Dr. Katherine Jean Nigh
Faculty and Research Positions
Assistant Professor, Temple University, Department of Theatre, 2015-
Visiting Assistant Professor, Florida State University, Department of Theatre, 2014-2015.
Hemispheric Institute Postdoctoral Fellowship, University of Manitoba and New York University. 2013-2014.
Andrew W. Mellon Postdoctoral Fellowship at Whittier College, Department of Theatre and Communications. 2011-2013.
Education
Ph.D. Arizona State University, School Of Theatre and Film, Theatre and Performance of the Americas. Diss., Performing Nation, Performing Trauma: Theatre and Performance After September 11th, Hurricane Katrina and the Peruvian Dirty War. May, 2011. Advisor: Dr. Tamara Underiner
M.A. New York University. Department of Performance Studies. A Path Towards Healing: Post Dirty-War Peru and Post September 11th New York. May, 2005. Advisor: Dr. Diana Taylor
B.A. Hunter College, CUNY. Department of English. June, 2002.
Research/Teaching Interests
Theatre for Social Change, Community-Engaged Theater, Performance and Race/Identity, African-American Theater, Chicano Theater, Performance and Feminism, Trauma Studies, Justice Studies, Latin American Studies.
Languages
Fluency in Spanish.
Publications
Book chapter. “I Drove My Chevy to the Levee: Hurricane Katrina and the 2006 Mardi Gras Parade” in Festivals of the Americas: Staging Identity, Politics, and Utopian Performance edited by Rachel Bowditch, Peggy Vissicaro and Tracy Fessenden. Published by Seagull Press. (Fall 2016).
Article. “Forgetting to Remember: Grupo Cultural Yuyachkani and the Peruvian Truth and Reconciliation Commission.” Journal of Dramatic Theory and Criticism, special edition on Performance and Trauma, Guest Editor Rebecca Rovit. (June 2013).
Article. “Crying Out Loud for Peace and Justice” e-misférica Issue 1.1 (Fall 2004)
Performance Review.
“Eclipsed.” Theatre Journal Forthcoming (Fall 2016)
“The Breach.” Theatre Journal Issue 60.3 (October, 2008)
“Santiago Rides Again.” e-misférica Issue 4.1 (Fall 2007)
Book Review.
“Stormy weather: Katrina and the politics of disposability and What lies beneath: Katrina, race, and the state of the nation.” e-misférica Issue 6.1 (Spring 2009)
Teaching Experience: Combine theater histories and theater for social change
Instructor
THTR 0852 World Performances, Temple University. This is a General Education class that looks at world performances and cultures to cultivate a more diverse understanding of world cultures as well as diversify students’ definition and understanding of performance. 30-40 students. Fall 2015 and Spring 2016.
THTR 3001Theatre History II, Temple University. In this course we examined theatre history to better understand how theater and performance as we know it today has come to be. We used theater from the late 1800’s through modern day as a lens for learning about the history of societies and cultures from multiple parts of the world over a span of time, understanding “everyday life” as performance and plays and performances as direct reflections of the critical events taking place at the time the play was written and/or produced; understanding the word story plays a critical part in the word history. 39 students. Spring 2016.
THTR 3082 Community Engaged Theater, Temple University. This was a theoretical and practical course in which we study case studies using theatre for social change/community engaged theater and also do practical exercises based Augusto Boal’s Games for Actors and Non-Actors Alike as well as the methodologies of Cornerstone Theater Company. 12 students. Spring 2016.
THTR 1096 Intro to Process, Temple University. In this class you will study scripts and productions in order to better understand the nature of the dramatic art. In this class we paid particular attention to genre and play construction. We read scripts and attended plays and produced production reviews for each show. This is a writing intensive course where students learn to research and write about theater. 20 students. Fall 2015.
