Mel Nieves

Mel Nieves

New York City born and raised actor-playwright-screenwriter-arts educator. He is a graduate of The William Esper Studio and a member of The award-winning LAByrinth Theater company and The Actor's Studio Playwright-Director Unit. As an actor he has worked with Luna Stage, Ensemble Studio Theatre, the Ridiculous Theatrical Company under the artistic direction of Everett Quinton, The Leftovers (HBO), The...
New York City born and raised actor-playwright-screenwriter-arts educator. He is a graduate of The William Esper Studio and a member of The award-winning LAByrinth Theater company and The Actor's Studio Playwright-Director Unit. As an actor he has worked with Luna Stage, Ensemble Studio Theatre, the Ridiculous Theatrical Company under the artistic direction of Everett Quinton, The Leftovers (HBO), The Children of Hip Hop (Queens World Film Festival Nominated Best Ensemble Narrative Feature.) His work as a playwright has been presented by Repertorio Espanol, HERE, Cherry Lane Theatre, Theatre for a New City, Chicago's Urban Theatre company, Santa Ana's Breath of Fire Latina Theatre Ensemble, San Diego Repertory's Amigo's de Rep, Classical Theatre of Harlem, LAByrinth Theater Company, The Actors Studio. As an arts educator he's worked with Queens Theatre in The Park, The Public Theatre's Summer Shakeup (Shakespeare program for teens), The LAByrinth Theater Company's Intensive Ensemble and the Writers Guild East Initiative. Most recently his original screenplay, "Los Abandonados/The Abandoned" won the best feature screenplay award at the 2022 12th Annual International Puerto Rican Heritage Film Festival. Published works include the plays, "Los Embrujados/The Haunted Ones" for Original Works Publishing, "Prospect Avenue", "The Spirit, The Body & The Blood", "In Da Boogie Down", "Full Moon Inside a Red Sky" for Next Stage Press, the Smith & Kraus Anthology series, The Best Women's Stage Monologues 2023 & 2024, The Best Ten-Minute Plays 2024, The Best Men's Stage Monologues 2024.

