On 21 September 2026, TORCHES continues with a conversation with the award winning theatre director and performance artist Niegel Smith.
Niegel Smith is a Bessie Award winning theatre director and performance artist. He is the artistic director of NYC’s Obie Award winning theatre, The Flea guiding the organization through its refounding as a hub for experimental art by Black, brown and queer artists. He is also a board member of A.R.T./New York and was a ringleader of Willing Participant, an artistic activist organization that whips up urgent poetic responses to crazy shit that happens. He has helmed the productions of theatrical concerts by John Batiste, Taylor Mac, Suzan-Lori Parks, Lady Rizo and En Vogue; music theatre works including The Hang, Plays for the Plague Year and The Ritual of Breath Is the Rite to Resist. His premiere productions of new plays and musicals and his participatory walks and performance art have been presented at museums and theatres around the US. Niegel is the recipient of the Black Theater Alliance Award for Best Direction, City and State’s Trailblazer in the Arts 2025, and Sainthood from The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence.
