The National Theatre of the Deaf (NTD) Board is thrilled to announce the selection of our Theatre Producing Director for the 2020 NTD Main Stage production, Nikolya Sereda! She is an up-and-coming theatre artist from Washington, DC. We look forward to what Nikolya will bring to NTD and the Deaf Theatre Ecosystem.
The NTD Theatre Producing Director position was posted on October 17, 2019 and we received many strong applications from talented Deaf theatre professionals who shared their inspiring vision for the future of NTD. The interviews throughout December and January made us excited about the future of the Deaf Theatre Ecosystem. On January 12, 2020 the Board voted to select Nikolya who we felt had the most fully realized vision and strong passion to carry our team through the production process. She began her role on February 1, 2020.
Nikolya Sereda is a playwright, costume designer, and theatre artist who hails from Boston, Massachusetts. Deaf since the age of 6 months, Nikolya attended the Learning Center of the Deaf and was immersed into the deaf community. Nikolya was raised by a family with a strong background in the arts. Her mother is a dancer, her father an architect, and her sister a singer. This upbringing instilled in Nikolya a strong appreciation of the arts.
Nikolya attended Gallaudet University for her Bachelors of Arts in Theatre Arts and English. As part of the Gallaudet University Honors Program, Nikolya wrote and directed a full-length play entitled Baggage for her Honors Capstone, which was performed as the Gallaudet Theatre Department’s spring 2019 production. As a student, Nikolya was also the recipient of several writing awards, including the Bruce Hlibok Playwriting Award, and the Diego Rivera Award, recognizing Nikolya’s work to promote LGBTQ stories on stage and LGBTQ awareness on campus. Since graduating, Nikolya has pursued theatre professionally, but has not forgotten her roots. She continues to support the Gallaudet Theatre Department as a freelance costume designer, recently assistant designing for One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and currently, Twelfth Night.
Nikolya’s professional theatre experience is wide and varied. She has worked for Williamstown Theatre Festival in their Costume department and for Shakespeare Theatre Company, in their Graphic Design department. She has also done freelance work for other companies including Faction of Fools and Netflix. Not only has Nikolya branched out in theatre, she was also the founder, CEO, and editor-in-chief of FEEL Magazine, an independent publication that spotlighted and published deaf artists.
One of Nikolya’s passions is to grow Deaf theatre and build bridges between deaf and hearing audiences. She dreams of producing and working on productions that are 100% accessible and deaf-centric while still bringing in exposure and educating others about the hidden gem that is Deaf theatre. Nikolya hopes to achieve this goal to National Theatre of the Deaf, continuing to make accessible, profound art that speaks for the Deaf community in its own way.
NTD looks forward to our next Main Stage productions in 2020 under Nikolya’s leadership. Please watch NTD.org and NTD social media feeds for further announcements about the NTD Main Stage production and our other programs and activities that are set to take place in an exciting year for our organization!