For those who knew Facciuto as a student, it might be no surprise to see her on television; after all, she was interested in pursuing an acting career after graduating from Cottey. However, the route she took to get there was a little different. After Cottey, Facciuto transferred to another women’s college with the goal of graduating with a degree in theatre and plans to break into show business. In her senior year, she took a class in scenic art, which is basically creating theatre scenery.
But, finding she had a talent for scenery and painting, Facciuto chose to pursue scenic art rather than theatre. She attended Cobalt Studios, a graduate school for scenic painting that only selects four students per year. While there, Nicole worked on backdrops for Broadway shows. She then moved to New York City to work with a decorative painter. So how did that lead to her TV work?
“One of my best friends does hosting work for news stations, and other acting work,” explained Nicole. “She walked into her agent’s office one day and he told her that unless she was a designer or a doctor, there just wasn’t much work. She said, ‘I have this friend, Nicole.’ ”
“I went on auditions for ‘Trading Spaces’ and ‘While You Were Out,’ ” she continued. “The former executive producer of ‘Trading Spaces’ was producing ‘House Wars’ and saw my audition tape. When I met her, she felt like one of my Cottey sisters, like one of my best college friends. We hit it off right away.”
Facciuto was selected for the show in late July of that year, and in September found herself leaving for Phoenix for three weeks of intense and competitive redesign work. Although “House Wars wasn’t picked up for a second season by USA, Nicole immediately segued into her job with “Nice Package.” And this coming season, you can tune into HGTV and see her in an as yet to be named design show.
- From Featured Alumnae, Cottey College |
