Niegel Smith is the young director of Ether Steeds, the new play set in coastal North Carolina that’s being performed now as part of this year’s International New York Fringe Festival at the Greenwich Village Actors’ Playhouse. An essential part of New York’s Public Theater, Niegel and creating a real name for himself in the downtown theater scene. GayCities New York editor JJ Keyes spoke to him before the final two performances, August 22 & 24.
JJK: Hey Niegel! Congratulations on Ether Steeds! Tell us, how did you come into contact with the playwright Jason Williamson and this project?
NS: I was the assistant director on Conversations in Tusculum, Richard Nelson’s incisive Julias Ceaser play at The Public Theater, and Jason was the playwright observer. We got to talking and hanging out and found that our theatrical ideas were very much in sync. I read Ether Steeds and was immediately drawn into the central character’s struggle for true union and hope. Jason has a fantastic literary lyricism that surrounds the urgent needs of his characters – a dream playwright for any director.
JJK: You went to Dartmouth, right? When did you move to the city?
NS: Dartmouth was quite the opposite of New York – small town, conservative, sheltered. I moved to New York spring of 2003 when George C. Wolfe hired me to assistant direct Caroline, or Change.
JJK: What’s your favorite thing about working in the Fringe Festival?
NS: Because of the limitations of a Fringe Show, we had two weeks of rehearsal and just five hours of tech. It really pulls out the focus and drive in all the artists involved. I love being in the room with a bunch of collaborators every day summoning up all of our creative energy and figuring out how to tell a story in such a condensed time frame.
JJK: You’re an artistic leadership associate at the Public Theater here in New York where you co-administer the emerging writer’s group.
NS: The Public is filled with staff and artists who truly love challenging, hopeful theater that reflects many experiences. Some of the folks I admire most, Oskar Eustis, Andy Hamingson and Ruth Sternberg, lead the institution with great care and focus. Artists like Tony Kushner, Suzan-Lori Parks and David Henry Wong roam the halls with ease and comfort. I was just dancing in the hall with Suzan-Lori the other day. Because of them, the entire staff wants to work hard and wants to have a good time doing it.
JJK: I always find myself by the Public. Where a good place to eat?
NS: My favorite place for dinner is just across the street, Indochine. They have amazing food – great Lamb and Sea Bass. If you’re in a hurry, I recommend an Indochine Martini, or two. Joe’s Pub also has amazing food – especially their molten chocolate cake.
JJK: All right, so after Joe’s Pub closes and they kick me out where should I go to get a drink?
NS: Did I mention Indochine? For a good cheap beer – Saint Mark’s Ale House, for a classy cocktail, head down Lafayette to Chinatown Brassiere.
JJK: If you won a shopping spree at any clothing store in the city where would you go first?
NS: John Varavatos. His store in the old CBGBs is a fave. The staff is hot! The clothes are sexy! And the seamstress in the back is a doll! I could make his entire collection my wardrobe.
JJK: Okay, two stores.
NS: I love a great suit. I just found a fantastic seersucker one over at EPAULET in Brooklyn. They specialize in clothing that has a bit of grandeur in cut and material–perfect for classic styles that can be worn casually with a pair of sneakers and out on the town.
JJK: Public and Joe’s Pub aside, what are your favorite theaters in the city?
NS: I see every show produced by New York Theater Workshop – they have a commitment to exciting new plays that ask audiences to work hard. I remember seeing Caryl Churchill’s A Number there – three times. It was so thrilling to see a play that tackles contemporary problems in a form that assumes an intelligent audience. I’m also a huge fan of Here Arts Center. The artistic director, Kristen Marting, has a wonderful taste for genre bending, style mashing plays that run the gambit from irreverent queer puppetry to sincere multi-language video theater. The work there always makes me pause and question. I appreciate that in my theater.
JJK: Do you have a favorite New York museum?
NS: Yes, yes! I’m a member of the Whitney – when they succeed, they soar; when they fail, they soar. Every exhibition is ambitious and consuming. I think everyone should see everything there. I also think everyone should take a day trip out of the city to Dia: Beacon. It is an almost perfect gallery for contemporary art. The light (huge skylights) is magnificent, there’s tons of space for exhibiting large works (like Richard Serra sculptures) and there’s a beautiful Hudson River beachfront for picnicking before you hit the museum.
JJK: What about a favorite “New York moment”?
NS: I was recently at the Lortel Awards dinner and was wearing my new seersucker suit. Tim Gunn was there. He turned around and said, “Nice.” That’s a pretty good New York moment. But, I guess my favorite would be a recent date on The Highline. I love how they’ve reclaimed this dilapidated, elevated space to make it into a beautiful park that’s accessible to everyone. The sun was setting, people were strolling and I was enjoying good food and sweet kisses – ya, that’s a favorite New York moment – food and kisses.
JJK: Ether Steeds is running until August 24. After the Fringe is over, are you going to get a little break?
NS: I don’t know the meaning of break. I’m a bit of a work-a-holic; so, I’m heading up to Dartmouth to workshop Indio a new play by Indian-American playwright/actor Aladdin Ullah, and then I head into rehearsals for FELA! a new musical that I’m associate directing. It opens on Broadway this fall.
