Native Voices Playwrights Retreat Ends with Public Readings of 3 New Works 6/26-27

Native Voices at the Autry, America's leading Native American theater company, continues its tradition of excellence in developing works by new and established Native American Playwrights at its highly regarded PLAYWRIGHTS RETREAT AND FESTIVAL OF NEW PLAYS, culminating in public readings of three new works on Saturday, June 26, 2010, 1 PM, and Sunday, June 27, 1 PM and 4 PM, at the Autry National Center in Los Angeles. A special panel discussion entitled "Modern Natives in Media" featuring noted members of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG), Directors Guild of America (DGA) and Writers Guild of America (WGA) concludes the festival on June 27 at 6 PM. (The retreat is held at San Diego State University, and earlier readings of the plays take place at the La Jolla Playhouse.)

Established in 2004, Native Voices' PLAYWRIGHTS RETREAT AND FESTIVAL OF NEW PLAYS provides the opportunity during a week-long retreat for beginning, emerging and established Native American Playwrights to work closely in shaping their plays with nationally recognized directors, dramaturgs and an Acting Company comprised of exceptional Native American actors, culminating in public readings. Many works developed during this project, hosted by Native Voices in conjunction with La Jolla Playhouse and San Diego State University, have gone on to enjoy successful runs on the Autry main stage and elsewhere, including Native Voices' 2009-10 season opener Carbon Black and its upcoming mainstage production of The Frybread Queen in March 2011.

The plays being workshopped at the retreat and featured at the 2010 New Festival of Plays include TOMBS OF THE VANISHING INDIAN by Marie Clements (Métis*). Directed by Seema Sueko, it is a contemporary tragedy that converges the dreams, blood and tears of three separated Indian sisters against the backdrop of the political, cultural and social currents of 1970s Los Angeles. Clements is an award-winning performer, playwright, director, screenwriter, producer, and co-director of Frog Girl Films and the newly formed Red Diva Projects. She has written a dozen plays, including Copper Thunderbird, Burning Vision, and The Unnatural and Accidental Women, which have been presented on some of the most prestigious stages in Canada and internationally, garnering numerous awards, including the 2004 Canada-Japan Literary Award and two short-listed nominations for the Governor General's Literary Award. As a director, she is currently working on her feature film, Tombs, and the premiere of her performance work, The Road Forward, commissioned by the Vancouver 2010 Cultural Olympiad.

Working with Clements as dramaturg is Brian Quirt, artistic director of Nightswimming in Toronto, Canada, and dramaturg for the theatre company's City of Wine project (Ned Dickens' seven-play cycle), who is also past-president of the Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas and a two-time recipient of LMDA's Elliott Hayes Award for Dramaturgy. Director Sueko is the artistic director of Mo'oleo Performing Arts Company.

TIME IMMEMORIAL, written by Jack Dalton (Yup'ik*) and Allison Warden (Inupiaq*) and directed by Jere Hodgin is a clever retelling of how the world was made. Dalton has grown up an ambassador between two worlds, his Yup'ik Inuit and European heritages. A professional storyteller, actor, writer, and teacher, he received the first Expressive Arts Grant from the National Museum of the American Indian. He has created and produced five theatrical works of storytelling; written a book; co-wrote and starred in the play Raven's Radio Hour; performed internationally in France, Denmark and Australia; headlined the Scottish International Storytelling Festival; and has received grants to co-write and star in two plays, Time Immemorial and Cauyaqa Nauwa: Where Is My Drum? He is currently writing his fourth play, Assimilation. Warden is a performance artist who recently developed the performance art piece, Wait, Let Me Finish Putting On My Armor, for "virtual subsistence," a show she helped co-curate at the MTS Gallery in Anchorage, Alaska. As a playwright, she co-wrote and co-starred in Time Immemorial with Jack Dalton at Native Voices at the Autry in spring 2009. She's also a rapper, who performs under the name of Aku-matu, and is about to release an album, using her own beats and sampling traditional native music and sounds. She has been touring her one-woman show, Ode to the Polar Bear, for the past two years and recently reworked it into a longer piece with TeAda Productions in Los Angeles.

The dramaturg working with Dalton and Warden is Robert Caisley, associate professor of theatre & film and head of the Dramatic Writing Program at the University of Idaho, who served as Idaho Repertory Theatre's artistic director from 2001- 2004. Director Hodgin was for 20 years the producing artistic director of Mill Mountain Theatre, where he founded the nationally recognized Norfolk Southern New Play Festival. He served as artistic director and co-producer of Highlands Playhouse in North Carolina and has served as a National Endowment for the Arts site visitor and a member of the NEA Creativity Panels for multiple years.

