Two Original Plays Mark The 10th Anniversary of Native Voices at the Autry

Season Opens in November 2009 with World Premiere of Carbon Black, a Suspenseful Psychological Drama by Terry Gomez (Comanche)

In March 2010, Company Presents the Devastatingly Hilarious Tales of an  Urban Indian
by Noted Canadian Actor/Playwright Darrell Dennis (Shuswap), Produced in Association with New York's The Public Theater

Native Voices - Resident Theater Company of the Autry National Center of the American West -Continues Vital Role as Country's Only Equity Theater Company Dedicated Exclusively to the Work of Native American Playwrights and Theater Artists

Native Voices at the Autry, America's leading Native American theater company - acclaimed by critics as "a hot bed for contemporary Native theater," "deeply compelling" and "a powerful and eloquent voice" - celebrates its 10th Anniversary by building on its storied and prolific history as the country's only Equity theater company dedicated exclusively to producing new works by Native American Playwrights and performed by Native actors. A pair of thought-provoking plays addressing the urban experience from vastly different perspectives are the featured productions for the 2009-10 season, including the world premiere of CARBON BLACK, a humor-tinged suspenseful psychological drama by Terry Gomez (Comanche), which opens November 7, 2009 (previews begin November 4), and the critically applauded one-man dark comedy TALES OF AN URBAN INDIAN written by and starring Canadian playwright/actor Darrell Dennis (Shuswap), which opens March 13, 2010 (previews begin March 11). Native Voices 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.

Native Voices, deeply committed to developing new works by Native playwrights from across North America and seeing them fully realized, also presents three signature projects in addition to its two headline productions. The FIRST LOOK SERIES is a script development process that brings playwrights together with professional directors, dramaturgs and actors; the 2009-10 season's initial First Look took place September 2 with a reading of Tombs of the Vanishing Indian by First Nations playwright Marie Clements (Métis), with two more to be announced later this season. The company's dynamic PLAYWRIGHTS RETREAT AND FESTIVAL OF NEW PLAYS in June 2010 provides the opportunity during an 8- to 10-day 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. This project is hosted by Native Voices in conjunction
with La Jolla Playhouse and San Diego State University, where readings take place prior to being presented at the Autry. Concluding the season in summer 2010 is the ground-breaking YOUNG NATIVE VOICES THEATER EDUCATION PROJECT, designed specifically to help to identify and train the next generation of leading theater artists and provide a unique opportunity for Native youths to explore their culture and heritage through theater. Middle- and high-school-age Native youths are paired with professional mentors for intensive playwriting and theater workshops, culminating in
public staged readings of their plays.

Established as a resident company at the Autry National Center of the American West in 1999, Native Voices provides a supportive, collaborative setting for Native writers, actors and theater artists from across North America to develop new works for the stage. The company 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. Native Voices has presented fully staged productions of 18 critically acclaimed new plays, including 13 world premieres, 12 dynamic New Play Festivals and 6 Playwright Retreats, and more than 80 workshops and public staged readings of new plays. The company's main stage productions are performed at the Wells Fargo Theater at the Autry Center.

"Native Voices' success over the past decade is a result of staying true to our mission," says company Founder/Producing Artistic Director Randy Reinholz (Choctaw), whose extensive directing resume includes a vast number of productions throughout the United States and Canada. "The Native American community, deeply creative and insightful, has a long and rich tradition of storytelling that lends itself perfectly to the theater world. It is a pleasure and our passion to nurture those voices, rich with artistic depth, helping to transform them into plays that can reach wide ranging audiences around the globe."

Company Founder/Producing Executive Director Jean Bruce Scott, an equally accomplished director whose name and face are remarkably familiar from her acting roles in countless 1980s and 1990s television series ranging from Days of Our Lives to Magnum P.I., Airwolf and St. Elsewhere among many others, adds, "To celebrate Native Voice's 10th Anniversary Season, a milestone that we are very proud of, we're reflecting the company's cutting-edge sensibilities by showcasing new works by two established playwrights. We're also continuing to nurture exciting new talent with three core workshops."

NATIVE VOICES 2009-10 SEASON DETAILS

MAIN STAGE PRODUCTIONS

Fall 2009

Native Voices launches the 2009-10 play series with the world premiere of Carbon Black, a humor-tinged suspenseful psychological drama by Terry Gomez (Comanche) and directed by Native Voices Founder/Producing Artistic Director Randy Reinholz (Choctaw), which runs Saturday, November 7 to Sunday, November 22, 2009 (previews begin Wednesday, November 4) . Gripping and enigmatic, the play vividly portrays a mother/son relationship held hostage by agoraphobia and media-inspired fear. The cast includes award-winning actress Tonantzín Carmelo (Tongva, Kumeyaay), Sheila Tousey (Menominee, Stockbridge Munsee), Stephan Wolfert and Michael Drummond. Gomez, a playwright, writer, director, actor, educator and painter, is a member of the Advisory Committee for the Native Theater Festival at The Public Theater in New York City, where her play Inter-Tribal was produced. Among her other produced works are Tobacco Leaves, Numunu Waiipunu: The Comanche Women, Antigone, A Day at the Nighthawk, Rain Dance, Melanin, Acedia, Reunion and The Woman with a Mustache. She has been a director for the Two Worlds Native Theater Festival and the Cool Side of Hell Theater Troupe, Institute of American Indian Arts.

