Free Reading of EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT Presented by Native Voices at the Autry Tonight, 10/25

Native Voices at the Autry will present a free staged reading of Emergency Management, a new play by Jason Grasl (Blackfeet*) tonight, October 25, 2012, 7:30 pm, at the Wells Fargo Theater at the Autry National Center in Griffith Park. Packed with intrigue and suspense, Emergency Management chronicles a Cheyenne boy adopted into a non-Native family. Now a rising political star in Arizona, he tries to be everything to everyone. When his sister is kidnapped and held for ransom, he must reassess his life and overcome deep, dark secrets to save his career and his family. The reading is followed by an audience "Talk-Back" with Grasl and the director.

The reading is part of Native Voices' signature FIRST LOOK SERIES: Plays in Progress, which brings playwrights together with professional directors, dramaturgs, and actors for a workshop and public presentation at the Autry, providing an important next step in the play’s development.

Emergency Management is the second full-length play by Jason Grasl (Blackfeet*), who is more accustomed to acting. Among his Native Voices acting credits are Teaching Disco Square Dancing to Our Elders, and The Further Adventures of Super Indian. Other stage credits include The Blame of Love (which he also wrote), From Little Seeds, Trophies, and Tony n Tina’s Wedding. Grasl’s film credits include Fantasy Football: The Movie, The Seminarian, April’s Fools and Banking. Most recently, he appeared in the webseries Fallout: Nuka Break, based on the Fallout video game series.

Admission to Emergency Management is free. For reservations or additional information, call 323-667-2000, ext. 299 or visit www.NativeVoicesattheAutry.org. Native Voices at the Autry is located at the Autry National Center, 4700 Western Heritage Way, Los Angeles, CA.

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 hot bed 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 showcasing unique points of view within the more than 500 Native American nations in North America. Deeply committed to 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 21 critically acclaimed new plays, including 14 world premieres, 9 Playwrights Retreats and 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 and maintains successful long-term relationships with New York's The Public Theater, Native American Public Telecommunications (NAPT), Washington's Kennedy Center, The National Museum of the American Indian and La Jolla Playhouse.

Native Voices at the Autry, a constituent of Theatre Communications Group (TCG), is made possible in part by grants and support from Department of Cultural Affairs, City of Los Angeles; Los Angeles County Arts Commission; National Endowment for the Arts; Edison International; Nissan; San Manuel Band of Mission Indians; Wells Fargo; and Judith Jacobs Foundation.

The Autry National Center is an intercultural history center dedicated to exploring and sharing the stories, experiences, and perceptions of the diverse peoples of the American West. Located in Griffith Park, the Autry’s collection of over 500,000 pieces of art and artifacts, which includes the collection of the Southwest Museum of the American Indian, is one of the largest and most significant in the United States. The Autry Institute includes two research libraries: the Braun Research Library and the Autry Library. Exhibitions, public programs, K–12 educational services, and publications are designed to examine the contemporary human condition through the lens of the historical Western experience and explore critical issues in society.

*refers to the artists’ tribal affiliation

Photo Credit: Sylvia Mautner Photography