ON THE MANGLED BEAM by Dawn Jamieson (Cayuga*) and directed by Stephen Metcalfe portrays heroic efforts made by Iroquois (Haudenosaunee) ironworkers in the aftermath of the 9/11 destruction of the World Trade Center. Jamieson is an educator, actor and playwright whose acting credits include the Broadway shows Inherit the Wind (George C. Scott, Charles Durning) and The Price (Eli Wallach, Hector Elizondo). Among her film credits are The Reawakening (Michael Greyeyes, Gordon Tootoosis) and Ivory (Martin Landau, Peter Stormare). As a playwright, she has penned Silent Quest, a drama about the hunt for a sexually abusive priest, and The Escape of the Potted Plant, a comedic adventure about an FBI undercover operation. Jamieson holds a Bachelor of Arts in psychology from Michigan State University and a Masters in education from Columbia University. She is a member of American Indian Artists, Inc. (AMERINDA), Times Square Playwrights, AEA, SAG and AFTRA.

Working with Jamieson is dramaturg Julie Jensen, the resident playwright at Salt Lake Acting Company and the recipient of the Kennedy Center Award for New American Plays, the Joseph Jefferson Award for Best New Work, and the LA Weekly Award for Best New Play. Director Metcalfe's plays have been produced in New York and at regional theaters through the United States as well as in Europe and Japan. He is a guest teacher in dramatic writing at University of California at San Diego, University of San Diego and San Diego State University and was a contributing writer on the motion pictures Pretty Women, Arachnophobia, It Could Happen to You, and Mr. Holland's Opus.

Jamieson is also one of the featured panelists participating in the discussion "Modern Natives in Media." Other panelists include DGA director Chris Eyre (Cheyenne-Arapaho*), whose credits include the films Smoke Signals and Edge of America as well as the award-winning PBS mini-series We Shall Remain: Parts I-III; actress DeLanna Studi (Cherokee*), who serves as Chair of SAG President's National Task Force for American Indians and was also in the cast of the first Broadway National Tour of August: Osage County, the films Edge of America and The Only Good Indian and the Hallmark/ABC mini-series Dreamkeeper. Also sitting on the panel are WGA/W American Indian Writers Committee Chair Micah Wright (Muskogee Creek*), author of the political commentary books You Back The Attack, We'll Bomb Who We Want, If You're Not a Terrorist, Then Stop Asking Questions, and Surveillance Means Security!; WGA/W member and AIWC Vice Chair Jason Gavin (Blackfeet*), whose television credits include such hits as Greek, Friday Night Lights, Royal Pains, and According to Jim; and WGA/W and AIWC member Larissa Fasthorse (Lakota, Sicangu Nation*), writer/co-creator of the N Network series Lakota Falls and writer of the Fox pilot The Line, whose play Teaching Disco Square Dancing To Our Elders was presented by Native Voices. Serving as moderator is SAG PTFAI member Kalani Queypo (Hawaiian, Blackfeet*), actor in the Oscar-nominated film, The New World and PBS mini-series and Into The West as well as writer/director of the award-winning short-film Ancestor Eyes.

Native Voices at the Autry, celebrating its 10th Anniversary Season, is led by Founder/Producing Artistic Director Randy Reinholz (Choctaw*) and Founder/Producing Executive Director Jean Bruce Scott and is the country's only Equity theater company dedicated exclusively to producing new works by Native American Playwrights and performed by Native actors. It maintains successful long-term relationships with New York's The Public Theater[JS1] , Native American Public Telecommunications (NAPT), Washington's Kennedy Center and La Jolla Playhouse.

FESTIVAL OF NEW PLAYS SCHEDULE

Tombs of the Vanishing Indian
Written by Maria Clements (Métis*)
Directed by Seema Sueko
Dramaturgy by Brian Quirt
Staged readings:
Saturday, June 26, 2010, 1 PM, at Autry National Center
A contemporary tragedy that converges the dreams, blood and tears of three separated Indian sisters against the backdrop of the political, cultural and social currents of 1970s Los Angeles.
Admission: $10; students/seniors/military $5
For reservations: NativeVoices@theAutry.org

Time Immemorial
Written by Jack Dalton (Yup'ik*) and Allison Warden (Inupiaq*)
Directed by Jere Hodgin
Dramaturgy by Robert Caisley
Staged readings:
Sunday, June 27, 1 PM, at Autry National Center
Long, long ago, there was the light. And then there were Tula and Miti. And then... history happened. A clever retelling of how the world was made, perfect for the whole family.
Admission: $10; students/seniors/military $5
For reservations: NativeVoices@theAutry.org