THTR 3001 Theatre History I, Temple University. This course surveyed staging practices and dramatic literature from the Classical to the 18th Century (Greek/Roman; Medieval Europe and Japan; Renaissance Stage; 18th C Western Europe). We were interested in coming to terms with the past as well as the past’s influence on the present. In this course we examined theatre history to better understand how theater and performance as we know it today has come to be. 25 students. Fall 2015 and Fall 2016.
Theatre History II, Florida State University. In this course we examined theatre history to better understand how theater and performance as we know it today has come to be. We used theater from the late 1800’s through modern day as a lens for learning about the history of societies and cultures from multiple parts of the world over a span of time, understanding “everyday life” as performance and plays and performances as direct reflections of the critical events taking place at the time the play was written and/or produced; understanding the word story plays a critical part in the word history. 80 students. Spring 2015.
THEA 4935: Latino Performance Art, Florida State University. This seminar and practice course offered a study of contemporary plays, performance art work, and other theatrical modes of representation written by U.S. Latina/o playwrights/performers. Readings and discussions will focus on performances by leading US Latina/o playwrights and performers, but will also consist of theoretical writings about representation and identity, sociopolitical contexts of U.S. Latina/os, dramatic criticism, and historical essays that situate Latina/os in the Americas. Our primary examination will study an array of playwrights/ performers representative of subgroup identities: Puerto Rican, Mexican-American, and Cuban-American, described by the label U.S. Latina/o. 16 students (undergraduate and graduate). Spring 2015.
THEA 4433/5437: Race, Gender, and Performance, Florida State University. Using the Performance Studies lens, which views everyday life as a performance, we look at performed representations of race, gender, sexuality and identity in (mostly) U.S. American performances including plays and other forms of performance (“traditional” and otherwise). This was both a theoretical and practical course that included undergraduate and graduate students. 15 students. Fall 2014.
THEA 3213 Theatre History I, Florida State University. This course surveyed staging practices and dramatic literature from the Classical to the 18th Century (Greek/Roman; Medieval Europe and Japan; Renaissance Stage; 18th C Western Europe). We were interested in coming to terms with the past as well as the past’s influence on the present. In this course we examined theatre history to better understand how theater and performance as we know it today has come to be. 80 students. Fall 2014.
THEA 272 Play Analysis, Whittier College. In this course students learned how to break down and analyze scripts, focusing on character development, plot analysis, analyzing character relationships, style and format of script, etc. In this course we focused on plays written by African American playwrights and/or focusing on the African-American community in the United States. 15 students. Spring 2013.
THEA 290 Theatre for Social Change, Whittier College. This was a theoretical and practical course in which we study case studies using theatre for social change/community engaged theater and also do practical exercises based Augusto Boal’s Games for Actors and Non-Actors Alike as well as the methodologies of Cornerstone Theater Company. 10 students. Spring 2012 and Spring 2013.
INTD 100 Performing Race and Identity/College Writing Seminar, Whittier College. This was a required course for all incoming freshmen. In this course students were expected to learn the basic analytical and technical skills to prepare them for writing in their intended discipline. In this course we focused on plays that address race and identity as a major theme including David Henry Hwang’s Yellowface. 20 students. Fall 2012.
THEA 372B World Theatre B, Whittier College. This was a required course for theatre majors. Classes involved both lectures and organizing student group work. The students studied theatre history as well as reading and analyzing plays as examples of the time periods discussed in the course. 20 Students. Spring 2012.
THEA 372A World Theatre A, Whittier College. This was a required course for theatre majors. Classes involved both lectures and organizing student group work. The students studied theatre history as well as reading and analyzing plays as examples of the time periods discussed in the course. 20 Students. Fall 2011 and Fall 2012.
THP 482 Theater for Social Change, Arizona State University. Developed and implemented course lectures about the history of Theater for Social Change. Facilitated group activities based on Augusto Boal’s Games for Actors and Non-Actors Alike and Michael Rohd’s Theatre for Community Conflict and Dialogue. 15 students. Fall 2009 and Spring 2010.
THE 322 Online Theatre History, Arizona State University. Graded student papers and graded final projects. Graded short essays for course, final projects. 10 students. Summer 2009.
