Podcast appearances and mentions of ty defoe

Check out this podcast replay of the SDCF Virtual Panel: Demystifying Pre-Production with Knud Adams, Maija García, and Delicia Turner Sonnenberg. This conversation focuses on the pre-production process, giving insights and a better understanding of all the things that happen between when a director signs a contract and first rehearsal. The panelists talked about what they have discovered over the years makes for the strongest pre-production process for them before rehearsals begin. Transcript available upon request. We hosted this panel in June 2024. Knud Adams is an Obie-winning director of artful new plays, based in New York. This season, he's directing English on Broadway. His work has been featured on "Best of the Year" lists by The New York Times, New York Magazine, The New Yorker, and The Washington Post. An avid developer of new work, his world-premiere productions include: Primary Trust (Roundabout), English (Atlantic/Roundabout), Bodies They Ritual (Clubbed Thumb), Private (Mosaic), The Headlands (LCT3), Paris (Atlantic), and The Workshop (Soft Focus). Knud also directed the radio play Vapor Trail, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival. Maija García is a theater director, cultural innovator and advocate for equity in the arts. She recently directed I am Betty, a world premiere hit new musical at History Theater by Cristina Luzarrága and Denise Prosek; VALOR, a Spanish golden-age play by Ana Caro; and OUR HOOD, a bi-lingual cineplay by John Leguizamo. Director of Movement for Spike Lee's Oscar award-winning Blackkklansman, CHI-RAQ and She's Gotta Have It on Netflix, and Executive Producer of Art of Dance, a documentary film, García's Theater Directing credits include Bill T. Jones' FELA! World Tour; CRANE: on earth in sky by Heather Henson and Ty Defoe and Salsa Mambo Cha Cha Cha in La Habana Cuba. Regional Theater credits include original choreography for West Side Story at the Guthrie Theater; Kiss My Aztec by John Leguizamo and Tony Toccone at Berkeley Rep, and La Jolla Playhouse; Snow in Midsummer by Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig at Oregon Shakespeare Festival; Cuba Libre by Carlos Lacámara at Artists Repertory Theater (PAMTA Award); and Fats Waller Dance Party with Jason Moran and Meshell N'degeocello at Harlem Stage, SF Jazz and the Kennedy Center. Garcia founded Organic Magnetics to generate urban folklore for the future. She wrote, produced and directed Ghosts of Manhattan: 1512-2012, an interactive history and I am New York: Juan Rodriguez. Director of Education and Professional Training at Guthrie Theater, Maija served on the Tony Award Nominating Committee and is a proud member of SDC since 2008.  Delicia Turner Sonnenberg is a director, artistic leader, teacher, and mother. She is a founder and the former Artistic Director of MOXIE Theatre, which she helmed for twelve acclaimed seasons. Delicia has directed plays for the Old Globe Theatre, San Diego REP, La Jolla Playhouse, Actors Theatre of Louisville Humana Festival, Cygnet Theatre, New Village Arts, and Diversionary Theatre, among others. Delicia has directed countless workshops and staged readings of new plays for National New Play Network, Old Globe, Bay Area Playwrights Festival, San Diego REP, and Arena Stage. Delicia was twice a recipient of the Van Lier Directing Fellowship through Second Stage Theatre in New York and is an alumna of the New York Drama League's Directors Program, as well as Theatre Communication Group's New Generations Program.

