A Family Of Actors In A Nut Shell

The last three years for the Nutters read like a movie: A teacher, Duncan Nutter, living in Vermont, with a passion for acting and a desire to spend more time with his loved ones, wants to quit his job and move his family to New York home of Broadway and aspiring performers trying to get a curtain call on its stages.
A supportive yet wary wife agrees to the move and to reversing roles. She takes a job as a teacher in a New York City public school, while he minds the kids and, along with his son Aaron the other main actor in the family auditions for parts in plays. Its a shaky move in the beginning. The three-bedroom living conditions are cramped and some family members unhappy, missing Vermont. But the story brightens. The family adjusts. The two thespians get gigs in off-Broadway productions. In six months they have memberships in the Actors Equity Association a coveted entitlement in the theatre circuit. Duncan lands roles in a host of plays and commercials, and Aaron, inside of year, is cast in the Broadway production of "The Full Monty."
Its got all the drama of an MGM classic. And who to cast for the parts? Well, the Nutters a nine-member family, all with acting credentials.
Though their unique story has not yet graced the silver screen, the Nutters have been drawing media attention in the last few weeks. The family recently taped a segment for "20/20" that will air on September 15. And the Bravo Network plans on following them around this fall for a series documenting their lives and their auditions.
"The first year living in New York was hellacious," said "play-full" patriarch Duncan Nutter, who moved with his family to the city in 2000. "A lot of things went wrong. It was the first time in 20 years I didnt a have a place to go to work."
Since they graduated from the University of Maryland, Duncan and his wife Cynthia had spent their lives teaching at various schools around the world. They taught for five years in Jakarta, Indonesia, three years in Hong Kong, and then settled in Vermont. Nutter had spent more than 20 years teaching by day and directing plays at night, limiting the amount of time he spent with his own kids.
"I never questioned it," he said about his decision to become a full-time dad and aspiring actor. "I had to give up teaching to get to know my seven kids."
It was in Jakarta where Nutter first started performing professionally. He and a friend got involved in playing folk music there. By the time he reached Hong Kong, his interests had shifted to theatre. He had enjoyed acting in high school and college and wanted to return to the art. "Its all my passion, its how I make sense of my life," reflected Nutter about his draw to the craft. "Live theatre is what I love."
In Hong Kong, Nutter performed in his first musical and later became a member of the acting troupe Broadway Express, which he performed with at night for two years, until he left Hong Kong. While in Asia, the acting bug spread throughout his family. His children Duncan,17; Grace, 16; Aaron, 13; Elizabeth, 12; Emma, 10; Isaiah, 9; and Forrest, 7 began modeling there, and later, while living in Vermont and New York, the family members landed roles in commercials, plays and movies including bit parts in "Me, Myself and Irene" and "The Royal Tenenbaums."
Grace toured with a play in Vermont and New Hampshire. His son Duncan did an independent film. Elizabeth and Forrest modeled for the book covers of Scholastics Boxcar Series. Even his wife, who has a tendency to shy up around a camera, did an infomercial with her husband for a Time Life record collection of music from the 1970s.
"When Aaron got the part in The Full Monty, it was like one of us got into the Olympics," said the patriarch about his son who, like his dad, cherishes acting. "It was three steps to Broadway for him, inside of one year."
The 13-year-old was cast in the production in 2001. After a year working the play on Broadway, he toured with it across North America.
The transition to New York was not easy for some of the family members. The switch to a three-bedroom apartment was a tough adjustment, since they were used to living in a house in Stowe, Vermont. Cynthias first job in New York as a summer school teacher fell through. She also missed the recreation opportunities that Vermont offered, while Grace missed her friends. In addition, the Nutters were burdened with $12,000 in repairs to their Vermont home, which they were renting.
Eventually, the wrinkles were smoothed. Cynthia took another teaching job. Grace started to enjoy school in the city. Duncan, the eldest, who immediately lapped up the fast pace and independence of the city, became the manager of a Sterling Pet Supply store in Queens, where Grace also now works. Aaron and Elizabeth who does gymnastics and dance and is the other big performer among the children were accepted at Professional Performance Art School in Manhattan.
Currently, the family resides in Kew Gardens in an even smaller two-bedroom apartment, but the father wouldnt have it any other way. "Theres not a lot of privacy," he said about his familys confines. "Were literally in each others faces. But, its a place I want to be."
As for how much longer the family will be in New York, Nutter cannot say, though his wife did grant him another year in the city. "I might get five years out of this," said the husband hopefully. "If so, I got two years to go to keep generating something."
No matter the timeframe, Nutter wants his decision and passion for acting to be an example for his kids. "In life, people have a lot of choices," said the thespian. "Im trying to teach kids that the pen is in their hands and they can write their own story."