Native Voices at the Autry Presents World Premiere of STAND-OFF AT HWY #37, 2/28-3/16

Native Voices at the Autry continues its vital role as the country's only equity theatre company dedicated exclusively to developing the work of Native American Playwrights with the world premiere Equity production of Stand-Off at HWY #37 by Vickie Ramirez (Tuscarora*), directed by Jon Lawrence Rivera, featuring 16 performances running from Friday, February 28 to Sunday, March 16, 2014 (previews Wednesday and Thursday, February 26-27) at the Wells Fargo Theater. Illustrating Native Voices' deep commitment to nurturing new works and seeing them fully realized, this production is the culmination of a pivotal, twelve-month development process that has included long-term dramaturgical support, extensive workshop opportunities and invaluable collaboration with a team of theatre professionals.

An exciting, funny and thought provoking tale about political, environmental and spiritual convictions, Stand-Off at HWY #37 takes place in upstate New York, on the border of a small town and the local Haudenosaunee reservation, where a young National Guardsman of Tuscarora heritage has to choose between upholding the oath he took to defend his country and protecting the traditional lands of his people. Initially created as a one-act play for the 9th Annual Theater Festival at Ohio Northern University, Stand-Off received a student production in Ohio in 2011, followed by a 2012 table reading with Amerinda Theater at The Public Theater in New York as well as a workshop at the Classical Theatre of Harlem's Playwright's Playground. Ramirez subsequently extended it to a full-length play, which received its first developmental workshop and public readings at The Autry and La Jolla Playhouse as part of Native Voices at the Autry's Festival of New Plays in May 2013. This production follows on the heels of a second developmental workshop in Montana in July 2013 as part of Montana Rep's prestigious Missoula Colony 18. It was presented as Native Voices' FIRST LOOK SERIES: PLAYS IN PROGRESS reading last September.

The cast features LaVonne Rae Andrews (Tlingit Raven Clan*) as Aunt Bev; Fran DeLeon as Bevery Park; Matthew Kirkwood as Captain Donald Hewitt; Tinasha LaRaye as Linda Baldwin; Kalani Queypo (Blackfeet*, Hawaiian) as Darrin Jamieson; DeLanna Studi (Cherokee*) as Sandra Henhawk; and Eagle Young (Hopi*) as Thomas Lee Doxdater.

VICKIE RAMIREZ (Tuscarora*), an alumna of The Public Theater's Emerging Writer's Group 2009, is a member of Chukalokoli Native Theater Ensemble and Amerinda Theater. Her plays include Smoke, Ashes, The Varlettes vs. the Space Rock, Case 24: Roswell, NM and Leona by the Bayou. Her screenplays include MonkeyDog, and Lotto Munney. She is the recipient of the 2009/2010 NYC Urban Artists Fellowship and the 2010 NYSCA Individual Artist Award. Her work has been presented at The Public Theater, the Flea, Ohio Northern University, Santa Fe Theatre Festival, the Roundabout Theater's Different Voices Program, EST, BOO-Arts, Mixed Phoenix Theater Company, Native Voices at the Autry, and the 52nd Street Project.

Jon Lawrence Rivera Is an award-winning director who most recently directed the following world premieres for Playwrights' Arena: Dallas Non-Stop by Boni B. Alvarez; The Anatomy of Gazellas by Janine Salinas Schoenberg; Euripides' Helen by Nick Salamone (at the Getty Villa); The Girl Most Likely To by Michael Premsrirat; Bonded by Donald Jolly; and Calligraphy by Velina Hasu Houston. Other recent works include Tea, With Music by Velina Hasu Houston and Nathan Wang; Flipzoids by Ralph B. Peña; The Sonneteer by Nick Salamone; Oedipus El Rey by Luis Alfaro; The Last Five Years by Jason Robert Brown; Miss Saigon by Schönberg/Boublil; Ruby, Tragically Round by Boni B. Alvarez; Laws of Sympathy by Oliver Mayer; The Joy Luck Club by Susan Kim; and Dogeaters by Jessica Hagedorn. Rivera, who is the founding artistic director of Playwrights' Arena, is the recipient of NY Fringe Festival and LA Weekly awards, was a finalist for the SDC Fichandler Award, and is a five-time Ovation Award nominee.

NATIVE VOICES AT THE AUTRY is America's leading Native American theatre company. Acclaimed by critics as "a hotbed for contemporary Native Theatre," "deeply compelling" and "a powerful and eloquent voice," the company continues to build on its storied and prolific 20-year history as the country's only Equity theatre company dedicated exclusively to developing and producing new works by Native American Playwrights. Native Voices, which provides a supportive, collaborative setting for Native Theatre artists from across North America, was founded in 1994 by Producing Artistic Director Randy Reinholz (Choctaw*) and Producing Executive Director Jean Bruce Scott. In 1999, it was established as Native Voices at the Autry, a resident company at the Autry National Center of the American West. Native Voices 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, Perseverance Theatre, the Alaska Native Heritage Center, Montana Rep and La Jolla Playhouse. Hailed by critics also as "a virtual Who's Who of American Indian theatre artists" and "an established presence in Los Angeles and a growing influence elsewhere," Native Voices is widely respected in both the Native American and theatre communities for its breakthrough plays and diverse programming, which showcase the unique points of view within the more than 500 Native American nations in North America. To date, the company has produced 25 critically acclaimed new plays, including 16 world premieres, 10 Playwrights Retreats, 20 New Play Festivals, 3 Short Play Festivals and more than 180 workshops and public staged readings of new plays by Native American Playwrights featuring Native American actors

THE AUTRY is a museum dedicated to exploring and sharing the stories, experiences, and perceptions of the diverse peoples of the American West, connecting the past to the present to inspire our shared future. The museum presents a wide range of exhibitions and public programs-including lectures, film, theater, festivals, family events, and music-and performs scholarship, research, and educational outreach. The Autry's collection of more than 500,000 pieces of art and artifacts includes the Southwest Museum of the American Indian Collection, one of the largest and most significant in the United States.

NATIVE VOICES AT THE AUTRY is located at the Autry National Center, 4700 Western Heritage Way, Los Angeles, CA, 90027-1462. To purchase tickets for Stand-Off at HWY #37, which are $20 for general adult admission, $12 for students/military/seniors (55+), $10 for Autry members and half price for previews, or for additional information, call 323 667-2000, ext. 299, or visit www.NativeVoicesattheAutry.org.

* refers to tribal affiliation

Photo Credit: Craig Schwartz

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