Nathan Markiewicz
Selected Portfolio of work
Specially Curated for the Revels Search Committee & Board of Directors
Contents
Apprentice
On Stage with the Portland Revels 2004-2009
Assistant Directing Midwinter Revels 2007 & 2010
Revels Summer Faire 2012
A Nationwide Network
Journeyman
Directing MFA, East 15, University of Essex 2013-2015
Learning from the Best
Assistant Directing West End, off-Broadway, & Europe 2015-2018
Master
On Stage with The Portland Revels 2004-2009
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2004
My first ever Midwinter Production, as Robyn and Room in An Elizabethan Celebration of the Winter Solstice.
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2004
On stage with Burl Ross starring as Will Kempe.
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2006
I played Sir Gawain and the Doctor in A French Medieval Celebration of the Winter Solstice. Pictured here with David Shepherd.
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2008
One of my all time favorite roles as a young actor, Julepukki the Tomte in A Visit to the Scandinavian Northlands.
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2008
“And there's still no butter!” On stage with Susan Moen and Steve Black.
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2009
On stage with Robert Lockwood and Hillarie McKenna in An Irish Mummers Village Celebration.
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2009
“Clip-clap clip-clap for my wee red cap!”
M y first Assistant directing opportuinites were with the Portland Revels, 2007 & 2010
FROM DIRECTOR GRAY EUBANK’S 2010 REPORT TO THE BOARD
“Nathan is a great guy to have around during Revels. He took the mummers play and made it his own and a strong part of the show. He’s very good during tech week at identifying things that need to be taken care of and then taking care of them. He’s an excellent conduit between cast murmurs rumors and me.”
FROM DIRECTOR GRAY EUBANK’S 2007 REPORT TO THE BOARD
“Nathan was a godsend for me. He was great at getting things done that I just didn’t have the time or energy for. He was always finding things he could do to make the process easier and better. The cast was willing to deal with him over smaller problems that I couldn’t give proper attention to. He had a great attitude and is a good detail guy for me. Nathan was curious and learned a lot about the process. I also appreciated the extra lines of communication Nathan provided for me with the cast and crew. Totally positive experience.”
Before leaving for graduate school, I organized and directed the first Portland Revels Summer Faire in 2012. This was a large outdoor event with singers, dancers, & vendors, and was the company’s first foray into a year round program.
In addition to my deep connection with the Portland Revels and roots in the Pacific Northwest, I have strong personal and professional links throughout the known Revels universe.
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I am a graduate of the University of Colorado at Boulder (BFA, 2003), and maintain strong connections to the performing arts scene there. The Dairy Center, where the Rocky Mountain Revels Performs was a favorite venue in my university days and I know it intimately.
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My brother and his family live here so I visit several times a year. I also maintain a few industry contacts, including one of my closest friends, Collin Warren, who has been a sound engineer for the Washington Revels on past Midwinter productions.
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I am currently based in Austin, TX where I am an active member of the theatre and film community here. My local industry network extends to Waco, Dallas, and of course Houston.
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My aunt Bethann, and three of my first cousins and their children all live in New Hampshire, and I get in trouble if I don’t make it for a holiday at least every other year. Professionally, I work with two regular actors based in Rye, NH. Nick Wakely and Matt Clark, who is also my surfing buddy!
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My other aunt, Paula, runs the Tootsie Roll factory in Cambridge, where they make all the Junior Mints in the world! My brother is an alum of Boston College Law School, and my dad currently lives in Amherst. I always feel at home in MA, and I am there as often as I can help it.
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It’s impossible to be in this industry without friends in LA, and I have many. I have industry friendships throughout California, though no direct connection to the Revels companies there.
M.F.A.
I spent two years in London attending East 15, University of Essex, including a term at G.I.T.I.S. (Russian University of Theatre Arts) in Moscow.