THE 220 Script Analysis Discussion Sections, Arizona State University. Responsible for two discussion sections with 20 students each. Prepared lectures for discussion sections corresponding with larger course lectures and course readings with a focus on historical context. Prepared and facilitated group activities to interact with reading assignments (various methods of breaking down and analyzing a script). Brought in additional material to more specifically examine the topics covered in the guest lecture including articles, videos, photos, etc. Graded student papers and prepared workshops for writing issues. Held office hours for students. Fall 2008 and Spring 2009.
Faculty Mentor and Independent Study
THEA 485 Senior Project, Whittier Advised a student’s senior project on community art and activism. This final project involved a research paper and final presentation.
THEA 395 Modernism and Post-Modernism, Whittier Independent study adaptation of World Theatre B course.
THEA 395 Contemporary World Theatre, Whittier Independent study adaptation of World Theatre B course.
THE 482 Capstone/Senior Projects (Faculty Mentor), Arizona State University. Served as faculty advisor for students’ capstone projects, a requirement towards graduation with a BA in Theater. Helped students develop their project proposals, come up with a realistic timeline to complete the projects and advised them with their projects throughout their process. 2010-2011.
Teaching Assistant
THE 322 Online Theatre History (Teaching Assistant for Dr. Tamara Underiner), Arizona State University. 40 students. Graded short essays for course, final projects and helped change and develop the course syllabus. 40 students. Summer 2009, Fall 2009 and Spring 2010.
THE 220 Script Analysis (Teaching Assistant for Course Lectures for Dr. Rachel Bowditch), Arizona State University. Assisted instructor with course and syllabus development. Graded papers and course exams. Assisted with course lectures and connecting discussion sections with larger course lectures. Attended weekly meetings with instructor. 40 students. Fall 2008 and Spring 2009.
Guest Lectures and Workshops
INTD 100, Whittier College gave lecture on the use of performance to address cultural trauma and also gave advice on the importance of interdisciplinary approach to a class of Freshmen.
Boal Workshop, Catholica University (Lima, Peru). This was a workshop for engineering students to explore the ways of forming community partnerships with communities most impacted by the increasing engineering/mining in Peru.
ENG 355, Whittier College lecture on playwright Griselda Gambaro and the Dirty War in Argentina. Spring 2013.
THE 321 History of the Theatre II, ASU lecture on the life and work of Bertolt Brecht, the political context of his work and the use of adaptation during political persecution, Spring 2011.
SPA 203/204 Spanish for Native/Bilingual Speakers, Guest Lecture, ASU lecture on the use of theatre to address social change, history of theatre for social change in the Americas, history of El Teatro Campesino, Fall 2010.
COM 421 Rhetoric of Social Issues, Guest Lecture and Workshop, ASU lecture on history of Theater for Social Change and workshop using Image Theater to bring student’s essays “to life”, Spring 2010.
THE 791 Ethics and Performance, Guest Lecture, ASU lecture on the use of theater after times of violence in Peru and Argentina, Fall 2009.
THE 482 Theater for Social Change, Guest Lecture and Workshop, ASU lecture on Grupo Cultural Yuyachkani with workshop introducing Yuyachkani’s methodologies, Spring 2008.
THE 494/598 Latin American Political Performance, Guest Lecture, ASU lecture on the history of the Peruvian Dirty War and the work of Grupo Cultural Yuyachkani, Fall 2008.
Local to Global Justice Teach-In, Workshop, ASU “Guerilla Art: Expressing yourself in alternative ways.” Workshop using Theater for Social Change and guerilla art, Spring 2010.
Conferences Presentations/Workshop Participation
“Lugar de Memoria: Memorializing the Peruvian Dirty War” Mobilizing Memory: Bodies and Sites Workgroup, Hemispheric Institute Encuentro. Santiago, 2016.
“Performing Dystopia: Hurricane Katrina and Mardi Gras” Mani-fiesta: Festive Mobilizations, Movements and Protests Workgroup, Hemispheric Institute Encuentro. Montreal, 2014.
