Native Voices at the Autry June 1 and 2

NATIVE VOICES AT THE AUTRY
Festival of New Plays
Free Admission
June 1 and 2, 2012
Wells Fargo Theater at the Autry National Center, Los Angeles

Native Voices at the Autry, America's leading Native American theater company, continues its tradition of excellence developing works by new and established Native American playwrights at its highly regarded PLAYWRIGHTS RETREAT AND FESTIVAL OF NEW PLAYS, culminating in free public readings of three works on Friday, June 1 and Saturday, June 2, 2012, at the Autry National Center’s Wells Fargo Theater.

The Bird House
by Diane Glancy (Cherokee)
Saturday, June 2 . 2:00 p.m.
Diane Glancy, author of the hit play Salvage, tells the story of an evangelical preacher with a booming voice and his timid sisters as they sort through the snarls of their past and face an uncertain future. Questions about family, faith, community, and the very soil we live on collide in this small West Texas town.

Distant Thunder
A Native American Musical
Book by Shaun Taylor-Corbett (Blackfoot) and Lynne Taylor-Corbett
Music and Lyrics by Shaun Taylor-Corbett (Blackfoot) and Chris Wiseman
Saturday, June 2 . 7:30 p.m.
An attorney who works as a liaison between the U.S. government and Native American interests, Daryl’s well-intentioned efforts unwittingly trigger a crisis in his tribe that seriously threatens not only its cultural interests but the happiness of his childhood sweetheart. As he learns what it really is to be Native American in America, he struggles to redefine his life and where he belongs in the bewildering assimilation of past and present.

The Hummingbirds
by Elizabeth Frances (Cherokee), Kimberly Norris Guerrero (Colville, Salish-Kootenai, Cherokee), and Shyla Marlin (Choctaw)
Friday, June 1 . 7:30 p.m.
This interactive, multimedia experience in storytelling follows the lives of Kat, Willow, and Adosha, three Indigenous sisters from Santa Fe who work various jobs during the day and play the local music circuit at night. After they enter a competition for a major recording deal, the girls are launched into an all-out race for fame and fortune that forces them to walk the precarious tightrope between art and commerce, social networking and exhibitionism, family and band. Is it possible to maintain personal, familial, cultural, and artistic integrity in the age of Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube?

NATIVE VOICES AT THE AUTRY is the country’s only Equity theatre company dedicated exclusively to producing new works by Native American playwrights. The company has been hailed by critics as “a virtual Who’s Who of American Indian theatre artists,” “a hotbed for contemporary Native theatre,” “deeply compelling,” and “a powerful and eloquent voice.” Native Voices, which provides a supportive, collaborative setting for Native theatre artists from across North America, was established as a resident company at the Autry National Center in 1999. It is widely respected in both the Native American and theatre communities for its breakthrough plays and diverse programming, which highlight unique points of view within the more than 500 Native American nations in North America. Deeply committed to both developing new works by beginning, emerging, and established Native playwrights from across North America and seeing them fully realized, Native Voices has presented fully staged productions of 19 critically acclaimed new plays, including 14 world premieres; 8 playwrights retreats; 18 new play festivals; and more than 150 workshops and public staged readings of new plays. Native Voices is led by Founder/Producing Artistic Director Randy Reinholz (Choctaw) and Founder/Producing Executive Director Jean Bruce Scott. The theatre maintains successful long-term relationships with New York’s Public Theater, Native American Public Telecommunications (NAPT), Washington’s Kennedy Center, the National Museum of the American Indian, Montana Rep, and La Jolla Playhouse.

Admission is free, but reservations are required. Native Voices at the Autry is located at the Autry National Center, 4700 Western Heritage Way, Los Angeles, CA, 90027-1462. For reservations, please call 323.667.2000, ext. 354, or visit www.NativeVoicesattheAutry.org


*Refers to the artist’s tribal affiliation(s)