November 7 - 22, 2009
Native Voices launches the 2009-2010 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). Gripping and enigmatic, the play
vividly portrays a mother-son relationship held hostage by agoraphobia
and media-inspired fear.
March 13 - 28, 2010
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). Darrell 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, Darrell invites us to a world where
overcoming the odds is just the beginning. Tales is produced in association with New York’s The Public Theater, which premiered the play last spring.
June 2010
Established in 2004, Native Voices' highly regarded Playwrights Retreat and Festival of New Plays provides the opportunity for beginning, emerging and established Native American playwrights to work
closely with nationally recognized directors, dramaturgs and an acting
company comprised of exceptional Native American actors during an 8- to 10-day retreat at San Diego State University. The week's work culminates
in staged readings for public audiences at La Jolla Playhouse and the
Autry National Center. Many works developed during this project,
including Carbon Black, have gone on to enjoy successful runs
on the Autry stage and international festivals as well as regional
theatres in the US and Canada.
Concluding the season is the ground-breaking Young Native Voices Theatre Education Project
(YNVTEP), which is designed specifically to help 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. To date, dozens of new plays have
been written as part of this project.
Sign up to stay tuned for more! Up next: a cast announcement for Carbon Black!