Jenn got the acting bug when she first saw Alanis on "You Can't Do That on Television" and dreams of being slimed began. Coming from a small town that few have heard of, acting opportunities were few and far between. Her career started at a young age, as the star of her own variety hour that played daily from her front yard where she regaled the audience with cover songs and interviewed local guests. She has worked in film, television, and theatre and is currently working on her memoirs. For more info on Jenn, please visit www.jennercide.com.Native Voices: What drew you to the profession of theatre?
Jennifer Bobiwash: The option to play and create.
NV: What are some of your favorite projects you've worked on?
JB: My Wonderful Coma, where I got to relive the 80s and my first production with the Autry, Berlin Blues.
NV: Which plays or playwrights have you been influenced by?
JB: Shel Silverstein
NV: If you could sit down and interview anyone from the past, who would that be?
JB: Michaelangelo.
NV: What's the longest standing item on your "To Do" list?
JB: To write my one-person show.
NV: What is your greatest indulgence?
JB: Staying in bed all day watching endless TV marathons.
NV: Fill in the blank: It's not theatre if it's not ______.
JB: It's not theatre if it's not art.
NV: As you may know, our 2009-2010 Season marks Native Voices' Tenth Anniversary at the Autry. Where do you think theatre will be in the next ten years?
JB: I would like to see more Native Voices programs around the country.
About Courtney Elkin Mohler (Santa Barbara Chumash), Intern for Carbon Black
Courtney has been busy balancing theory and practice, as they say. She holds a Ph.D. in Critical Studies in Theater from UCLA where she was awarded the 2006-2007 Institute for American Cultures Pre-doctoral Fellowship in American Indian Studies. She currently teaches courses in Theatre, Cultural Studies, Chicano Studies, and Native American Studies at California State University, Dominguez Hills, and consults for UCLA's ArtsBridge Scholars Program and Project HOOP (Honoring our Origins and Our People through Native American Theater). Due to her lifelong obsession for theater, Courtney also acts, directs, and dramaturgs professionally; she sleeps very little.Native Voices: What drew you to the profession of theatre?
Courtney Mohler: I caught the theater bug when I was six years old, so in some ways it's hard to remember what drew me to the stage in the first place. I do feel that theater is the perfect art form because it is truly collaborative and relies on several people bringing their energy, commitment and passion to the table. To paraphrase a theater professor of mine, "We do theater because there is something about it which makes us feel more alive than anything else in the world."
NV: What are some of your favorite projects you've worked on?
CM: Working on Romeo and Juliet, Narukami, Spring Storm, Dancing at Lughnasa, and King Lear, were all amazing experiences. I also love to teach theater and creative dramatics to children, who I find to be the most creative and fearless people in the world.
NV: Which plays or playwrights have you been influenced by?
CM: I have a very inclusive approach to adoration (although I am a huge fan of the Bard)!
NV: If you could sit down and interview anyone from the past, who would that be?
CM: It's a tie between Shakespeare, Jesus, and Cleopatra.
NV: What's the longest standing item on your "To Do" list?
CM: Publish my book transcript! Direct a show on Broadway. Tour South America. You know, the usual.
NV: What is your greatest indulgence?
CM: World travel. I'll eat Ramen for three months if I can travel for one!
NV: Fill in the blank: It's not theatre if it's not ______.
CM: It's not theatre if it's not ALIVE!
NV: As you may know, our 2009-2010 Season marks Native Voices' Tenth Anniversary at the Autry. Where do you think theatre will be in the next ten years?
CM: My hope is that theater will be an even more vital form of art, with even broader audiences. I would love to see more plays written and performed that deal with native life, issues, and characters.
About Kalani Queypo (Blackfeet/Hawaiian), Intern for Fancy Dancer
Kalani is a proud collaborator with Native Voices at the Autry where he serves on the Advisory Council. He's been seen in the Oscar-nominated film, The New World, and the Emmy Award-winning Into the West. Kalani received the Directorial Discovery Award at the prestigious Rhode Island International Film Festival for a short film he wrote and directed, Ancestor Eyes. Other awards from the film festival circuit include Best Short Film, Best Music Score, Audience Choice, and an Aloha Accolade Award. He works closely with the Young Native Voices: Theater Education Project and is currently producing a feature length film, Our Voices, Our Stories, which will explore the impact of this writing program on Native youth in the urban LA community. Visit www.myspace.com/ancestoreyesshort for more information.
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