Spring 2009

The second main-stage offering this season is the critically applauded one-man show Tales of an Urban Indian by noted Canadian playwright/actor Darrell Dennis (Shuswap), who stars in the dark comedy directed by Herbie Barnes (Ojibway), which runs Saturday, March 13 to Sunday, March 28, 2010 (previews begin Thursday, March 11). Dennis tells a tale of a life observed through the lens of a contemporary urban Indian making his way from the reservation to the city and experiencing his own unique (and often devastatingly hilarious) brand of culture shock. Sad, funny and always entertaining, Dennis invites us to a world where overcoming the odds is just
the beginning. Fresh from its West Coast premiere at San Diego's Old Globe Theatre, Tales of an Urban Indian is produced by Native Voices at the Autry in association with New York's The Public Theater, which premiered the play last spring. The play is also the basis of a hit Canadian television show of the same name. Dennis' extensive credits include roles on such popular Canadian television shows as The Res and Northwoods.

PROJECTS

Native Voices, dedicated to nurturing Native plays and talent, presents several workshop and outreach projects during the season, including the FIRST LOOK SERIES, a script development process that brings playwrights together with professional directors, dramaturgs and actors. The 2009-10 season's initial First Look Series took place September 2, 2009, with a reading of Tombs of the Vanishing Indian by accomplished First Nations playwright Marie Clements (Métis), who was paired with celebrated director/dramaturg Luis Alfaro. The play was inspired in part by the migration of American Indians to Los Angeles in the mid-twentieth century and also by the Autry's Southwest Museum of the American Indian collections. The reading was followed by a discussion with Clements and Alfaro. Other First Look Series presentations are to be announced.

Established in 2004, Native Voices' highly regarded PLAYWRIGHTS RETREAT AND FESTIVAL OF NEW PLAYS, set this season for June 2010, provides the opportunity during an 8- to 10-day 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. This project is hosted by Native Voices in conjunction with La Jolla Playhouse and San Diego State University, where readings take place prior to being presented at the Autry. Many works developed during this project, includingNative Voices' 2009-10 season opener Carbon Black, have gone on to enjoy successful runs on the Autry main stage and elsewhere.

Concluding the season in summer 2010 is the ground-breaking YOUNG NATIVE VOICES THEATER EDUCATION PROJECT (YNVTEP), designed specifically to help to identify and train the next generation of leading theater artists and provide a unique opportunity for Native youths to explore their culture and heritage through theater. Middle- and high-school-age Native youths are paired with professional mentors for intensive playwriting and theater workshops, culminating in public staged readings of their plays. The project is a collaboration with the Southern California Indian Center's (SCIC) InterTribal Entertainment in which Native Voices hosts the writing component and SCIC hosts an acting component. YNVTEP is currently in its ninth year, and the 2009-10 season theme is "Sharing Our Stories." To date, dozens of new plays have been written as part of this project.

ABOUT RANDY REINHOLZ, FOUNDER/PRODUCING ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

RANDY REINHOLZ (Choctaw) is PRODUCING ARTISTIC DIRECTOR and CO-CREATOR of Native Voices at the Autry. He has directed over 50 plays in the US, Australia and Canada, including The Rez Sisters, The Waiting Room, Proof, How I Learned to Drive, Hedda Gabler, Speed the Plow, The Cherry Orchard, Desire Under the Elms, The Glass Menagerie and numerous productions of Shakespeare's plays. He was the director and executive producer of Urban Tattoo and the critically acclaimed Equity productions of Jump Kiss, The Buz'Gem Blues, Please Do Not Touch the Indians, and Wings of Night Sky, Wings of Morning Light and was executive producer of the world premieres of Kino & Teresa, SUPER INDIAN, Teaching Disco Square Dancing to Our Elders and Salvage. He produced and directed the world premieres and tours of Stone Heart, The Berlin Blues and The Red Road including performances at the National Museum of the American Indian in New York and Washington, D.C., and the 2008 tour of The Red Road to the 16th World Congress and Performing Arts Festival for Young People in Adelaide, Australia and the Originals Festival in Brisbane, Australia. He has co-sponsored showcases and diversity workshops for ABC and NBC and is an annual guest artist for the FOX American Indian Summer Institute. He is a co-founder and producer for Native Radio Theater project (NRT), a collaboration between Native Voices and Native American Public Telecommunications funded by the Ford Foundation and The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB). He holds a BA in communications from William Jewell College and an MFA in acting from Cornell University. In March 2009, he received the Citation of Achievement from William Jewell College in Liberty, Missouri, which honors alumni who have achieved distinction in their chosen spheres of endeavor and who have exhibited values of a liberal arts education and of William Jewell College. It is the highest honor bestowed upon William Jewell College alumni. He is on the Board of Directors for TYA/USA, the Advisory Committee for the Native Theater Festival at The Public Theater, and a member of The National Theatre Conference. He is a tenured professor at San Diego State University in the Department of Theatre and on faculty for American Indian Studies. In 2007, after ten years as Head of Acting he was named the Director of the School of Theatre, Television, and Film at San Diego State University.