“Forgetting to Remember: Peru Ten Years After the Dirty War” Traumatic Structures Workgroup, American Society of Theatre Research. Nashville. November, 2012.
“Performing Trauma and National Identity.” Traumatic Structures Workgroup (Co-Convener and Participant), American Society of Theatre Research. Seattle. November, 2010.
“Performing Nation, Performing Trauma: Theatre and Performance after September 11th.” New Approaches to Trauma: Bridging Theory and Practice, ASU New College, Phoenix. October, 2010.
“Patriot Act: Performing Muslim Identity After September 11th” Emotional Cartographies Workgroup, American Society of Theatre Research. San Juan, Puerto Rico. November, 2009.
“Up Close and Personal: Archiving for the HIDVL” Workgroup. Hemispheric Institute Encuentro. Bogota, Colombia. August, 2009.
“When Trauma Travels: A play about Hurricane Katrina traveling outside of New Orleans.” Performance Studies International, Zagreb, Croatia. June, 2009.
“The Breach: Theatre and Rupture in National Narratives of Hurricane Katrina.”Cultures of Rebuilding, New Orleans, Louisiana. November, 2008.
“Santiago Rides Again: How Yuyachkani Travels.” Latin American Theatre Today.Blacksburg, Virginia. March, 2008.
“Performing Mourning: Performance After September 11th and the Peruvian Dirty War.” Trauma, Memory and Performance Workgroup, Hemispheric Institute’s Encuentro. Buenos Aires, Argentina. July, 2007.
“Embodied Knowledge: The Body as Site of Trauma” Acts of Transfer in Theatre Knowledge Workgroup, American Society of Theatre Research. Phoenix, Arizona. November, 2007.
“Making Guacamole for Grupo Cultural Yuyachkani.” Live Subjects Workgroup, American Society of Theater Research. Chicago, Illinois. November, 2006.
“A Path Towards Healing: Yuyachkani and the Peruvian TRC” International Federation for Theatre Research. Washington D.C. June, 2005.
“A Path Towards Healing: Yuyachkani and the Peruvian TRC”, Stony Brook Latin American Caribbean Studies. StonyBrook, New York. April, 2005.
“No Justice No Peace: Performing Resistance to the Invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq.” Performance and Activism Workgroup, Hemispheric Institute’s Encuentro. Bello Horizante, Brazil. March, 2005.
Other Professional Experience and Service
Theater Studies Committee. Temple University. Worked with head of TheaterStudies program on curriculum development and other goals for the program including a speaker series, changes to our advertising. Also worked on special reports for the General Education Committee.
Co-Convener. “Traumatic Structures” Workgroup, American Society of Theatre Research. 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2014. Responsible for creating the call for the working group, fielding applicants for the group, creating a web-based discussion forum for the discussion group and facilitating discussion with the group before and during the meeting.
Assistant Manager Hemispheric Institute’s Digital Archive of Encuentro Participants
Buenos Aires, Argentina. Organized and oversaw the interviews of artistic participants of the Hemispheric Institute Encuentro. Conducted interview of Ana Correa and Debora Correa of Grupo Cultural Yuyachkani. Summer 2007.
Archivist Hemispheric Institute’s Digital Archive of El Teatro Campesino. Worked wit members of El Teatro Campesino to collect videos for archive. Conducted interviews and did research in order to provide catalogue information for archive materials. San Juan Bautista, California. Winter 2006.
Archivist Hemispheric Institute’s Digital Archive of Grupo Cultural Yuyachkani. Worked with members of Yuyachkani to collect videos for archive. Conducted interviews and did research in order to provide catalogue information for archive materials. Lima, Peru. Summer 2005.
Research Assistant Dr. Tamara Underiner, Arizona State University. Did archival research for Dr. Underiner as she conducted research for book about Latin American performance in the United States.2007-2008.
Awards, Scholarships
Temple University Internationalization Grant, Temple University, 2016.
