Post by Okwes on Feb 9, 2006 11:24:14 GMT -5
Young playwrights have stories to tell
Posted: February 08, 2006
by: Estar Holmes / Today correspondent
www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096412417
Photo courtesy Autry National Center -- Delanna Studi and Thirza
Defoe presented scripts by young Native playwrights on the Autry
National Center's Wells Fargo Theatre stage in Los Angeles.
LOS ANGELES - The voices of nine American Indian girls from the Los
Angeles area were heard loud and clear when plays they wrote were
presented Jan. 21 at the Autry National Center's Wells Fargo Theatre
in Griffith Park.
The girls, between the ages of 9 and 16, developed the scripts at
workshops created by Tom Kellogg, artistic director for the Autry's
Young Native Playwrights Project.
After learning the basics of writing and polishing their scripts with
the help of professionals working in television, film and theater,
the works were read on stage by Native performers - most of which had
also served as mentors.
The lineup included Tonantzin Carmelo, Tongva/
Mexica, nominated for best actress at this year's Screen Actors Guild
Awards for her role as Thunder Heart Woman in the television
miniseries, ''Into the West''; Delanna Studi, Cherokee, whose credits
include Talks A Lot in the ABC miniseries, ''Dreamkeeper''; Elena
Finney, Mescalero/Apache/
Tarascan, star of ''Kino and Teresa,'' an adaptation of ''Romeo and
Juliet'' set in a Taos pueblo in the 1600s; Thirza Defoe,
Ojibwe/Oneida, who will star as Sacagawea in the upcoming production
of ''Stone Heart: Everyone Loves a Journey West''; Yvonne Fisher,
Cherokee, currently starring in the title role of Sylvia at the
Sierra Madre Playhouse; Lidia Pires, a veteran actress with numerous
professional credits, including a role in ''Kino and Teresa''; Rhiana
Yazzie, Navajo and a professional writer previously associated with
the Wakiknabe Native Theatre Company in Albuquerque, N.M.; and Jaisey
Bates, an actress now studying screenwriting.
This is the first time in the project's five-year history that all
the scriptwriters and most of the mentors were female.
''Connecting the young writers with some of the most talented Native
actresses working today produced a powerful experience,'' Kellogg
said.
The collection of plays was also surprisingly dramatic, said his
associate, Myra Donnelly. She cited ''The Rose of Peace'' as an
example, in which 10-year-old writer Della Mendivil painted the scene
of a dystopia with graffiti-spraying worms and butterfly gangs who
rob honey from bees.
The themes focused strongly on relationships of all types.
''A key component of the plays is the use of metaphorical characters
from nature,'' Kellogg said. ''Through that writers are able to tell
stories about their own concerns, aspirations and dreams.''
California State University at Fullerton film student Leya Hale was
among the first group of scriptwriters when the Young Native
Playwrights Project began at the Southern California Indian Center
five years ago. She returned as a mentor this year.
''The experience I had in 2002 helped me to prepare for film school
at Cal State Fullerton,'' Hale said. ''I hope that by sharing my
knowledge and experience with the participants I can help them keep
an open mind and teach them they have many options in playwriting.''
That's the kind of connection that inspires Kellogg and Donnelly.
''Her return as a mentor has given us all a great sense of pride that
the work with which we are engaged is making a difference,'' Kellogg
said.
They hope to find partners who will help fund similar workshops in
other urban and rural American Indian communities. A test flight to
the Coeur d'Alene Tribal School in northern Idaho last fall drew
praise from everyone involved, including performing arts students
from the University of Idaho who participated in the project.
In addition to the actresses above, this year's mentors included
writer and director Kathy Peltier, a First Americans in the Arts
board member with an eye out for young talent.
''All of these women, and so many more not mentioned, have played a
vital role in the growth of the Young Native Playwrights Project,''
Kellogg told an audience packed with the young writers' beaming
parents, grandparents and siblings. ''Their success sets a beautiful
standard for the girls and young women whose plays we are honoring
today.''
The lone male mentor was actor, producer, writer and director Andrew
Roa, who has worked extensively in film, television and stage. Other
actors who participated in the readings were Kevin Sifuentes and Red
Savage.
Young Native Playwrights is a project of the Autry's Native Voices, a
theater company devoted to developing and producing new works for the
stage by American Indians. Jean Bruce Scott and Randy Reinholz,
Choctaw, founded it in 2000 as a supportive place for writers to
develop their work.
''There really is a feeling of a center, a sacred space, here at the
Autry that allows many of us exploring and sharing in the creation of
Native theatre to do so with great hope and high expectations,''
Kellogg said.
Young Native Playwrights 2006
Phylicia Baca, 9, Navajo: ''How to Be Loved and Respected''
Colleen Howard, 14, Sioux: ''Eyes of Love''
Madalyn Mainhardt, 16, Santa Ynez Band of Chumash: ''The World is
Yours''
Della Mendivil, 10, Tohono O'odham: ''The Rose of Peace''
Jackie Meneses, 11, Taos Pueblo/Oglala Lakota: ''Changing Colors''
Savannah Otteson, 11, Taos Pueblo: ''My Freedom''
Heather Singer, 11, Navajo: ''The Flower's Friendship''
Jessica Winnie, 15, Navajo/Pima/Seneca: ''Worry Free''
Sarah Winnie, 14, Navajo/Pima/Seneca: ''It Wasn't Meant to Happen''
Posted: February 08, 2006
by: Estar Holmes / Today correspondent
www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096412417
Photo courtesy Autry National Center -- Delanna Studi and Thirza
Defoe presented scripts by young Native playwrights on the Autry
National Center's Wells Fargo Theatre stage in Los Angeles.
