Director
The Velveteen Rabbit
Nielsen Woods
August 2020
This innocent tale of a boy and his stuffed bunny touched the heart of every audience member. Produced and performed as the capstone project of Abigail Nielsen's Bachelor of Science degree in Theatre, the play was rehearsed and performed in the woods in order to comply with COVID-19 restrictions and guarantee the safety of the cast. The entire production was a challenge from the beginning, with postponement occurring before the first rehearsal. Abigail spent countless hours designing and directing the show, ensuring that the costume, set, and sound designs portrayed the depth of the story and aided the actors without holding them back or over-shadowing them. The audience, consisting only of relatives of the performers, generously shared their astonishment and congratulations for a beautiful show performed in the midst of a pandemic.
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Antigone
North Central University
November 2019
The classic Greek tragedy, written by famed author Sophocles, challenged the resources and creativity of North Central's Theatre department. A bare-bones script adapted by David Feldshuh of Cornell University offered no previous productions to learn from or director's notes to implement. Artistic Director Wayne Matthews and Assistant Director Abigail Nielsen, along with their set, costume, and lighting designers, built the world of Antigone from the ground up. Abigail served as both assistant director and sound designer on this production, drawing on her extensive music education to select and design musical underscoring to enhance the impact of the play.Â
The production was recognized by the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival board as was considered for performance at the 2020 Region 5 Festival. In addition, Abigail Nielsen was awarded an individual certificate of recognition for her outstanding sound design.
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Act III, Scene V
North Central University
April 2019
This comedic one-act was directed and produced by Abigail in completion of an advanced directing class at North Central University. The romantic comedy, written by Terry Ortwein, tells the saga of secret love, high school divas, and teen-age attitude. The final product received many uproarious laughs and high compliments.
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Amber Waves
North Central University
April 2018
In completion of her Introduction to Directing class, Abigail staged selected scenes from Amber Waves. James Still's acclaimed play about children in a struggling agricultural community is poignant and tells the story of an "All-American" family on the brink of financial ruin. In the depths of drought, hope and compassion prove most important.
