Nigel Semaj
They/them/theirs
Director/Choreographer/Movement Director/Educator
NIGEL SEMAJ. is a New York City based director/movement director/choreographer/educator from Washington, D.C. Notable directing credits include, For Colored Girls who have Considered Suicide when the Rainbow is Enuf, which won awards from the Kennedy Center in Direction, Ensemble and Excellence in Costume Design, columbinus, The Baltimore Waltz, Sarah Kane’s 448 Psychosis, Argonautika by Mary Zimmerman, as well as new works such as Black Hollow, by Aeneas Sagar Hemphill, and wolfchildren runslowly through a Bruegel landscape, 1558 by Ruth Tang, Nigel has choreographed for Engelbert Humperdinck’s opera, Hansel and Gretel, Marc Blitzstein’s The Cradle Will Rock, select numbers in Lorca’s Blood Wedding, and new plays such as Ah Sweeter Lyme, by Karina Amalia. They recently adapted, designed and directed a five-female adaptation of Shakespeare’s Titus Andronicus. Nigel has worked with directors such as Ethan Heard, Stephen Brown-Fried as Leah Gardiner. In addition to Nigel’s body of work, they have worked in policy creation and amendment in higher education institutions, creating protocols and policies geared towards equity, diversity and inclusion in education. Their work has ranged from residential life, serving on Title IX conduct hearings, and creating policy to protect students of color. Recent credits include, Ntozake Shange’s Spell Number 7, as well as an adaptation of Our Town. Currently, Nigel is teaching as an adjunct professor at Long Island University where they also work as the Administrative Assistant to the Dean of LIU Post and Brooklys various art/performing arts/films/and more programs, including the new formation of The RocNation School of Music, Sports, and Entertainment.
Director’s Statement:
I’ve always been interested in the supernatural and the occult – the strange and the unknown. Horror was my way into those things – that’s why I’m so interested in the horror genre. I want to both write and direct for horror. At this moment, I am currently developing a Queer BIPOC anthology horror series, that would all be set in the same location, just different times, acting as a home/nexus for supernatural creatures/monsters/myths and such.
First Horror Movie I Watched:
- 13 Ghosts Dir. Steve Beck (2001)
My Favorite Horror Movie:
- Scream Dir. Wes Craven (1996)
My Top Horror Recommendations:
- Mother Dir. Royston Tan (2001)
- 2001 Maniacs Dir. Tim Sullivan (2005)
Connect with Nigel: