When actor and playwright Robert Nicotra bought his home in Weehawken five years ago, he was investing in more than real estate – he was investing in a lifelong dream.
Nicotra worked on Wall Street since he was 15 years old, and though he had fallen in love with acting at a young age, he was born and bred on a work ethic of security.
“Nobody ever told me at that age that you could follow an acting career,” said Nicotra.
So he kept his dreams as a hobby and kept money coming in to pay the bills.
As he got older, Nicotra found himself using vacation time to work on movie sets and wondering what life might’ve been if he’d gone down the road of the “starving artist.”
“I want to help these artists ignite”—Robert Nicotra
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He bought a home in Weehawken, where prices were cheaper than his residence in Manhattan, began taking classes in real estate as a back up plan, and began to ponder life without a steady income.
Finally, two years ago, the former Citibank vice-president made the move out of the corporate world. He acted in small, independent films and had written a few screenplays and TV spec scripts when the ultimate challenge came.
Last year, after sharing a poem he’d written about his father with his acting coach, the coach challenged him to take the poem and turn it into a one-act play within a week.
With a deadline landing on the Fourth of July, Nicotra doubted he’d be taking part in any of the festivities.
But he finished it just in time and wound up celebrating not only Independence Day, but also a sort of independence for himself after finally writing the play.
That play, “Like You,” is now included in a series of one-act plays being presented by Nicotra’s production company over the course of two weeks in June in New York City.
Do-it-yourself
After his own positive experience of allowing writing to open him up as an actor, Nictora said he wanted to share the experience with others.
Inspired while listening to a song of the same name, Nicotra founded Before Tomorrow Comes Productions (BTC) earlier this year.
The name came from the idea of not sitting around to wait and see what tomorrow may bring, but rather, for actors to create their own future.
The production company assists artists as they produce their own work and then develops and produces theatrical productions and films through readings, workshops, and a not-for-profit division.
“I wanted to do [this] to be inspirational to others the way my coach was for me,” said Nicotra. “I want to help these artists ignite.”
About the plays
“Men Without Myth” is a series of three one-act plays surrounding the same theme of the father and son relationship:
• “Augie’s Ring,” written and directed by John Dapolito: A down and out neighborhood legend drowns himself in isolation and booze at a local pub, only to encounter his latest and most unlikely challenger.
• “Klepto,” written and directed by Charles Messina: Set in a cheap motel room in Fort Lauderdale in 1977, Klepto tells the tale of a boy with an encyclopedic mind for baseball and his complex relationship with his overbearing, kleptomaniac mother, who have embarked on a journey south from NYC to find the boy’s deadbeat father.
• “Like You.” written and directed by Robert Nicotra: It’s St. Paddy’s Day, dinner is hot and the Yankees Exhibition game is about to start. It’s just another night in Jackie Ryan’s life until he’s interrupted by a knock on the door from a son he hasn’t seen in seventeen years. His son wants answers; Jackie just wants to be left alone.
“I really hope it hits home to some people,” said Nicotra. “I don’t need anyone to say ‘it’s great,’ I just need it to connect.”
In addition to writing and redirecting his own play, Nicotra is also acting in another.
A total of nine performances of “Men Without Myth: Three One Acts by Italian American Playwrights” will be presented at the Theatre at 30th Street, 259 West 30th St. (between 7th and 8th avenues), New York, between June 3 to June 13.
Tickets are $25 and are available at www.smarttix.com or by calling (212) 868-4444.
Performances on June 6, 9, and 11 will be followed by a special talkback with actors and writers.
For more information on Before Tomorrow Comes Productions visit www.btcproductions.org.
Lana Rose Diaz can be reached at ldiaz@hudsonreporter.com.