LOS ANGELES - The voices of nine American Indian girls from the Los
Angeles area were heard loud and clear when plays they wrote were
presented Jan. 21 at the Autry National Center's Wells Fargo Theatre
in Griffith Park.
The girls, between the ages of 9 and 16, developed the scripts at
workshops created by Tom Kellogg, artistic director for the Autry's
Young Native Playwrights Project.
After learning the basics of writing and polishing their scripts with
the help of professionals working in television, film and theater,
the works were read on stage by Native performers - most of which had
also served as mentors.
The lineup included Tonantzin Carmelo, Tongva/
Mexica, nominated for best actress at this year's Screen Actors Guild
Awards for her role as Thunder Heart Woman in the television
miniseries, ''Into the West''; Delanna Studi, Cherokee, whose credits
include Talks A Lot in the ABC miniseries, ''Dreamkeeper''; Elena
Finney, Mescalero/Apache/
Tarascan, star of ''Kino and Teresa,'' an adaptation of ''Romeo and
Juliet'' set in a Taos pueblo in the 1600s; Thirza Defoe,
Ojibwe/Oneida, who will star as Sacagawea in the upcoming production
of ''Stone Heart: Everyone Loves a Journey West''; Yvonne Fisher,
Cherokee, currently starring in the title role of Sylvia at the
Sierra Madre Playhouse; Lidia Pires, a veteran actress with numerous
professional credits, including a role in ''Kino and Teresa''; Rhiana
Yazzie, Navajo and a professional writer previously associated with
the Wakiknabe Native Theatre Company in Albuquerque, N.M.; and Jaisey
Bates, an actress now studying screenwriting.
This is the first time in the project's five-year history that all
the scriptwriters and most of the mentors were female.
''Connecting the young writers with some of the most talented Native
actresses working today produced a powerful experience,'' Kellogg
said.
The collection of plays was also surprisingly dramatic, said his
associate, Myra Donnelly. She cited ''The Rose of Peace'' as an
example, in which 10-year-old writer Della Mendivil painted the scene
of a dystopia with graffiti-spraying worms and butterfly gangs who
rob honey from bees.
The themes focused strongly on relationships of all types.
''A key component of the plays is the use of metaphorical characters
from nature,'' Kellogg said. ''Through that writers are able to tell
stories about their own concerns, aspirations and dreams.''
California State University at Fullerton film student Leya Hale was
among the first group of scriptwriters when the Young Native
Playwrights Project began at the Southern California Indian Center
five years ago. She returned as a mentor this year.
''The experience I had in 2002 helped me to prepare for film school
at Cal State Fullerton,'' Hale said. ''I hope that by sharing my
knowledge and experience with the participants I can help them keep
an open mind and teach them they have many options in playwriting.''
That's the kind of connection that inspires Kellogg and Donnelly.
''Her return as a mentor has given us all a great sense of pride that
the work with which we are engaged is making a difference,'' Kellogg
said.
They hope to find partners who will help fund similar workshops in
other urban and rural American Indian communities. A test flight to
the Coeur d'Alene Tribal School in northern Idaho last fall drew
praise from everyone involved, including performing arts students
from the University of Idaho who participated in the project.
In addition to the actresses above, this year's mentors included
writer and director Kathy Peltier, a First Americans in the Arts
board member with an eye out for young talent.
''All of these women, and so many more not mentioned, have played a
vital role in the growth of the Young Native Playwrights Project,''
Kellogg told an audience packed with the young writers' beaming
parents, grandparents and siblings. ''Their success sets a beautiful
standard for the girls and young women whose plays we are honoring
today.''
The lone male mentor was actor, producer, writer and director Andrew
Roa, who has worked extensively in film, television and stage. Other
actors who participated in the readings were Kevin Sifuentes and Red
Savage.
Young Native Playwrights is a project of the Autry's Native Voices, a
theater company devoted to developing and producing new works for the
stage by American Indians. Jean Bruce Scott and Randy Reinholz,
Choctaw, founded it in 2000 as a supportive place for writers to
develop their work.
''There really is a feeling of a center, a sacred space, here at the
Autry that allows many of us exploring and sharing in the creation of
Native theatre to do so with great hope and high expectations,''
Kellogg said.
Young Native Playwrights 2006
Phylicia Baca, 9, Navajo: ''How to Be Loved and Respected''
Colleen Howard, 14, Sioux: ''Eyes of Love''
Madalyn Mainhardt, 16, Santa Ynez Band of Chumash: ''The World is
Yours''
Della Mendivil, 10, Tohono O'odham: ''The Rose of Peace''
Jackie Meneses, 11, Taos Pueblo/Oglala Lakota: ''Changing Colors''
Savannah Otteson, 11, Taos Pueblo: ''My Freedom''
Heather Singer, 11, Navajo: ''The Flower's Friendship''
Jessica Winnie, 15, Navajo/Pima/Seneca: ''Worry Free''
Sarah Winnie, 14, Navajo/Pima/Seneca: ''It Wasn't Meant to Happen''