Matthew “Mega Watts” West, Adrian Blake Enscoe, Jessie Ryan, and Rocky Vega in The Servant of Two Masters, Sonnet Repertory Theatre NYC
Nicolas Minas is a theater, film, and television director based in New York City. After a decade as the artistic director of Chicago’s Jeff Award nominated Blindfaith Theater, which was known for its iconoclastic productions, he moved to New York City to be the assistant director to Tony Award winning Rebecca Taichman on the New York premiere of Sarah Ruhl’s ORLANDO. He immediately went on to be the assistant director on the Broadway production of DRIVING MISS DAISY (starring Vanessa Redgrave and James Earl Jones). Since then he has continued to work in NYC and regionally.
Tom Littman, Carlos Ibarra, and the ensemble of Stand-Up Tragedy, Category 7 NYC
Of his production of STAND-UP TRAGEDY by Bill Cain the New York Times said, "The vibe is palpable both in the work and the setting. The result is a play that combines sardonic humor, blood-boiling anger, and heartbreaking tragedy."
Nicolas has also worked in television where he directed the premiere two episodes of the MOME produced half-hour comedy, HALF LIFE (created by Patty Carey and starring Larisa Oleynik). He was the Assistant Director of Filming for PBS’ Emmy winning Live at Lincoln Center production of SWEENEY TODD (directed by Lonny Price and starring Emma Thompson, Audra McDonald and Bryn Terfel), and held an SDC Observership on PBS’ Live at Lincoln Center production of COMPANY (directed by Lonny Price and starring Neil Patrick Harris, Patti LuPone, Stephen Colbert, Christina Hendricks, Martha Plimpton, and Jon Cryer).
James T. Lane and Darius Nelson in GUYS AND DOLLS at Virginia Stage Company. Photo by Samuel W. Flint
His most recent work was the world premiere of CAME TUMBLING AFTER by Nathan Cann in a site-specific production in a historic brownstone in Harlem with The National Theater of Uptown, CHANCE (with Broadway’s Tad Wilson) in the New York Musical Festival and GUYS AND DOLLS (with Broadway’s Jessica Lee Goldyn, Brian Ray Norris, and James T. Lane) at Virginia Stage.
Tad Wilson and Grant Richards in CHANCE in NYMF at Signature Theatre’s Alice B. Griffin Theatre. Photo by Kristen Meloche
Joe Delafield and Claire Brownell in CAME TUMBLING AFTER at Harlem’s The National Theater of Uptown. NYC Photo by Kristen Meloche
Other shows regionally include: AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS, THE 39 STEPS, AVENUE Q, and ARSENIC AND OLD LACE.
Steven Minow and Denver McCollough in Arsenic and Old Lace, Cape Fear Regional Theatre
Wallis Quaintance, Around The World In 80 Days, Cape Fear Regional Theatre
His production of GOREY STORIES for Blindfaith Theater was called "one of the most singular theatrical experiences of the season" by Kerry Reid of the Chicago Tribune.
The ensemble of Gorey Stories, Blindfaith Theatre Chicago
He directed a cabaret-street performance style production of THE TAMING OF THE SHREW for Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre of which Nina Metz of the Chicago Tribune wrote "Major credit to director Nick Minas, whose concept captures the spirit of Shakespeare--more than anything I've seen in years at bigger theaters with deeper budgets."
Leonard House, Dan Waller, Marvin Quijada, Ryan McCabe, and Osiris Khepera in Short Eyes by Miguel Piñero, Blindfaith Theatre Chicago
For his production of SHORT EYES by Miguel Piñero he worked with his design team to transform the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs Theater into a New York house of Detention. The Chicago Tribune's Kerry Reid wrote "From the moment the audience enters, they are surrounded on all sides by the insults, arguments, prayers and curses of the inmates at the New York Men's House of Detention....Minas' strong ensemble seldom falters in delivering Pinero's gritty-yet-evocative portrait of the inmates' power plays, tinged with racial and sexual unease.”
He trained at The Pacific Conservatory of the Performing Arts (PCPA) professional actors' training program, Roosevelt University's Chicago Conservatory of the Performing Arts and the Advanced Directing training program at the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center. He holds an MFA in Film Directing from Brooklyn College’s Feirstein Graduate School of Cinema. He is proud to be a member of Lincoln Center Theater Directors Lab 2011, Directors Lab West and an Associate Member of SDC.
Aryeh Lappin in My Fall, TheaterLab NYC
“The vibe is palpable.”
“Minas has very good instincts here. He’s brought the play down to its earthy roots, thereby elevating it...It’s a huge relief—and thoroughly entertaining.”
“One of the most singular theatrical events of the season”
“The beauty of Nick Minas’s production is how well he captures both the power and subtlety of Rabe’s play.”
“Boy, is Nick Minas clever...Minas brings gritty Glenwood Avenue into the show, making Kate’s rage and fear of public humiliation seem to unfold in real time.”
“Under Nicolás Minas’s direction for Blindfaith Theatre the cast resolutely mines the characters’ sly manipulations and shadowy motives”