Queer Futures: A Roundtable Conversation

The Center for Innovation, Research, and Creativity in the Arts (CIRCA) presents Queer Futures, a roundtable gathering of visionary queer artists, thinkers, and culture-makers designed to explore the evolving possibilities of queer life, art, and community. In an open and generative conversation, panelists will reflect on the current moment, imagine what’s ahead, and share how their creative and political practices are shaping the world to come. This event, hosted in conjunction with the second week of the new play by Nigel Semaj, assistant professor of theatre, Call Me By Any Other Name… Just As Sweet at The Voxel, invites students, artists, and community members into a space of radical imagination, joy, and inquiry. Join us for an evening of reflection, conversation, and celebration — and then join us for the evening’s performance at The Voxel.

What does queerness look like in the future? What are we dreaming of? What are we building — and how do we build it?

The roundtable will feature:

• Nigel Semaj (they/them) is a director, movement director, and educator originally from Washington, D.C. As an assistant professor of theatre and affiliate assistant professor of gender, women’s, and sexuality studies at UMBC, Semaj’s work is rooted in fostering inclusive and equitable theatrical spaces through anti-racist pedagogies and restorative practices.
• Hershey Vazquez Millner (they/them) is a Florida-based producer and arts administrator with deep experience in casting, education, and community partnerships. Rooted in a commitment to ethical and equitable arts practices, they specialize in guiding meaningful connections between artists, institutions, and audiences.
• Lyam B. Gabel (they/he) is a trans* director, performance-maker, and community organizer who creates containers for collective remembering and radical celebration. He is obsessed with archives and his ever-evolving process combines extensive research, emerging technology, and embodied improvisation.
• Joseph Amodei (they/them) is a new media artist, theater designer, activist, and educator. Their work seeks to make material differences with and for people at the intersection of art, emerging technology, and community.

Additional information about the panelists is available on CIRCA’s event page.

A post-show talk-back with UMBC students will take place later in the evening, following the performance of Call Me By Any Other Name… Just As Sweet at The Voxel.

Admission to the roundtable is free. Light refreshments will be served.

This event is co-sponsored by CIRCA, the Department of Theatre, and The Voxel.

This event is funded in part by the Arts+ Initiative.