Meet Former Scenery/Props Intern - Eric Niece

Meet Eric Niece

Following my stint as Scenery/Props Intern in 2009/10, I have been working all over SE Michigan as both an actor and a technician. Some of my favorite roles have been Princeton/Rod in Avenue Q, Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet, Rocky in The Rocky Horror Show, and Sir Toby Belch in Twelfth Night. A good chunk of these roles (and other gigs) are a direct result of connections made while at MBT. This was especially true with regards to one of my first acting gigs as a resident actor for the Marquis Theatre in Northville (thank you Jamie Kolacki).

On the technical side of things, after a few years as Assistant Technical Director at Oakland University, I came back for a year as a carpenter for Meadow Brook. While working there (and as an actor for The Murder Mystery Company), I met my wife, Hannah (you may have seen her in A Christmas Carol and Murder On the Orient Express), who was an audience member at a show I was performing in. She gave me her number after the performance (in spite of me spending most of the night yelling at her table in a German accent) and we have been together ever since. We were married in 2016 and have a beautiful 2 year old named Daphne who appears to be a natural actress like her mother. Following my return to MBT's shop, I was offered a job as Technical Director for Rochester College's (now Rochester University) theatre department. I was at RC for two years until I accepted a job at Adrian College as their TD. While at Adrian, I also did some freelance scenic design, including a Wilde Award nominated set for Open Book Theatre's Ada and the Engine.

Unfortunately, while at AC, I was a victim of COVID layoffs and found myself having to leave academia for a moment. However, the layoff inspired me to start my own freelance carpentry company, Niece Carpentry & Woodworking. I am enjoying being my own boss and setting my own hours, but I do miss being in the classroom and working with students. With any luck, I will find myself employed in higher education again very soon.