Contemporary Drama
I studied contemporary drama with Anthony Clarke and Matthew Lloyd. I learned the finer points of new play development, collaborating with playwrights, and the modern business of making plays. Working with actors was central to all of my training.
Shakespeare
Though probably my most specialty subject before I left for graduate school, the Shakespearean study in London was of course, world class. Particularly my training with Ben Crystal and Stephen Unwin, which informs my approach to this day.
Devised Theatre
Devising was a hugely important part of my training, and continues to serve me in my professional work. Taught by Matthew Lloyd, the course included guest workshops led by devising giants Polly Teale, Phelim McDermott, Mike Alfreds, and Matthew Dunster. Devising allows us to be fully interdisciplinary in the blending of drama, music, dance, and spectacle. It also gives us the greatest opportunity to showcase a performer’s best skills, and meet the needs of the audience of the day.
“In the dark times, will there also be singing?
Yes, there will be singing.
About the dark times.”
—Bertolt Brecht
Filmmaking
My filmmaking course was taught by Sue Dunderdale of the BBC. I approach a film set in much the same way I approach a theatrical technical rehearsal. For me there is little difference in supporting an actor’s work, whether they are playing to the camera or the balcony.
Brecht
Taught by my mentor Stephen Unwin, who quite literally wrote the book on the subject. The influence of Bertolt Brecht on my work cannot be overstated and I consider it foundational. Art is not a mirror to reflect society but a hammer with which to shape it… but if it doesn't entertain, whats the point?
Chekhov, Stanislavski, Meyerhold (Moscow)
My time in Moscow finally gave me the deep understanding of Chekhov’s work that I had been pursuing since my undergraduate study, and sharpened my technique for directing naturalism to a razors edge. My Russian Master was Mikhail Chumachenko, who was trained by Maria Knabel, who was a member of Stanislavsky’s third and final studio, where Active Analysis was created. Active Analysis remains a central method to my directing approach.
“He’s acutely intelligent, with a real appetite for books, plays, films and broader social and political questions. He’s hugely well read and continually exploring new material.”
—Stephen Unwin
I became Steve Unwin’s administrative assistant when he was the head of the directing program for East 15 in 2013, and that would be the start of a close friendship that continues to this day. In 2015, I was his Assistant Director for a UK National Tour of Arthur Miller’s A View From the Bridge. In 2017 I was the Associate Director for his production of his own play, All Our Children at the Jermyn Street Theatre, West End. I then became the Dramaturg and Assistant Director when All Our Children was mounted off-Broadway at The Sheen Center, where I personally adapted the British version into American dialect. In 2022 I received a kind acknowledgment in Stephen’s book Poor Naked Wretches: Shakespeare’s Working People for my help with research, editing, and beta-reading. Learn more about Stephen’s work at wikipedia or his website.
Read Stephen Unwin’s 2016 Letter of Recommendation.
Asistant Directing
2015-2018
A brief highlight reel of my assistant directing work, including footage of Pericles at The Berwaldhallen in Stockholm, which I describe in greater detail in my letter of interest.
Theatre
A brief highlight reel of my recent theatre work. Note production photos and promotional material from my recent devised piece A Bite of Memphis, which I describe in my letter of interest.
Film
A brief highlight reel of my filmmaking.
Media relations
Highlights from recent interviews. Unlike some directors, I love talking about my work and relish engaging with the press to seek a wider audience.
“There is a world Elsewhere”
—Shakespeare’s Coriolanus
I currently live in Austin, TX with my partner Molly and a one-eyed Boston Terrier named Juno. In addition to my work in theatre and film, I am a home wine-maker and electric blues guitarist. I have also been learning to surf for two summers with little success. I collect books, records, and all things vintage. You might see me cruising around town on my restored 1968 Vespa Sprint. I recently completed my first novel, Checking Out: Confessions of a Personal Concierge, about my time at a luxury hotel, which was my day-job when I tread the boards in Portland, Oregon during the naughty-oughts.