Staff Spotlight: Ethan Nienaber
Get to know our new Artistic Director, Ethan Nienaber! Nienaber is a director, producer, and educator originally from the Twin Cities, MN. He studied acting at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts where he received his BFA. Upon graduating, Nienaber was a Kenan Fellow at Lincoln Center Education and also interned with New York Musical Festival and Ensemble Studio Theatre before joining Broadway Podcast Network as Assistant General Manager later in his career. Learn more about Ethan’s career here.
If your life were a musical, what would the opening number be called?
I’m going to answer this one a bit literally because my mother has always said that I came out of the womb “On A Mission,” so I think that sounds like a great way to start a show!
What’s your go-to coffee order during tech week survival mode?
My all-time go-to coffee order is an Iced Chai Latte with a shot of espresso. If you’re a barista, you probably know this as a “dirty” chai, which I always think is a hilariously accurate description for a drink that gets me through tech weeks!
Which fictional character would you cast as your stage manager and why?
Hermione from Harry Potter! She’s wicked smart, always one step ahead of the game, and can manage complex problems with ease! All the best stage managers I’ve worked with tend to have those qualities, and I would trust Hermione to nail it when the time comes to call hundreds of lighting, sound, and scenic cues.
If you could direct any show anywhere in the world, what and where would it be?
I think a production of SOMETHING ROTTEN! at Shakespeare’s Globe in the UK would be a really funny and “meta” production.
What inspired you to get into directing?
I stumbled into it because I had stories that I wanted to share. I was getting my degree in acting, and one of my favorite classes we took for all four years was “Mask & Movement” – which, in hindsight, was a broad title for a class that completely changed my life as an artist. I became obsessed with the techniques we were learning and loved that one of the oldest storytelling methods was accomplished through silent performers in various masks. I wanted to see how I could apply this to a narrative, so I began devising, adapting, and contemporizing short shows based on old stories, like EURYDICE & ORPHEUS. Looking back, it was such a fantastic way to start my directing journey because it was totally stripped down. I didn’t have to worry about dialogue or much tech, so I could just focus on how we were going to convey the story. If you’re curious to learn more about this type of work, I recommend looking up the legendary physical theater artist Jacques Lecoq!
What’s one piece of theatre advice you always come back to?
“Acting is behaving truthfully under imaginary circumstances.”
What’s your favorite moment during the rehearsal process?
I think the first time you run through the whole show in rehearsal without stopping or any major hiccups is magical. Yes, there’s usually some stumbling around, and there will always be lots to work on, but as a company, we can see and feel the show for the first time together. It always feels like the room collectively takes a deep breath at the end of that rehearsal because we have the bones of the show in place, and we can begin seeing the path to inviting the audience in for opening night.
What’s one show you haven’t directed yet but dream about all the time?
I have a ton, so I’ll give you a handful since I truly couldn’t choose just one! THE GLASS MENAGERIE by Tennessee Williams, THE LAST FIVE YEARS by Jason Robert Brown, THE EFFECT by Lucy Prebble, NEXT TO NORMAL by Yorkey & Kitt, and RAGTIME by McNally, Flaherty & Ahrens.
What’s one thing you hope every actor takes away from working with you?
You. Are. Enough. You already have everything you need to approach any character. The fun challenge of acting is exploring, investigating, and discovering how you tap into what is needed for each role.