Estelle Timar-Wilcox: Native and non-Native audiences have been raving about “For the People.”  Colin Cash is a big theater fan and a member of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe. When he saw it, he forgot he was even watching a play. He even offered to pay for people's tickets so they could go, too. Colin Cash: In my eyes, for me, it wasn't just a play, it was an experience, and a look into the urban natives trying to find acceptance, community. There's so many nuances, the writing is just brilliant and there's layers to it. I've been recommending it to a lot of different people, because representation does matter. ETW: “For the People” premiered at the Guthrie in October and ran through November 12th. The show follows April Dakota, a young Native woman with big dreams of opening a wellness center on Franklin Avenue. April means well, but she's a little misguided. Her plans for vegan regalia and new-age Indigenous yoga get some eye-rolls from her elders. She lands in a tangle of neighborhood politics and a partnership with a rich developer that goes very wrong.  The Guthrie commissioned this show from playwrights Ty Defoe and Larissa FastHorse. FastHorse is a member of the Sicangu Lakota nation; her mom is from Minnesota, and she grew up in South Dakota. Defoe has Ojibwe and Oneida heritage, and grew up on Anishinaabe territory. But they weren't the only voices behind it. FastHorse said they developed the play using story circles – meetings with local Native people to see what they wanted to watch a play about.  Larissa FastHorse: It's really about making sure that we aren't writing what we want to write, we're writing what the community wants us to write, and we're asking the community again and again, ‘hey, whoever wants to tell us what you want a play to be about — come on, let us know.' ETW: The show mentions a lot of local landmarks and history — from the start of the American Indian Movement to Owamni. And the biggest note they got: it has to be funny. The result is a hilarious 90 minutes. The final battle features a yoga competition and a paintball bow-and-arrow. The comedy weaves through some really touching moments, too.  Co-writer Ty Defoe was responsible for writing a lot of the jokes.  Ty Defoe: That kind of comedy allows a type of a healing. When people either see themselves portrayed on stages or are a part of that process, I think there's something that allows the collective soul of Native people to come together in an urban environment that settler colonialism has so affected so that we can have a joy and a type of perseverance working together. ETW: Lindy Sowmick is Saginaw Ojibwe. She grew up in Michigan and moved to Minnesota for college. She called “For the People” the greatest play she's ever seen.  Lindy Sowmick: There's that feeling, deep in your heart, or in your stomach, when you're like, this is healing for my community. That's what art is meant to do, art's meant to tell a story. And you know, Indigenous folks have been storytellers for our entire generations. I think that this is just such a beautiful result of generations of us being storytellers. ETW: The Guthrie advertised the show as the first Native-written play on its main stages. FastHorse said she's glad it reached a wide audience.  LF: That's the beauty of theater. It's a live experience where you go with people that are having completely different experiences, and then you get to talk about it. It makes you have to interrogate things in a different way, which we really love. We're very aware that we're writing for a predominantly white institution, with a dominantly white subscriber base, but there was so much work being put into making sure we had a broader audience coming to this. And we made sure that this play was for the people, right?  There were a lot of things that didn't read to the white people, and we were like, that's okay. That part's not for you, and that's fine. (Laughter).  TD: For! The! People!

As part of its 61st season, The Guthrie Theater has premiered a play spotlighting the Twin Cities Native American community. For members of the community, it's an exciting moment.  “I'm still processing it, quite frankly,” said comedian and nonprofit organizer Trish Cook about “For the People,” now playing. “Folks are really buzzing about it.” Cook, who is Anishinaabe and lives in St. Paul, has seen the show multiple times.  “I think it kind of gives non-Natives maybe just a little peek into our communities,” Cook said, praising the show for showcasing the diversity of Minnesota's Indigenous community.  “For the People” was written by Larissa FastHorse and Ty Defoe. The show first began as an idea in 2019, when the Guthrie approached FastHorse and Defoe to create a show.  “We ended up centering on Franklin Avenue, which is a very well-known, well-beloved avenue,” FastHorse said. Franklin Avenue was the birthplace of the American Indian Movement and remains a hub of Native American arts, culture and activism. FastHorse, who hails from the Sicangu Lakota Nation, and Defoe, with both Oneida and Ojibwe heritage, decided to crowdsource the story directly from the community they intended to portray in their show. Defoe recalls hosting events during the harsh Minnesota winter of 2019 to gather stories and feedback for the writing. “We talked to so many different people, just asking questions in a gathering-like phase,” Defoe recalled. They visited people up and down Franklin Avenue. “We even went to powwows that were a little bit off of Franklin Avenue.”  