Dramaturg/Director/Dancer/Musician
A satirical look at the role of Native Americans in not only our nation's history but also in the theatre.
Workshops
During workshops two Native American students, Cheyanne Elton and Naabaahii Tsosie, came and spoke with the actors. It was a safe zone for the actors to ask any questions they wanted to really learn what it is like to be of Native American blood in the modern United States.
Naabaahii Tsosie has traveled the world as a hoop dancer, and he brought in some of his hoops to teach the actors a few different moves and help them learn to appreciate his cultures.
Naabaahii spoke about how there are things within his culture that he doesn't think those outside of it should ever do, such as wearing a headdress. However when it comes to hoop dancing and other things he feels as though Native Americans are a "dying people" and he wants to do his best to share his culture to keep it alive as long as possible.
Research
There was a lot of research done to make sure this piece was done with cultural sensitivity in mind and to also bring awareness to the cultural appropriation that has been engrained almost naturally into our society today. An extensive Glossary with words and phrases used in the production as well as things closely relating to this production is all included in my casebook attached at the top of this page.
Writeups
I had the opportunity to do some writeups for this production, you can check them out in my casebook linked above, as well as at https://4thwalldramaturgy.byu.edu/emma-rollins