The Public Theater (Artistic Director Oskar Eustis; Executive Director Andrew D. Hamingson) will present post-show discussions following every Tuesday evening performance of TALES OF AN URBAN INDIAN, the second play of the 2008-2009 Public LAB season. The Public LAB Speaker Series, held every Tuesday following Public LAB shows, will consist of engaging conversations with the artists and notable panelists.
A part of The Public Theater's Native Theater Initiative, TALES OF AN URBAN INDIAN is written and performed by Darrell Dennis (from the Shuswap nation) and directed by Herbie Barnes (from the Ojibway nation), and will begin performances on Friday, February 20 and run through Sunday, March 15. Tickets are $10 for all performances and include free admission to Tuesday evening post-show discussions.
In TALES OF AN URBAN INDIAN, acclaimed Canadian playwright and performer Darrell Dennis tells the semi-autobiographical tale of a young Indian man, Simon Douglas. From living life on the "Rez" to navigating the mean streets of Vancouver's east side, Dennis weaves a funny and stirring story of identity, discovery, choice and self-respect. A hit from The Public's inaugural Native Theater Festival, this one-man play returns to make its U.S. premiere following a Canadian tour and two nominations for the Dora Mavor Award, the highest theatrical honor in Canada.
Immediately following the Tuesday, February 24 performance, Native director and actor Sheila Tousey will join actor/playwright Darrell Dennis, Native Earth Performing Arts Artistic Director Yvette Nolan, and Native Voices at the Autry Artistic Director Randy Reinholz for a discussion on "Balancing Two Worlds: Native Artists in the City and on the Reservation."
The Tuesday, March 3 post-show discussion will focus on "Native Theater in New York City Today." Panelists for this introduction to New York's local Native theater scene, moderated by The Public Theater's Literary Associate Liz Frankel, include Steve Elm of Amerinda, The Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian's Heye Center director John Haworth, Spiderwoman Theater's Muriel Miguel, and Mixed Phoenix Theatre Group's Danielle Soames.
Following the Tuesday, March 10 performance, Cherokee director Betsy Theobald Richards will join with artists from the formative years of the Native Theater movement to discuss "The Rise of Native Theater in New York City in the 1960s and 70s." Panelists will include writer and advocate Suzan Shown Harjo, actor and producer Soni Moreno, and Spiderwoman Theater's Muriel Miguel.
In addition to the Public LAB Speaker Series, The Public is pleased to host NBC Universal's Native American Talent Outreach in conjunction with TALES OF AN URBAN INDIAN.
On Monday, March 9 at 6:30 p.m., NBC Networks executives will present a multi-network industry panel discussion of particular interest to Native actors, writers and directors. Tickets are free; to RSVP, please email industrypanel@publictheater.org.
On Tuesday, March 10, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., NBC Universal will host an open casting call, featuring talent representatives from a variety of film and television projects who are in search of Native American actors for non-specific roles. This open call is designed to increase diversity across NBC Universal's expanding talent pool. For more information on this event, please visit www.diversecitynbc.com.
Public LAB is an annual series of new plays that lets New Yorkers see more of the work they love from The Public and LAByrinth Theater Company in stripped-down productions. Public LAB allows The Public Theater to support more artists, and gives audiences immediate access to new plays in development. The Public LAB season will also include the world premiere of Raùl Castillo's Knives and Other Sharp Objects, the New York premiere of Michael Friedman and Alex Timbers' Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, and a world premiere by The Public Theater's Master Writer Chair Suzan-Lori Parks.
The goals of the Native Theater Initiative at The Public Theater, funded by The Ford Foundation, are to support the work of Native theater artists across North America; to create a forum for field discussion among Native theater artists and professionals; and to further raise visibility and awareness of Native theater artists for New York audiences and the greater field of American Theater.