By 2021, the show started to take form. “For the People” follows April Dakota, a Native woman who returns to Minneapolis after time spent away seeing the world, intending to open a Wellness Center.April quickly becomes entangled in the avenue's politics, navigating challenges like grant funding, gentrification and questions about her “Native” authenticity. Although FastHorse and Defoe had different upbringings, they both relate to April's journey to understand her Native identity. “[I'm from] the Sicangu Lakota Nation in South Dakota and I grew up being adopted out very young, to a white family,” FastHorse said. “I had to go through a kind of a reclaiming of culture. As I was growing up in my late teens ... now, I call myself a bridge.” Defoe grew up with lots of connections to his Anishinaabe heritage and grew up speaking Anishinaabe.  “There was a journey about how to figure out how to belong and what belonging meant as like a modern-day Indigenous person,” Defoe said.  Local connections Aside from nationally known actors, like Wes Studi of “Dances with Wolves” and “The Last of the Mohicans,” “For the People” includes notable local actors, including Ernest Briggs, artistic director of the Minnesota-based Turtle Theater Collective, which focuses on Native storytelling.   Another local actor, Adrienne Zimiga-January, plays a commissioner.  “She's kind of like the boss lady. She reminds me of a lot of strong female women in my head that I've had in my life, most particularly my aunt,” Zimiga-January said.   She points to other Native stories being told to a wider audience, like “Reservation Dogs” and “Rutherford Falls,” as part of a large, empowering Native storytelling renaissance.   As a Lakota woman, “For the People” has a special place for her.  “To have a story like this, especially when you're right here on Native land. It is a huge thing for Native people here in the Twin Cities. For the Dakhóta Oyáte, it's huge here.” The future of Native stories According to the Guthrie, “For the People” is its first mainstage production written “by Native playwrights, featuring Native voices.” The theater's commitment to Native stories found its recent momentum in the 2016-2017 season, when Defoe and FastHorse's consulting company Indigenous Direction, was brought on to create a show in the Guthrie's Dowling studio.  Later, the theater created a Native Advisory Council to consult on decisions being made about the shows they would program for future seasons.  “I know there have been efforts in the past to make this connection between the local Native community,” said Roya Taylor, a former member of the Guthrie's Native Advisory Council and a local theater and voice-over artist. “But for some reason, you know, it just didn't seem like the timing was there or something was not right about the Guthrie's mindset.” Though Taylor has yet to see the final product of “For the People,” she was previously involved with workshops for the show, long before it even had a title.  Taylor, an enrolled Pawnee and Choctaw, applauds the Guthrie's move toward Native storytelling as part of its future. “What I would like to see is more Native young people, if we can figure out a way for them to take advantage of many of the educational offerings that the Guthrie utilizes,” said Taylor.  “We've had many years of creative, talented people that haven't gotten to share their voice, but they are now,” Cook shared, noting the bittersweet feeling.  “It's also exciting to hear from people — young folks and others who now want to share their stories or share their talents … I'm excited to see how it grows.” “For the People” runs until Nov. 12.  

FRICK YOUR FREAKIN' FACES, FRIENDS! It's F! This week, Justin and Erika chat about some of their favorite playwrights of the contemporary time. Justin nerds out about one of the greatest playwrights for monolouge pulls (if your female presenting and within the ages of 20-40), Erika gives us a bio on a record-breaking playwright, and the two of them nerd out ofver a DANCE STYLE?! The EKR is really goofy this week. Freaking have fun! SOME BUSINESS: Thank you to the two playwrights we featured in this episode! You can find some of their plays in the links below. Erika's play, Kill The Bird, can be found on her New Play Exchange and you can purchase and produce Justin's play, Community Garden, through his publisher, Playscripts. Finally, you can check out Justin's YouTube channel for more longform theatre content!Links to our playwrights:Larissa FastHorse's ConcordFor The People by Larissa FastHorse and Ty Defoe currently running at the Guthrie Theatre til 11/12.Halley Feiffer's ConcordHalley Feiffer's DramatistIf you like the show, feel free to subscribe and give us a five star review! Also, follow us on instagram @justinborak and @actualerikakuhn and Justin on TikTok for any news and notes on upcoming episodes and more theatre reccomendations!