Plays

  • Prospect Avenue by Mel Nieves
    Cast: 
    5
    ·
    Genre: drama
    ·
    Keyword: urban
    Genre: drama
    Keyword: urban
    After being away for five years, incarcerated for a crime he did commit, Rudis Soto returns to his old neighborhood a different man trying to restart the life he left behind in pain and loss. As he struggles to reconnect with his family, his ex-wife, and his young son, Rudis Soto learns that Prospect Avenue is not the same place that he once knew, that the
    neighborhood has moved on just as his family has...
    After being away for five years, incarcerated for a crime he did commit, Rudis Soto returns to his old neighborhood a different man trying to restart the life he left behind in pain and loss. As he struggles to reconnect with his family, his ex-wife, and his young son, Rudis Soto learns that Prospect Avenue is not the same place that he once knew, that the
    neighborhood has moved on just as his family has, but some of the ghost from the past still remain to speak to him and he must decide whether to listen to those voices or not.
  • Frederick Douglass and The Fallen Angels by Mel Nieves
    Cast: 
    10
    ·
    Genre: drama
    Genre: drama
    For a group of working class families and desperate dreamers in the Frederick Douglass Housing Projects, the struggle to hold on till morning is a way of life.
  • Cost of Exposure by Mel Nieves
    Recommendations: 1
    ·
    Cast: 
    2
    ·
    Genre: drama
    Genre: drama
    A Struggling writer finds himself at a crossroads between life and art and must ask himself if writing what you know is too costly a price to pay if it means losing the most precious part of ones life.
  • The Spirit, The Body & The Blood by Mel Nieves
    Cast: 
    8
    ·
    Genre: drama
    ·
    Keyword: family
    Genre: drama
    Keyword: family
    When his mother dies, Ramon returns to his old neighborhood to reconnect with the estranged wife and teenage son he abandoned years ago. He’s ready to pick things up where they left off, but his family has moved on – and they have no intention of repeating the past. An intergenerational story about the possibilities of reconciliation, unconditional forgiveness and a past that refuses to be left behind.
  • There is a Red Rose up in Spanish Harlem by Mel Nieves
    Cast: 
    7
    ·
    Genre: drama
    ·
    Keyword: urban romance
    Genre: drama
    Keyword: urban romance
    It is the simply story of two lonely people, a Hispanic man and Korean-American woman, who despite family opposition and cultural divides take a shot at finding romance and love for themselves.
  • Between a Hot Dog and a Hard Place by Mel Nieves
    Cast: 
    2
    ·
    Genre: comedy
    ·
    Keyword: blue collar
    Genre: comedy
    Keyword: blue collar
    In the wee small hours of the morning Vincent and Anamarie are dancing to the tune of Jack Daniels and smokes (and I ain’t talkin’ about cigarettes), but the music is about to stop and a shoe is about to drop before the sun rises.
  • Full Moon Inside a Red Sky by Mel Nieves
    Cast: 
    4
    ·
    Genre: romantic comedy
    Genre: romantic comedy
    November is the season of endings and beginnings. It is also the time of Esbat, where one is free to frolic and amuse oneself, but it is also a time when anything you are holding onto, for which you’re hoping for some kind of resolution from can finally be released from ones soul and into the night air and it is on one such night underneath a full moon inside a red sky is where at Sacco’s Café-Bistro, Lisa...
    November is the season of endings and beginnings. It is also the time of Esbat, where one is free to frolic and amuse oneself, but it is also a time when anything you are holding onto, for which you’re hoping for some kind of resolution from can finally be released from ones soul and into the night air and it is on one such night underneath a full moon inside a red sky is where at Sacco’s Café-Bistro, Lisa Crosco and Anthony Santoro with the help of a magical and mystical Maitre d’, these two strangers with wounded hearts will discover that the possibilities of true love just might be only one single fallen snowflake away.
  • In Da Boogie Down by Mel Nieves
    Cast: 
    15
    ·
    Genre: drama, tragedy
    ·
    Keyword: urban
    Genre: drama, tragedy
    Keyword: urban
    Three desperate inner-city teens, Wilton Fernandez, Yazmin Garcia, and Jamal Faulkner find themselves at a crossroads in their young lives and must choose which path not to take. For Wilton, it’s a return home to a family that fears him and the hope for them not to. For Yazmin, it’s a search for a place where she can feel save, protected, and loved. For Jamal it’s simply looking for a place to belong and to...
    Three desperate inner-city teens, Wilton Fernandez, Yazmin Garcia, and Jamal Faulkner find themselves at a crossroads in their young lives and must choose which path not to take. For Wilton, it’s a return home to a family that fears him and the hope for them not to. For Yazmin, it’s a search for a place where she can feel save, protected, and loved. For Jamal it’s simply looking for a place to belong and to find who his true self is, but at what cost? Because in the South Bronx for these three teens the struggle to survive where not living beyond today is just another heartbreak and gunshot away.
  • By the Dawn's Early Light: Los Embrujados (The Haunted Ones) by Mel Nieves
    Recommendations: 1
    ·
    Cast: 
    5
    ·
    Genre: drama, period + 2 more
    ·
    Keyword: Politics
    Genre: drama, period, political, tragedy
    Keyword: Politics
    A nervous waiter at the Windows on the World restaurant studies with his gregarious older brother for his impending U.S. Citizenship test. As his girlfriend waits to tell him something very special, it's a time of possibilities on this bright, clear September morning, and as he prepares for his new life, 'Los Embrujados' looks at what it means to be an American.
  • By the Dawn's Early Light: Midnight Mass by Mel Nieves
    Cast: 
    9
    ·
    Genre: drama, faith-based + 3 more
    ·
    Keyword: Politics
    Genre: drama, faith-based, period, political, tragedy
    Keyword: Politics
    The play follows a group of New Yorkers connected by 9/11: a war veteran whose trauma may cost him his family; his brother, who must leave his pregnant fiancée to go on his first tour of duty; a nurse whose husband perished in the Towers; and a veteran firefighter desperate to reclaim the courage he knew as a First Responder. In the wake of tragedy, Midnight Mass reveals the profound struggle to regain hope and faith.
  • W.A.C. Iraq by Mel Nieves
    Cast: 
    10
    ·
    Genre: drama, period + 2 more
    Genre: drama, period, political, tragedy
    Mothers, Daughters, Sisters, and Soldiers, their voices filled with loss, confusion,
    loneliness, anger and hope, try to make sense of the ever changing world around them during a questionable time of war; a world where for some, home is but a distant memory and for many others the front lines between life and death is nothing more than a blur.