On the Mangled Beam
Written by Dawn Jamieson (Cayuga*)
Directed by Stephen Metcalfe
Dramaturgy by Julie Jensen
Staged readings:
Sunday, June 27, 2010, 4 PM, at Autry National Center
Iroquois (Haudenosaunee) ironworkers have made legendary contributions to the building and rebuilding of New York City. This is the story of the heroic efforts they made in the aftermath of 9/11 and the destruction of the World Trade Center, and of the women who courageously stood beside them.
Admission: $10; students/seniors/military $5
For reservations: NativeVoices@theAutry.org

The Autry National Center of the American West is located at 4700 Western Heritage Way, Los Angeles, CA, 90027-1462. The La Jolla Playhouse is located at 2910 La Jolla Village Drive, La Jolla, CA 92037. To purchase tickets, call (323) 667-2000, ext. 354 or visit www.NativeVoicesattheAutry.org.

Native Voices at the Autry, celebrating its 10th Anniversary Season, 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 and La Jolla Playhouse. It is the country's only Equity theater company dedicated exclusively to producing new works by Native American Playwrights and performed by Native actors. The company has been hailed by critics as "a virtual who's who of American Indian theater artists," "a hot bed for contemporary Native theater," "an established presence in Los Angeles and a growing influence elsewhere," "deeply compelling" and "a powerful and eloquent voice." Native Voices, which provides a supportive, collaborative setting for Native theater artists from across North America, was established as a resident company at the Autry National Center of the American West in 1999. It is widely respected in both the Native American and theater 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 also presents three signature projects in addition to its headline productions. They include the First Look Series, the Playwrights Retreat and Festival of New Plays and the Young Native Voices Theatre Education Project. To date, the company has presented fully staged productions of 18 critically acclaimed new plays, including 13 world premieres, 6 Playwrights Retreats and 12 New Play Festivals, and more than 80 workshops and public staged readings of new plays.

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 includes the collections of the Museum of the American West, the Southwest Museum of the American Indian, and the Autry Institute's two research libraries: the Braun Research Library and the Autry Library. Exhibitions, public programs, K-12 educational services, and publications are designed to examine critical issues of society, offering insights into solutions and the contemporary human condition through the Western historical experience.

MORE ABOUT THE DIRECTORS

JERE HODGIN has produced over 200 productions, numerous new and premiere works, and has directed more than 175 plays, operas and musicals. For 20 years, he was the producing artistic director of Mill Mountain Theatre, where he founded the nationally recognized Norfolk Southern New Play Festival. He served as artistic director and co-producer of Highlands Playhouse in North Carolina and has directed at such theatres as Walnut Street Theatre, The Barter Theatre, The Phoenix Theatre, and Wayside Theatre. In addition, Hodgin has directed new works at Shenandoah Playwright's Retreat, Missoula Writer's Colony, and The Phoenix Theatre New Play Festival. He has served as a National Endowment for the Arts site visitor and has been a member of the NEA Creativity Panels for multiple years. Additionally, Hodgin has also been a regional panelist for the Virginia Commission for the Arts, as well as theatre panelist for the ID, SC, and NC Arts Commissions. He is a past president of the Southeastern Theatre Conference, where he also chaired the Playwriting Committee, and served as Vice-President of the board of The National Alliance for Musical Theatre, for which he co-chaired New Works and was a member of the Festival of New Works committee. Hodgin has been a reader and judge for numerous national new play contests and competitions, and is a member of the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers, Actor's Equity Association, Theatre
Communications Group, and The National Theatre Conference.

Stephen Metcalfe's stage plays include Love & Hours, Vikings, Strange Snow, Sorrows and Sons, Pilgrims, Half a Lifetime, Emily, White Linen, The Incredibly Famous Willy Rivers, White Man Dancing, A World of Their Own, and The Gift Teller. He has been produced in New York and at regional theaters through the United States as well as in Europe and Japan. His new play, The Commons, will have its premier at San Diego's Cygnet Theatre this coming year. His screen credits include Half a Lifetime, Cousins, Jacknife, Roommates, and Beautiful Joe. Metcalfe, a guest teacher in dramatic writing at University of California at San Diego, University of San Diego and San Diego State University, was a contributing writer on the motion pictures Pretty Women, Arachnophobia, It Could Happen to You, and Mr. Holland's Opus.

