Alumni Spotlight: Nancy Vitale '07

The Alumni Spotlight is a place to hear from the School of the Arts alumni community about their journeys as artists and creators.

Nancy Vitale '07 has been developing, producing and writing for more than a decade in film, television, theatre, and, now, podcasting. She is the Co-Founder and Director of Creative Development for Eyes Up Here Productions, a creative production company that specializes in strategic storytelling. She also serves as Creative Producer for Pop Culture Collaborative, where she just produced her first podcast, Wonderland. She served as Producing Artistic Director of Noor Theatre, producing Food and Fadwa (New York Theatre Workshop, 2012), The Myth Project (2013, 2014), and the Highlight Reading Series; served as Dramaturg at Williamstown, NYTW, Actors Theatre of Louisville, McCarter, EST, and Passage Theatre.As a writer, she is developing a new TV series, and is writing on Medium. Past dramatic writing includes the commission and production of Tips to Avoid Rap(e) (NYU Steinhardt, 2015), Coal, the Musical (Little Globe, Santa Fe), and Running with Sharks “Pilot,” adapted from her 2013 short film.



Was there a specific faculty member or peer that especially inspired you while at the School of the Arts? If so, who and how?

I came the School of the Arts through the Theatre Program's Dramaturgy and Script Development Program. I was excited to deepen my understanding of theory and history with professors like James Leverett, to explore the organized chaos of collaboration with Anne Bogart, and to expand my experience within commercial theatre with Steven Chaikelson. 

It was my first interview with Evangeline Morphos in a diner booth in her office, however, that convinced me that Columbia was right for me. She believes that dramaturgs—specialists in literary criticism, theatre history, and immersive collaboration—can employ their skills across media as she did. Whenever possible, she taught classes that brought Film and Theatre students together to learn from each other, and explore new forms. She greatly influenced me to see how transferable my skills and talents were across media and in a variety of environments both during my time at Columbia and in the following years. 

How did attending the School of the Arts impact your work and career as an artist?

Attending the School of the Arts with its cross-disciplinary focus helped me to see the possibilities of a life in the theatre and beyond. My deep love for, and knowledge of, every aspect of theatre only increased, as did my drive to get exciting original work out into the world. I soon co-founded a company, Noor Theatre, which I ran for nearly five years. I also had enough connections through classmates and professors in TV and Film that I began working in Development, and began writing my own film and TV spec scripts. Recently, all of this came together when I launched Eyes Up Here, a strategic storytelling firm and production company that approaches client-focused storytelling from a strong strategic base.

Along the way, I could call on a group of talented classmates to enrich theatre and film projects as actors, directors, writers, producers, and more. 

What advice would you give to recent graduates? 
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The first thing I wish I had done was to make a Strategic Plan. 

After 3 years of rushing around fulfilling requirements, and checking off lists, I was at sea when I graduated to discover thwarted LA plans due to a Writers Strike and limited opportunities within a Recession.

A strategic plan is more than a list of goals. It’s about identifying and understanding what that goal is, what the world can look and feel like once you have achieved it, and—most importantly—determining the action steps you need to take to get there. If you’re like I was, there are multiple directions to pursue. So, take some time, map out each possible goal, and really dig in to see what is within your reach after six months, a year, five years, etc. Understand which one is impossible, and which might be in my reach based on what you know, who you know, and how hard you are willing to work to get there.