Daniel
Daniel Allen Nelson began his theater career at an early age, performing as a child and young adult in the vibrant theater community of Minneapolis-St. Paul, where he grew up. Notable Twin Cities companies with which he worked include: Theatre de la Jeune Lune, and their epic Children of Paradise:Shooting a Dream, Jungle Theater, Mixed Blood Theater, Red Eye Collaboration, and The Guthrie Theater. He has a continued relationship with Dennis LeFebvre’s Marvel Ann Theater, where he has created roles and designed several productions.
Daniel’s passion for horticulture and botany drew him to Santa Barbara, CA. However, these aspirations were eventually forsaken as he was continually drawn into his theatrical pursuits. He obtained a BFA in acting from UCSB, and was active for several years in the theater community of Santa Barbara, performing with Ensemble Theater Co., Center Stage Theater, and Theatre Artists Group. He wrote and created a full-length solo work, Sympathy for the Devil, which was inspired by the intriguing story of Andrew Cunnanan’s several month-long killing spree, and had its premiere at Center Stage Theater.
In 2000 he relocated to the East Coast to continue his education in the MFA Theater program at Towson University. While pursuing his degree, Daniel had the opportunity to collaborate with Artistic Director Juanita Rockwell designing sets and puppets for the premiere of Cave in the Sky at St. Ann’s Puppet Lab, as well as Donna di Novelli’s Sound of Waves at Mabou Mines, and worked with several theater artists in New York and Baltimore including: Theodora Skipitares, Donna di Novelli, Richard Armstrong, Daniel Stein, and Richard Foreman. Since 2003, he has been based in New York City, where he has worked as a performer, writer, director, designer, and technician with many productions and directors. He cultivated an ongoing relationship with The Ontological-Hysteric Theater, serving as Richard Foreman’s Sound Engineer on several productions, and co-curating/producing the development of new works by some of New York’s most notable experimental theater artists in the OutsideInput and Summer Series. It was here that Daniel began his collaboration with Annie, Temple, and Morgan in what would quickly evolve into unique relationships for generating and creating their own original works- Woof Nova.
Daniel has a continued relationship with LaMama ETC where he is on staff as a resident sound/lighting designer and technician, and has continued to work with numerous artists and venues as a performer, director, designer, or producer including: Object Collection, Chris Yon, Andrew Dinwiddie, Livia de Paolis, Lanny Harrison, Les Simpson, Kestutis Nakas, Dance Theater Workshop, and 3-Legged Dog, among others.
