A Nervous Smile is a play written by John Belluso that was originally commissioned by the Actors Theatre of Louisville. It opened March 4, 2005, for the 29th annual Humana Festival of New American Plays. The play was originally directed by David Esbjornson and starred Sean Haberle as Brian, Maureen Mueller as Eileen, Mhari Sandoval as Nic, and Dale Soules as Blanka. Unseen characters include heavy reference to Brian and Eileen's child Emily and Nic's son Dominic (both of whom have severe cerebral palsy) as well as to Nic's ex-husband and Blanka's adult daughter. The story is set in a present-day Manhattan apartment.