Ryan Nicotra (BAHS ’07) believes that every town needs a place where residents, no matter what their means, can go to a thought-provoking play and, later, step out for a post-theater snack. So much the better if you can walk from one to another.
Armed with a theater degree from St. Augustine’s Flagler College, Ryan recently moved back to his hometown and established BOOM Theater Company to make that vision of community theater come true in Bel Air.
Ryan is happy to have other theater venues produce traditional Broadway shows. Instead, BOOM Theater Company will take on plays from emerging and non-traditional playwrights, as well as classical productions from William Shakespeare, Oscar Wilde, Anton Chekhov and others.
You don’t have to be a scholar to enjoy good theater. He adds, “My challenge as a director is to get people to trust us,” says Ryan. “You don’t have to be familiar with a play but, by the time you leave, I hope you appreciate and understand it and get into a conversation with someone about it.”
