YIPAP Announces 2nd Annual Young Native Actor's Contest And Free Workshop With Kimberly Guerrero

The Yale Indigenous Performing Arts Program is open for submissions for the 2nd Annual Young Native Actor's Contest.

The winners will recieve $500, be honored as part of our Annual New Native Play Festival this Spring, and cast as an actor in performances in the festival. This year's festival will be held online, and we are so excited to showcase more talented Native youth.

Native actors age 25 and under are invited to record themselves performing a monologue to be considered for submission. Video submissions are due Feb 15th 2021 and will be evaluated by a team of professional Native theater artists.

We have compiled a special folder of monologues for Native actors under 25 by Native playwrights such as William S Yellowrobe Jr., Marisa Carr, Carolyn Dunn, Tara Moses, Mary Kathryn Nagle, Vera Starbard, Rhianna Yazzie, and Vickie Ramirez, with their permission.

Please email the following information to madeline.sayet@yale.edu for access to the folder of Monologue options to submit.

1. Full Name

2. Tribal Affiliation

3. Date of Birth

4. Email

5. Phone Number

To help prepare youth to submit we will also be offering a special free Monologue Acting Workshop with celebrated actor Kimberly Guerrero on Sunday February 6th from 5-7 PM EST/2-4 PST. During this workshop Native actors 25 and under will have the opportunity to learn some tips on how to prepare their monologues from an accomplished professional. Please email madeline.sayet@yale.edu to register for the online workshop or if you have any questions.

Kimberly is a contemporary Native American storyteller (actor, screenwriter, director) who enjoys a career in film, television and theater. Some of Kimberly's recent film credits include Julie Taymor's inspirational Gloria Steinem biopic, The Glorias, where Kimberly plays legendary Cherokee Chief Wilma Mankiller opposite Julianne Moore, the gritty revenge thriller and winner of the 2021 Tribeca Film Festival Audience Award, Catch the Fair One, and the powerful upcoming feature, Montana Story. Having made a mark early on in her career playing Jerry's Native American girlfriend on Seinfeld, Kimberly has gotten back to her comedy roots appearing in three ground-breaking new shows, Rutherford Falls, Reservation Dogs, and an exciting new Netflix animated series, Spirit Rangers. On stage, she originated the role of "Johnna" in Tracy Letts' Tony Award-winning play August: Osage County and also starred in Mary Kathryn Nagle's Manahatta (The Public Theater, NY) and Carolyn Dunn's The Frybread Queen (Native Voices, LA). For over two decades, Kimberly has also worked extensively with Native peoples across North America using filmmaking as a tool to empower youth and promote wellness in tribal communities. Kimberly is the current Artistic Director at UC Riverside where she serves as an Associate Professor in the Theater, Film and Digital Filmmaking Department.

For those interested in submitting to this year's 7th Annual Young Native Playwright's Contest, we will be extending the deadline for submissions to January 31st. You can read more about the submission process here https://yipap.yale.edu/news/call-submissions-7th-annual-yale-young-native-playwrights-contest.