Larissa FastHorse (Sicangu Lakota Nation) is an award winning writer and 2020-2025 MacArthur Fellow. Her satirical comedy, The Thanksgiving Play, made her the first known female Native American playwright on Broadway at the Helen Hayes under the direction of Rachel Chavkin. Her new plays in 2023 are Wicoun (Cornerstone Theater Company), Democracy Project (Federal Hall), Fake It Until You Make It (CTG Mark Taper Forum), For the People (Guthrie), and the national tour of Peter Pan (Networks). Selected past plays include What Would Crazy Horse Do? (KCRep), Landless and Cow Pie Bingo (AlterTheater), Average Family (Children's Theater Company of Minneapolis), Teaching Disco Squaredancing to Our Elders: a Class Presentation (Native Voices at the Autry), as well as numerous productions of The Thanksgiving Play, making it one of the most produced plays in America. Larissa created the nationally recognized trilogy of community engaged theatrical experiences with Cornerstone Theater Company; Urban Rez, Native Nation, and Wicoun. She and her collaborator, Michael John Garcés, spend years on each project in an Indigenized community engagement process. “The engagement itself is the art form.” These projects have earned them national funding and an appointment to Arizona State University. Larissa's company with Ty Defoe, Indigenous Direction, recently produced the first land acknowledgement on national television for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade on NBC and continues to consult for them. They also consult for the largest theater organizations in the country. Larissa also writes in film and television, most recently as a creator for NBC, Disney Channel, Dreamworks, Muse, Netflix and others. She is based in Los Angeles with her husband, the sculptor Edd Hogan, and represented by Jonathan Mills at Paradigm NY. She is especially honored to follow in the footsteps of the last known Native American playwright on Broadway, Lynn Riggs. Photo credit: Conor Horgan Website: http://www.hoganhorsestudio.com/ https://www.guthrietheater.org/shows-and-tickets/2023-2024-season/for-the-people/ IG: https://www.instagram.com/larissafasthorse/

We talk to writer/director/trickster Ty Defoe about directing 'Rent' for the next generation, building community ties, and moving beyond land acknowledgements. Plus: a check-in with Denver reporter John Moore.

Hosts Meghan and Harrow discuss a new round of queer theatre including the Breaking the Binary Theatre Festival readings of TRANS WORLD by Ty Defoe, Hide and Hide by Roger Q. Mason, and Overheard directed by L Morgan Lee, as well as Where the Mountain Meets the Sea by Jeff Augustin and I Wanna F*ck Like Romeo and Juliet by Andrew Rincón. Special guest and Harrow's partner, Luci DeVoy joins in a deep dive into Roundabout Theatre's revival of 1776 with her thoughts on representation, land acknowledgments, and where she expects them to show up next.  Show Discussions: Breaking the Binary Theatre Festival TRANS WORLD by Ty Defoe Hide and Hide by Roger Q. Mason Overheard directed by L Morgan Lee Where the Mountain Meets the Sea by Jeff Augustin I Wanna F*ck Like Romeo and Juliet by Andrew Rincón Listen to a reading on The Parsnip Ship - 32:40 1776 music and lyrics by Sherman Edwards, book by Peter Stone Sarah Porkalob Vulture Interview References: Special guest Luci DeVoy: Instagram Action of the Ep:  Call on Congress and the Biden administration to swiftly pass permanent protections for undocumented immigrants in our country. National Domestic Workers Alliance: Sign the petition New York Immigration Coalition: Write to your representatives Queer Culture Recs: Cruise with Ben and David Queer Folx Book Club Episode Credits: Edited by Harrow Sansom Thesis on Joan: Follow Thesis on Joan on Instagram & Twitter  Leave us a voicemail at (845) 445-9251‬ Email us at thesisonjoan at gmail dot com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Founding Artistic Director of the Breaking the Binary Theatre Festival (BTB), George Strus, joins us as we kick off the second half of Season 3! Hear from George about BTB, a communal, new play development hub for trans, nonbinary, two-spirit plus actors, directors, writers, dramaturgs, and stage managers, created