraq" takes a complicated subject and presents it in a simple, powerful way. This tribute to Latina women in the Armed Forces who have served in Iraq honors their contributions, details their sacrifices, and asks some disturbing questions about a country that gives poor women opportunities in the military and often takes them away when they return from service. The format is a dialogue between a distraught G.I. (Jay O'Leary) and a kindly operator in a military base call center (Denise Herrera), interrupted by a monologue from a proudly patriotic young Latina soldier (Wednesday Mann), and concluded with a powerful, paradoxical monologue accompanying pictures of Latina soldiers in Iraq. It may not sound like much on paper, but it is affecting and effectively performed, particularly by O'Leary."
Review by David Raymond, Rochester City Paper

Picture
2014 Barefoot Theatre Company's BareNaked LA Reading series
Picture
Picture
2014 Barefoot Theatre company's 15 Anniversary GALA presentation of "Between a Hot Dog and a Hard Place"
Picture
Picture
Readings of "W.A.C. Iraq" and "Los Embrujados" directed by Maggie Low
Picture
2015 Downtown Urban Theatre Festival at HERE, NYC *"Between a Hot Dog and a Hard Place", directed by Shira-Lee Shalit -  *Best Short Play award Downtown Urban Theatre Festival
Picture
2015 San Diego Repertory Company's Amigo's Del Rep presentation of "In Da Boogie Down", directed by Vanessa J. Mendoza
Picture

*In Da Boogie Down
Repertorio Espanol


Directed by Paula Pizzi-Black
Original Poetry Craig "Mums" Grant
Original music Andre Fratto
Stage Manager Farin Rebecca Loeb
Featuring Jasmine Cephas Jones, Victor Almanzar, Blanca Camacho, Kevin Prowse, Jose Joaquin Perez, Peter Collier, Peter Hirsch
*2012 Metlife Foundation "Nuestra Voces" Playwrighting finalist



Picture
2015 Barefoot Theatre Company BareNaked Reading Series, NYC
Picture
2016 Downtown Urban Theatre Festival at HERE, NYC
 "Cost of Exposure" directed by Courtney Wetzel

Picture
The Spirit, The Body & The Blood, 2016 LAByrinth Theatre Company Barn Series Festival of New Plays at Bank Street Theatre, NYC, Directed by Jenna Worsham
Picture

        Finding Faith, 2016 NY Madness at Kraine Theatre, NYC, directed by Paula-Pizzi Black

Picture

               The Spirit, The Body & The Blood", 2015 Actors Studio, NYC, Directed by Frank Solorzano

Picture

              Frederick Douglass and The Fallen Angels, 2016 Actors Studio, NYC                                                                                     directed by Shira-Lee Shalit

Frederick Douglass and The Fallen Angels at Cherry lane Theatre/LAByrinth Theater Company Barn Series 2018
Picture
Picture
             2017 Barefoot Theatre Company LA BareNaked Reading series, Los Angeles, CA

Picture
                          Lester Collins Takes Five - 2020 Playbill Virtual Theatre Festival (VTF)
Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.