  • Finding Faith by Mel Nieves
    Cast: 
    5
    ·
    Genre: drama, faith-based + 1 more
    Genre: drama, faith-based, tragedy
    A soldier, struggling with post war trauma tries to hold on to what's left of her life.
  • La Potencia by Mel Nieves
    Recommendations: 1
    ·
    Cast: 
    13
    ·
    Genre: drama
    ·
    Keyword: Boxing drama
    Genre: drama
    Keyword: Boxing drama
    An aging super light-weight club fighter, Roberta “La Potencia” Montoya after a devastating knock-out at the hands of a faster and much younger, Terri “Sweet & Sour” Jones must come to terms with the realization that she has come to the end of the road of the only kind of life skill she’s ever known, but her long-time manager, Joe Pacheco might have other plans for her future; to squeeze out one more fight...
    An aging super light-weight club fighter, Roberta “La Potencia” Montoya after a devastating knock-out at the hands of a faster and much younger, Terri “Sweet & Sour” Jones must come to terms with the realization that she has come to the end of the road of the only kind of life skill she’s ever known, but her long-time manager, Joe Pacheco might have other plans for her future; to squeeze out one more fight for one last big payday to pay off a life threatening debt.
  • Caged by Mel Nieves
    Cast: 
    2
    ·
    Genre: drama, political + 1 more
    Genre: drama, political, tragedy
    An illegal immigrant finds herself in a detention center holding cell, separated from her young son when a guard approaches her and tries to assure her that she and her son will be safe and reunited even though they both know this is far from being the truth.
  • Butterflies by Mel Nieves
    Cast: 
    2
    ·
    Genre: comedy, drama + 1 more
    Genre: comedy, drama, zoom
    It is the most important moment in Andrew's life and he's falling off the edge with doubt and it's up to his life long childhood friend, Tommy to reel him back in, get him to his senses before he ruins his entire life as well as Tommy's little sister's.
  • TGIF Can't Get Here Soon Enough by Mel Nieves
    Cast: 
    5
    ·
    Genre: comedy, drama + 1 more
    Genre: comedy, drama, satire
    Working from home is supposed to be a luxury, but when your home becomes your workplace that luxury turns into just another place to punch the clock.
  • Ashes to Ashes by Mel Nieves
    Cast: 
    2
    ·
    Genre: drama
    Genre: drama
    A young man tries to connect with his deceased mother.
  • Matthew is Home by Mel Nieves
    Cast: 
    1
    ·
    Genre: drama
    Genre: drama
    On a flight back from his tour of duty, a soldier meets a stewardess who will forever change the course of his life.
  • Do Not Touch by Mel Nieves
    Recommendations: 1
    ·
    Cast: 
    2
    ·
    Genre: drama
    Genre: drama
    Best friends D & M are apart from each other again, only this time it's not by either ones choice, but rather for their survival.
  • Night Train by Mel Nieves
    Cast: 
    2
    ·
    Genre: drama, romantic comedy
    Genre: drama, romantic comedy
    At the crossroads of the world, on a dark rainy night, a boy and a girl will meet, take a ride into the wee small hours and perhaps forever change the course of their tomorrows.
  • The Traci Reyes Syndrome by Mel Nieves
    Cast: 
    6
    ·
    Genre: drama
    ·
    Keyword: A TOUGH DRAMA
    Genre: drama
    Keyword: A TOUGH DRAMA
    Traci Reyes is a smart but temperamental inner city teen with a chip on her shoulder who doesn't like to be stared at and Carmen Baez, the brightest student in the school just got caught looking .

  • Saint Lawrence Station by Mel Nieves
    Cast: 
    8
    ·
    Genre: drama, melodrama
    Genre: drama, melodrama
    A group of childhood friends do their best to navigate the maze of their day to day adult working class life, through love and loss, maintaining a household, a roof over their heads, food on the table, raising children and staying employed while living with the crippling fears of being just a few paychecks away from finding themselves out on the streets and never getting the opportunity to fulfill their hopes...
    A group of childhood friends do their best to navigate the maze of their day to day adult working class life, through love and loss, maintaining a household, a roof over their heads, food on the table, raising children and staying employed while living with the crippling fears of being just a few paychecks away from finding themselves out on the streets and never getting the opportunity to fulfill their hopes and dreams of a better life for their family.
  • Happy, happy. Sad, sad. Close one eye. It won't look so bad by Mel Nieves
    Recommendations: 1
    ·
    Cast: 
    6
    ·
    Genre: comedy, drama + 1 more
    Genre: comedy, drama, tragedy
    Is violence a hereditary trait? For sixteen year old, Dee Dee Figueroa, the answer to that question may forever change the course of her young life.
  • Lester Collins Takes Five by Mel Nieves
    Recommendations: 1
    ·
    Cast: 
    2
    ·
    Genre: drama
    Genre: drama
    Lester Collins, a one time saxophone player with several jazz bands lays down the law to a younger fellow player on the ups and downs of a true jazz man's life.
  • AfterLoss by Mel Nieves
    Recommendations: 1
    ·
    Cast: 
    2
    ·
    Genre: drama
    Genre: drama
    A man struggles with the loss of his beloved wife and whether another morning without her is worth seeing.
  • Karen and Tomas: I Touch Myself by Mel Nieves
    Recommendations: 1
    ·
    Cast: 
    2
    ·
    Genre: drama
    Genre: drama
    They smashed into each other's lives like a head-on collision on the interstate, both desperately seeking to close fresh wounds. Now in their final six hours together Karen and Tomas cut open, dissect and finally heal those very same wounds that turned them into lovers, but not they would soon discover a couple.
  • Solo Man Watusi by Mel Nieves
    Recommendations: 1
    ·
    Cast: 
    2
    ·
    Genre: comedy
    Genre: comedy
    The ball is about to drop ringing in another new year filled with new beginnings, fresh starts and excitement for the unknown future, but for two old friends it’s just another knife digging into cupid’s heart, just another reminder of their what-could-have-been and never was existence. A reminder of the little boy inside themselves that keep tripping up the life of the man they want to be.