"Katherine Nigh is one of the most interesting young scholars working in the fields of theatre and performance studies. Her work is always rigorous and relevant and her commitments to the performing arts inspired." ~ David Roman
Dr. Katherine Jean Nigh (pictured here in the midst of the Virgen de Candelaria festival in Puno, Peru) is an artist/activist/scholar. She received her PhD from Arizona State University’s Theatre and Performance of the Americas program (2011) and her MA in Performance Studies from NYU (2005). She is currently an Instructor in the Theater Arts program at Pasadena City College (Tenure Track) and has previously held positions at Temple University's School of Theater, Film and Media Arts, Arizona State University, Whittier College and Florida State University.
In 2013-2014 she held a Postdoctoral Research Fellowship with the Hemispheric Institute in partnership with New York University and the University of Manitoba’s Department of Native Studies under the direction of Dr. Diana Taylor. This fellowship was a continuation of the work Katherine has done with Hemi in the implementation of the Institute’s Digital Video Library. She has had the honor and pleasure of working as researcher and sometimes artistic collaborator with the likes of El Teatro Campesino, Grupo Cultural Yuyachkani (of Peru), and John O’Neal (of the Free Southern Theater/Junebug Productions).
She is a performer, director, dramaturg, producer, and performance artist whose work deals with gender, queer identity and the oppression of the female body (among other topics). Her research and publications focus on theater as a tool for social change/justice; performance of grief and mourning; national constructions of citizenship and belonging; and performance focused on race/gender and sexuality.