“The past is never dead.
It’s not even past.” - William Faulkner
Past Works
The Fourth Ambit
The Ambit is a public immersive space, but for the hyper-wealthy there are more and stranger realities available in the Second Ambit. The Third Ambits are more secretive still, and the Fourth Ambit, controlled by a possibly virulent AI, is only a rumor.
A cutting-edge podcast series exploring immersive environments and the people who are drawn to them.
“Awesome. This is SO ahead of its time. Great characters and situations. Creative. Builds to a great conclusion. Best Sci Fi pod, hands down.” - Apple Podcast Review
The Fourth Ambit is available on most podcast platforms. If you’d rather listen online, click the image.
Virtual Solitaire
A VR addict is hired to do emotional calibrations for an immersive game. What could go wrong?
An internationally award-winning piece of theater that tackles the isolating effects of technology. Written during an Artist Trust Fellowship.
“Sit back and prepare to have your mind blown.” - NYTheater.com
“A mesmerizing ride. The language explodes with its own kind of scatological fury.” - The Edmonton Journal
“A nimble theatrical gamester.” - The Seattle Times
“A wonder!” - Backstage New York
Escher’s Hands
A pair of writers give their characters more life than expected, then find themselves set upon by their own creations.
This mind-bending ensemble play was nominated for the national New Play Award of the American Theatre Critics Association.
“Stunning.” - The Adelaide ‘Tizer
“A mind game, full of clever twists and thoughtful, intelligent dialogue. …funny and not a little bit disturbing.” - Charleston Post & Courier
“Timed like a malign Swiss watch and buffed to a fine, high-gloss finish.” - The Edmonton Journal
“Unique, fascinating, and diabolically clever.” - The Seattle Post-Intelligencer
“A splendidly comic yet edgy thriller, with twists and turns all the way.” - The Sunday Mail, Australia
I Might Be Edgar Allan Poe
A man with a profoundly difficult childhood begins to believe that he is the reincarnation of the master of the macabre. He may be right.
This solo performance has been produced dozens of times and won awards at the largest theater festivals in the world.
“Nichols shows us not just the horror of the madness we so love in Poe, but also the humanity behind the horror, the context for the madness.” – The Austin Chronicle
“The script is extraordinary, Nichols’s performance is stunning.” -The Victoria Times Colonist
“A jarring lesson on perception and how we judge others and their work. …I’ve never experienced more complete, moving, and believable theatre.” - Saskatoon StarPhoenix
“A shaman-like performance.” - The Seattle PI
“Intensity, thy name is Dawson Nichols.” – The Vancouver Sun
“Theater at its very best!” - 3D Radio, Australia
“He is, in a word, brilliant!” - The Winnipeg Free Press
Stop Start
As his fluids drain away, an embalmed man experiences… something that challenges his perception of reality. Myths mix with memories in an hallucinatory fugue that both expands and constricts what it means to be a self.
An internationally touring solo show that “confirms Dawson Nichols’ total mastery of the one man show.” - The Sunday Mail, Australia
“Brilliant, intense, poetic, a little maddening and a pure pleasure to watch, Dawson Nichols’ one-man show brings starkly lush to a new level.” - Vue Weekly
“A brilliant affirmation that a lone actor can populate a whole theatrical world.” - The Edmonton Journal
“So beautifully written and performed that it should stand as a blueprint for any solo artist.” - Vancouver Sun
“Confirms Dawson Nichols’ total mastery of the one-man show.” - The Sunday Mail, Australia
Three Descents of Darwin
Can a single choice change your life? A man who makes three different choices in a crucial moment evolves into three very different people: a stoned-out guitarist, a professor of geology, and an animal shelter worker. From the same origin they evolve into the same world very differently, forming a kind of triple helix of nature and nurture and chance.
The innovative, woven structure of this three-act solo work was designed under a grant from the King County Arts Commission and a commission from Aha! Theatre.
“Fiercely intelligent… Nichols crafts a bravura one-man ensemble piece exploring the monkey trials and tribulations of three men named for the famed theorist-philosopher, each with an evolving stake in their namesake’s argument-starting interests. …Three finely honed acts… in one sweeping, daring, provocative, and original narrative.” - The Seattle Times
“A refreshingly original and utterly compelling writer.” - The Adelaide ‘Tizer
“Nichols… builds up such beautiful mythology. It’s brilliantly done.” - The Edmonton Sun
Jekyll
You might discover some things about your father after he dies. You might find that this respected doctor had a different side. You might find that his double nature forces you to question your own. You might not like that part.
A classic adaptation of a classic.
“Everything about his performance runs a fascinating parallel course to his chosen subject, the doubleness of human nature.” – The Edmonton Journal
“Deft storytelling.” - The Westender
“He creates crisp, distinct characterizations and maintains an intensity that never dulls.” - The Stranger
“Rich in ideas and the examination of life’s purpose.” - In Daily
“Dawson Nichols is a genius.” - The Seattle Post-Intelligencer
For the completist…
Commissions
Into the Ring - Co-written with Rick Miller, commissioned by the Manitoba Theater For Young People
With permission of Tolkien’s estate, an exploration of his masterwork.
Invaders From Earth - Commissioned by Consolidated Works
We have met the invaders, and they are us.
The Fetch - Commissioned by ACT Theatre
Corporations are people, legally speaking. What if they really were, and walking among us?
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight - Commissioned by Seattle Children’s Theater
A retelling of the classic story, in verse.
The Brementown Musicians - Commissioned by Seattle Children’s Theater
An all-animal musical, with the classic, “Anything’s a Song If You Just Sing Along.”
Other Works
The New New News - Co-written, produced at Stage One Theater
Journalists adjust to the age of Twitter about as well as thespians adjust to the age of television.
It’s Not In the PI - Co-written, produced at Stage One Theater
A living newspaper about the dying newspaper industry.
The True History of the Pirate Farley With a Factual Account of the Disappearance of His Cat-Rigged Boat - Epic poem and podcast
On a mysterious island, a shipwrecked crew of pirates encounter unexpected residents.
The Ant Play - produced at The Empty Space Theatre
Ants shrink people down so that they can perform experiments on them. Really.
SANNS (Strategic Applications for Neural Networking Systems) - Staged reading at Aha! Theater
Isn’t it annoying that the most powerful computational engines in the known universe are swimming inside these hormonal cages? We can fix that.
Junk Christmas - Co-written, produced at Aha! Theatre
Not Charlie Brown.
Beyond the Pale - Co-written, produced at Heartland Theatre
Ghost stories for the new millennium.
Meet Brian Boomer - In my drawer.
I’ve got several unproduced works in the drawer. This one may be clawing it’s way out.
Produced One Act Plays
Parachute, Taxi, Release, Jude, Never, Political Science, Venus Rising, Flirting with Disaster, Cocoons, Pachinko, Lightness, Fine Furniture, Flight, Perambulations, Flour, Night Vision, Legacy, The Open Boat, Inside Out.
Poetry
Don’t ask.