ABOUT JEAN Bruce Scott, FOUNDER/PRODUCING EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

JEAN Bruce Scott is PRODUCING EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR and CO-CREATOR of Native Voices at the Autry. She has spent 16 years developing new plays, including more than 50 by Native American Playwrights. At Native Voices, she has produced 12 New Play Festivals, 6 Playwrights Retreats, over 80 play readings, and 14 new plays, including Equity productions of The Baby Blues, Jump Kiss, Stone Heart, The Red Road, The Buz'Gem Blues, The Berlin Blues, Please Do Not Touch the Indians, Kino & Teresa, SUPER INDIAN, Teaching Disco Square Dancing to Our Elders, Salvage, Wings of Night Sky, Wings of Morning Light, and Métis playwright Marie Clements' Now Look What You Made Me Do and Urban Tattoo. She is a co-creator of the Native Radio Theater project (NRT), a collaboration between Native Voices at the Autry and Native American Public Telecommunications producing new radio plays, including The Best Place to Grow Pumpkins, Melba's Medicine, Why Opossum's Tail is Bare, The Peach Seed, the pilot and ten episodes of SUPER INDIAN, The Red Road and Raven's Radio Hour. Scott's illustrious background includes extensive theater directing credits and serving as president of Sine Bahn Productions, an independent Production Company noted for developing screenplays, teleplays and stage plays. She is familiar for numerous lead and recurring acting roles on such popular television programs as Days of Our Lives, Magnum P.I., Port Charles, Newhart, Matlock, Airwolf and St. Elsewhere, and she guest-starred on a multitude of other series and television movies. She also served as a member of the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists' (AFTRA) Los Angeles board of directors and is currently a committee member of the SAG Local Hollywood American Indian Committee and the SAG President's National Task Force of American Indians. Scott's teaching and academic credentials include work at San Diego State University, San Diego City College, Illinois State University, Duke University and California State University, Northridge.

ABOUT THE AUTRY NATIONAL CENTER OF THE AMERICAN WEST

The Autry National Center explores the experiences and perceptions of the diverse people of the American West, connecting the past with the present to inform our shared future. It is an intercultural history center dedicated to exploring the experiences and perceptions of the diverse peoples of the American West. The Autry explores and celebrates the cultures of the
American West through three institutions on two Los Angeles campuses: the Southwest Museum of the American Indian in Mt. Washington; the Museum of the American West in Griffith Park; and the Institute for the Study for the American West, which comprises the Braun Research Library and the Autry Library and is headquartered in Griffith Park.

FOR INFORMATION OR TO PURCHASE TICKETS

NATIVE VOICES is located at the Autry National Center of the American West, 4700 Western Heritage Way, Los Angeles, CA 90027-1462. To purchase tickets or for a season brochure, call (323) 667-2000, extension 354 or visit www.NativeVoicesattheAutry.org

MORE ABOUT NATIVE VOICES

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. Native Voices 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. To date, the company has presented fully staged productions of 18 critically acclaimed new plays, including 13 world premieres, 6 Playwright Retreatsand 12 New Play Festivals, and more than 80 workshops and public staged readings of new plays. Native Voices, deeply committed to developing new works by Native playwrights from across North America and seeing them fully realized, also presents three signature projects in addition to its two headline productions. The FIRST LOOK SERIES is a script development process that brings playwrights together with professional directors, dramaturgs and actors. The company's dynamic PLAYWRIGHTS RETREAT AND FESTIVAL OF NEW PLAYS provides the opportunity during an 8- to 10-day 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. Thiproject is hosted by Native Voices in conjunction with La Jolla Playhouse and San Diego State University, where readings take place prior to being presented at the Autry. Many works developed during this project, including Native Voices' 2009-10 season opener Carbon Black, have gone on to enjoy successful runs on the Autry main stage and elsewhere. The ground-breaking YOUNG NATIVE VOICES THEATER EDUCATION PROJECT is designed specifically to help to identify and train the next generation of leading theater artists and provide a unique opportunity for Native youths to explore their culture and heritage through theater. Middle- and high-school-age Native youths are paired with professional mentors for intensive playwriting and theater workshops, culminating in public staged readings of their plays. To date, dozens of new plays have been written as part of this project.

 

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