Culture & Entertainment Notebook: From Jackson to New York: Actor Tim Nicolai goes big time

Jackson native and Southeast Missouri State University graduate Tim Nicolai had initial dreams of being a sports writer, but those visions soon faded after finding and realizing his talent on the stage.

It appears Nicolai's pursuit in the arts is working out well. He's rubbing elbows with some big names in the industry, honing his craft and making a name for himself.

The 2000 Jackson High School graduate is acting on Broadway, and has appeared in major TV productions, including CBS' "Madame Secretary" and Amazon's "The Beginning of Everything."

Nicolai's latest Broadway production, "Glass Menagerie," gave him the opportunity to be an understudy -- "Jim, the gentleman caller" -- alongside prominent actors Sally Field and Joe Mantello, he said.

"We were there through pretty much the whole rehearsal process. So I got to know Sally a bit and I got to know Joe Mantelo," he said. "My mom was psyched about that. Sally was a lovely human being to be around and as kind as you would imagine."

But the work isn't as glamorous as you would imagine, either, Nicolai said.

"Acting, in reality, is a lot of auditioning, then occasionally getting a cool job and then you're back to the grind.

"It's a lot of grinding; it's a lot of surviving, hoping that you'll get those great opportunities," Nicolai said.

Nicolai graduated from Southeast with a bachelor of fine arts in acting and directing, but his career began as a Shakespeare enthusiast through high school, and he credits his initial interest in Shakespeare and acting to his parents.

"My dad has a PHD in Shakespearean studies, and both of my parents have been really encouraging of getting involved with speech and drama,' he said. "As far as things I was interested in when I got to junior high and high school that was at the top of the list."

During his time at Southeast Missouri State University, his focus on becoming the St. Louis Cardinals beat writer quickly transitioned to acting, he said.

"I had this director, Don Schulte, who I think was kind of an icon there for a long time. He sort of took a leap on me three months into my freshman year. I just did it on a whim and auditioned for the 'The Good Doctor' by Neil Simon."

Nicolai said that was a huge role and it was then clear to him that was where he belonged, regardless of "whether or not it was reasonable."

New York was never the plan for Nicolai, he said, even though at the time he didn't necessarily have a clear view of his future.

"When you get out of school, you just want to work somewhere doing almost anything," he said. "I had decided toward the end of my Southeast career that for some reason directing was more reasonable than acting."

Nicolai's professional climb involved assistant directing and casting at Olney Theater Center and included work at Shakespeare Festival St. Louis.

He attended The Shakespeare Theatre Of New Jersey and earned a role as director in residence and ended up in the role of casting assistant. That experience, Nicolai said, was his "first interface" with New York.

"I was also getting better, because I was watching incredible actors in much bigger places than Jackson and even St. Louis," Nicolai said.

His goal was to one day be accepted into one of the "top echelon" of acting programs: Yale, the New York University Graduate School of Arts and Science, Juilliard School and The Old Globe Theatre.

To pursue that goal, he moved to New York in 2010, but "had nothing."

"I had been living in company housing and theaters all over America. That first year in New York was largely spent making enough money to buy a bed, a couch, get a dresser and slowly start fleshing out a life."

The first time Nicolai auditioned for those top-rated schools, he had four monologues, but they ended up being "in no way impressive enough" to get accepted by any of the four schools.

For Nicolai, the letdown was quite the learning experience, but he gained insight and motivation for what was to come.

Money was saved, two coaches were hired and "an insane amount of time" was spent preparing and searching for monologues Nicolai thought were a fit, he said.

And that time around, he did "much better" and was accepted into NYU Graduate Acting in 2012, he said.

"NYU usually auditions roughly 1,000 people and they allow 16 in," Nicolai said. "So that kind of tells you how many people are trying to knock at those doors and how hard it is to get in."

Nicolai said when you get accepted, you feel as if you have won the lottery.

"A lot of doors open that were not open for you before, once that training program is in your resume," he said.

And doors continue to open for Nicolai. Since the close of "Glass Menagerie," he has been on the move pursuing more acting opportunities.

Nicolai just finished working with The Public Theater and a production of "Othello" and now, he's awaiting what's to come next.

"Honestly, when we get done with productions, you're basically thrown back into the wilderness," Nicolai said. "You just go back to auditioning and back to the grind. I think it's rare to sort of 'pop out' knowing what the next thing is going to be. It's a weird life, but sometimes it's a fun life."

jhartwig@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3632