SEEMA SUEKO is the co-founder and artistic director of Mo`olelo Performing Arts Company in San Diego. She has directed Since Africa at The Old Globe and Mo`olelo, which received the Patté Award for Outstanding Ensemble; and Good Boys, Permanent Collection and The Adoption Project: Triad also at Mo`olelo. Her acting credits include The Intelligent Design of Jenny Chow at Yale Rep and The Old Globe, for which she received both the Patté Award and Craig Noel Award for acting; Rashomon at North Coast Rep; A Christmas Carol at San Diego Rep; and A Chorus Line at Seattle's 5th Avenue Theatre, among others. She is a three-time recipient of Chicago's Jeff Award. In addition, Sueko's playwriting credits are remains, which earned the McDonald Playwriting Award; a commission from Mixed Blood Theatre to co-write Messy Utopia, which garnered the Ivey Award, and Hijab Tube. Sueko developed Mo`olelo's greening initiative and led the Company through its selection as the Inaugural Resident Theatre Company at La Jolla Playhouse. She holds an MA in International Relations from the University of Chicago and is a member of Actors' Equity Association.

MORE ABOUT THE DRAMATURGS

ROBERT CAISLEY is Associate Professor of Theatre & Film, and Head of the Dramatic Writing Program at the University of Idaho. He served as Idaho Repertory Theatre's Artistic Director from 2001- 2004. His play The Lake received its Equity World Premiere at Philadelphia's Walnut Street Theatre and was subsequently produced at the Mill Mountain Theatre as part of the 2005 Norfolk Southern Festival of New Works. The Lake is next slated for production at New Theatre in Coral Gables, Florida. His other plays include: Kissing (New Theatre, January 2009, previously produced at the Theatre Artists Studio in 2008 and Phoenix Theatre's 2007 Festival of New Works), The 22-Day Adagio (Mill Mountain Theatre 2004 Norfolk Southern Festival of New Works), Good Clean Fun (developed at the 2008 Great Plains Theatre Conference), and Front (winner of the 1996 Fourth Freedom Forum Peace Play Award; developed at Sundance Writer's Lab). Caisley's numerous short plays include Western Mentality (recently published in Mizna: Journal of Arab-American Literature), The Apology (2009 Northwest Drama Review), and Santa Fe, which was a finalist for the 2004 Heideman Award from Actor's Theatre of Louisville and originally produced by Stageworks/Hudson as part of the 2005 Play By Play Festival, Hudson, NY. His new play Push was commissioned by Penn State School of Theatre.

Julie Jensen is the recipient of the Kennedy Center Award for New American Plays for White Money, the Joseph Jefferson Award for Best New Work for The Lost Vegas Series, and the LA Weekly Award for Best New Play for Two-Headed. She received the McKnight National Playwriting Fellowship and the TCG/NEA Playwriting Residency for Wait!, a major grant from the Pew Charitable Trusts for Dust Eaters, and The Edgerton Foundation Grant for Billion Dollar Baby. Her work has been produced in London and at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival as well as in this country in New York and theatres nationwide. Jensen has received commissions from the Mark Taper Forum, ASK Theatre Projects, Kennedy Center, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Salt Lake Acting Company, Geva Theatre, and Philadelphia Theatre Company, Penn State University, and Dramatic Publishing. Her work is published by Dramatic Publishing, Dramatists Play Service, and Playscripts, Inc. Jensen's book on playwriting, Playwriting: Brief and Brilliant, was recently published by Smith and Kraus. Her play She Was My Brother just concluded a successful run in Tucson at Borderlands Theatre, and will be produced by Plan-B Theatre in Salt Lake City next fall. Jensen is currently the Resident Playwright at Salt Lake Acting Company.

BRIAN QUIRT is the artistic director of Nightswimming in Toronto, Canada, and dramaturg for the theatre company's City of Wine project, Ned Dickens' seven-play cycle. His plays include Blue Note (with Martin Julien), The Death of General Wolfe and adaptations of Jane Urquhart's The Whirlpool, Michael Redhill's Lake Nora Arms (with Jane Miller) and the Iranian play Aurash (with Soheil Parsa). Quirt is directing the premiere of the Nightswimming commission, Such Creatures by Judith Thompson, at Toronto's Theatre Passe Muraille in January and dramaturged recent works by Anosh Irani, Anita Majumdar, Kendra Fanconi, Andy Massingham, Don Druick and Richard Sanger. His freelance dramaturgy credits include Marie Clements' Tombs of the Vanishing Indian (Native Earth Performing Arts). Quirt is the past-president of the Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas, and a two-time recipient of LMDA's Elliott Hayes Award for Dramaturgy.

*Refers to the artists' tribal affiliation