Welcome 2010!

Long time, no blog! It's been awhile hasn't it? Well, I do apologize for our absence but I have a lot of exciting news to share with you so sit back and enjoy the read.

First up is our upcoming production of Tales of an Urban Indian written and starring Darrell Dennis (Shuswap), produced in association with The Public Theater. Tales is the semi-autobiographical story of Simon Douglas who moves from the rez to the city. Although it may sound like a simple tale, the path Simon takes is anything but. 

Tales of an Urban Indian makes its West Coast premiere at Native Voices after enjoying a successful run in 2009 at The Public Theater, its World Premiere with Native Earth Performing Arts in Toronto, Canada, and garnering two Dora Mavor Award nominations (the highest theatrical honor in Canada).

More information will be released in the coming weeks but, for now, you'll want to mark your calendars for what the New York Post calls an "evening filled with insightful observations about the Indian experience [that] amusingly counters our stereotypical notions of Indian life” and what Backstage called “a searing blend of anger, pride and resolution [storytelling] laced with abundant and welcome humor.” 

Tales of an Urban Indian opens on March 13th and runs until the 28th. Performances are on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 8pm and Saturdays and Sundays at 2pm. Half-price previews occur on March 11 and 12 at 8pm and March 13 at 2pm. Advanced reservations can be made by emailing nativevoices@autrynationalcenter.org.

Next, I'm very pleased to announce our playwrights for our 2010 Playwrights Retreat and Festival of New Plays! This year we have selected three exciting scripts that experiment with the notion of time:

Marie Clements (Mètis) for Tombs of the Vanishing Indian
A contemporary tragedy that converges the dreams, blood, and tears of three separated Indian sisters against the political, cultural, and social currents of 1970's Los Angeles.

Jack Dalton (Yup'ik) and Allison Warden (Inupiaq) for Time Immemorial
Long, long ago, there was the light. And then, there were Tulu and Miti. And then... history happened.

Dawn Jamieson (Cayuga) for On the Mangled Beam
Giving light to the contributions Iroquois (Haudenosaunee) ironworkers made in the aftermath of the 9/11 tragedy. 

The 2010 Playwrights Retreat will take place in San Diego from May 31 - June 7, 2010. The Festival of New Plays will be held on June 5 - 6 at La Jolla Playhouse and June 25 - 26 at the Autry National Center. Please e-mail us to receive more information or to be placed on our mailing list.

Third is the Alaska Native Heritage Project (January 25 - 29, 2010). You may recall from one of our previous posts that this year-long project is designed to identify, train, and nurture Alaska Native writers. But what was not announced in that post was that Native Voices Executive Director, Jean Bruce Scott, is actually serving as a consultant and one of the mentors on this project! We're very excited to lend our support to the ten writers who were selected for this project and can't wait to see where the year will lead us.

For information about the selected playwrights as well as the teaching artists who will be joining Jean in Alaska, please click here to view their press release.

Our next post will feature more information regarding our retreat playwrights and our reading panel. It's going to be a busy, busy year so keep checking back for the latest info!

Till next time!