Saheem Ali

Saheem Ali graduated from CAMD with a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre in 2003. While he focused on acting, it was during his time at Northeastern that he became more interested in directing. By his third year, he assistant directed Henry V. In 2003, he assistant directed Macbeth with the Commonwealth Shakespeare Company. ““My under­grad­u­ate edu­ca­tion at NU’s The­ater Depart­ment was instru­men­tal in launch­ing me into the pro­fes­sional world in New York,” he told CAMD. “The com­bi­na­tion of the­o­ret­i­cal in-class learn­ing, prac­ti­cal rehearsal and per­for­mance, and expe­ri­en­tial co-op oppor­tu­ni­ties equipped me with the tools that I needed to enter the pro­fes­sional arena.”  He went on to earn a master’s in directing from Columbia University. He returned in 2004 to work with the American Repertory Theatre and Boston Opera Project.

He has worked in the New York theatre scene consistently since 2009. When the COVID-19 pandemic struck in 2020, he created radio plays of Richard II, Romeo y Julieta, and Shipwreck. He most recently worked as the director for Fat Ham, a retelling of Shakespeare’s Hamlet by James Ijames.He and Ijames first worked together with his 2017 play Kill, Move, Paradise.