ASU Graduate College Dissertation Completion Fellowship, Arizona State University, 2011.
American Association for University Women Dissertation Award Alternate, 2010.
Cornerstone Theater Company Institute Residency Scholarship, 2010.
Department of Theater and Film Special Talent Award. Arizona State University, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010.
School of Theatre and Film Fellowship. Arizona State University, 2007, 2008 and 2009.
Graduate Professional Student Association Professional Development Award, Arizona State University, 2008, 2009 and 2010.
David Foster Latin American Studies Research Award. Arizona State University, 2008.
Claire and Henry Sargent Graduate Fellowship in Theatre, Arizona State University, 2008.
Philanthropic Education Organization Dissertation Fellowship Nominee, 2008.
International Federation of Theatre Research New Scholars Prize, Runner Up, Spring 2006.
Tisch School of the Arts Graduate Scholarship, Spring 2005.
Hempispheric Institute Travel Award, Spring 2005.
Mathew Ray Wiesen Prize for Outstanding Research in Shakespeare Studies, Spring 2002.
Hunter College English Department Award for Command of the Discipline of American Standard English, Spring 2002.
Practical Theater Experience
Assistant Director/Dramaturg. The Odyssey adapted by Mary Zimmerman, directed by Brandon McShaffrey, Temple University Theater, 2015.
Contributing Writer Center Theater Group’s educational “hub”/website called The Grid, 2013. For this position I wrote articles about the productions at the Kirk Douglass Theater.
Dramaturg/Consultant. Yes I Am an original piece inspired by interviews with the LGBTQ community of Honolulu, Hawaii, Playbuilders Hawaii, 2013.
Director. Coleccion de Cristal a transadaptation of Tennessee Williams’s Glass Menagerie by Hector Garza, Casa 0101, 2012.
Assistant to the Director and Monologue Coach, Stand and Deliver by Ramon Menendez and Tom Musca, directed by Alma Martinez, Pomona College, 2012. In addition to this directing position, I created a blog chronicling our rehearsal process and providing dramaturgical information on the show as part of an audience outreach effort.
Dramaturg and Performer. The Church of Allen Ginsberg by Katherine Nigh, conceived by Katherine Nigh, Planet Queer Performance Series, 2012-2013.
Production Associate and Dramaturgical Assistant. Brain Craze by Marcos Najera directed by Juliette Carrillo, Highways Performance Space, 2012.
Director and Dramaturg. What A Stranger May Know by Erik Ehn, Whittier College, 2012.
Assistant Director. Bone Portraits by Deborah Stein, directed by Rachel Bowditch, Arizona State University, 2010.
Community Outreach and Production Associate. It’s All Bueno by Sigrid Gilmer, directed by Juliette Carrillo, Cornerstone Theater Company, 2010.
Dramaturg. Machinal by Sophie Treadwell, directed by Rachel Bowditch, Arizona State Universtiy, 2007.
Assistant Stage Manager. On Golden Pond by Ernest Thompson, directed by Jerry Greenberg, Mendocino Theater Company, 2006.
Stage Manager. Monster In the Closet by Ed Valentine, directed by Peter Bloch, Chashama Theater, 2003.
Production Associate. WELL by Lisa Kron, directed by Leigh Silverman, a workshop production, The Public Theater, 2003.
Dramaturg and Assistant Director. Eddie Mundo Edmundo by Lynne Alvarez, directed by Domenique Lozano, American Conservatory Theater’s Young Conservatory, 2001.
Producing Experience
I have produced a number of productions on and off campus. For example, after seeing a production of El Teatro Campesino’s La Carpa de los Rasquachis, which I strongly felt was historically and currently relevant to the specific current politics of Arizona, I returned to ASU and began the initial legwork to bring the production to the University, which we did in the fall of 2009.
In 2010, I advocated and arranged for John O’Neal of Junebug Productions to come to ASU and speak about the use of performance to rebuild New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina and also conduct Storycircle workshops