His involvement with the theatre began four years later, when he appeared as the three of hearts in a school production of Alice in Wonderland. Nicolas continued acting throughout high school, and later directed a few amateur productions before turning to playwriting.

His first play, The Elephant Song, began as an exercise for a university class. At the urging of his teacher, he turned into a one-act play, with the intention of producing it himself in Montreal.

However, a copy made its way into the hands of Richard Monette, the artistic director of the Stratford Festival of Canada. In 2004, The Elephant Song opened at Stratford's Studio Theatre. That winter, Nicolas was invited to become the first playwright to attend Stratford's Birmingham Conservatory for Classical Theatre Training.

In early 2005, The Elephant Song returned to Montréal for a French production at the Théâtre d'Aujourd'hui, in a translation by Nicolas and directed by René Richard Cyr.

Stratford produced Nicolas' second play, The Measure of Love, in 2005. Nicolas returned to the Birmingham Conservatory to work with his mentor, Bernard Hopkins, on a production of The Duchess of Malfi.

In June 2006, Nicolas moved to Toronto for a two-year contract with Soulpepper Theatre as a member of their inaugural Academy. During his tenure, Nicolas created a new version of Chekhov's Three Sisters, worked as the production dramaturge for Brecht and Weill's The Threepenny Opera and William Saroyan's The Time of Your Life, and co-created BLiNK with the other eight members of the Academy.

Nicolas is working on a new play.

[ Read Michael Posner's profile of Nicolas. ]