by members of that community. Geroge discusses how BTB was inspired and created within a year, the incredible artists involved (including many past Thesis on Joan guests), what developmental choices they're most proud of, the urgency and necessity of this kind of work, and the future of BTB. Hosts Harrow and Meghan check in after their summer hiatus to chat about Meghan's honeymoon and Harrow's name change! A full transcription of this episode is available here Action of the Ep Sign up to volunteer with a local organization! SAGE New York Civil Liberties Union American Indian Community House Theatre of the Oppressed NYC George Strus: Instagram | Twitter  Breaking the Binary Theatre Festival: Instagram | Twitter  Tickets on sale Monday, September 26th October 10-16th at Theatre Row TRANS WORLD by Ty Defoe, Director Dominique Rider, Dramaturg Josephine Kearns TWITCH by Liliana Padilla, Director Jack Ferver, Dramaturg Desiree (Des) Mitton HIDE AND HIDE by Roger Q. Mason, Director é boylan, Dramaturg Gaven Trinidad WORK HARD HAVE FUN MAKE HISTORY by Ruth Tang, Director Kedian Keohan, Dramaturg Lewis Fender NANA by Aziza Barnes, Director Rad Pereira, Dramaturg Al Parker THELMA AND LOUISE AND THE TIME MACHINE by Mara Vélez Meléndez, Director Sivan Battat AN EVENING OF COMMISSIONED MONOLOGUES, Director L Morgan Lee, Dramaturg George Strus Pride Plays Queer Culture Recs: RuPaul's Drag Race  International Spin-Offs Queen of the Universe Monét X Change The Real Housewives Beyoncé's Renaissance Rina Sawayama Demi Lovato's Holy Fvck Queer Gives: Breaking the Binary Theatre Festival Black Trans Liberation Trans Entertainment Guild The Okra Project Legacy Episode Credits: Edited by Harrow Sansom Thesis on Joan: Follow Thesis on Joan on Instagram & Twitter  Leave us a voicemail at (845) 445-9251‬ Email us at thesisonjoan at gmail dot com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We were so thrilled to commemorate February 22, 2022 ("Twosday!") with three phenomenal thought leaders in the Native American community: queer therapist and author Tavi Hawn, drag queen and activist Landa Lakes, and novelist and screenwriter W.A.W. Parker (though his nearest and dearest get to call him Adam). Lovell and Adam have been friends for several years, and Adam honored us by essentially bringing his Gayborhood Watch icons to join us for his episode. Adam, Landa, and Tavi all connected at the Montana Two Spirit Gathering last year, and we are so grateful that they joined us to discuss the legacy of Two Spirit people within Native American culture. Landa recounts their work founding the Brush Arbor Gurlz, the first Native American drag troop, and the fascinating lineage of their own drag name (as well as growing up on a reservation in Oklahoma plus their time in the Navy). Tavi also tells us about their extraordinary new book, "The Gender Identity Guide for Parents: Compassionate Advice to Help Your Child Be Their Most Authentic Self," and Adam fills us in on his new project with Disney that spotlights the Two Spirit experience. Go on Instagram to follow Adam at @wawparker, Landa at @landalakes, and Tavi at @hawntherapyandconsulting plus learn everything you can about the folx highlighted in this week's Gayborhood Watch: Timothy White Eagle, Ty Defoe, L Frank, and Judy Tallwing McCarthy. And don't forget to follow @rogerq.mason, @lovell.holder, @miachanger, and @dgonzalezmusic on Instagram for all your Gayborhood updates.

This episode features discussions about Bryan Blaskie and Laurie Hochman's Nothing To See Here and Avi Amon, Ty Defoe and Nolan Doran's The Lesson.  NOTHING TO SEE HERE (by Byan Blaskie and Laurie Hochman) - In the summer of 1925, the struggling town of Dayton, Tennessee hosted a trial that claimed national headlines and divided the country — the Scopes Monkey Trial, the first major anti-Evolution court case. Nothing to See Here is the story of Frank Robinson, the man who built the trial as a publicity stunt for his town, and May Robinson, his wife who longs to save her family from falling apart in a seemingly Godless town. Of course, notorious reporter H.L. Mencken is there to spin their story — and to uncover what the truth behind the trial really is.  THE LESSON (by Avi Amon, Ty Defoe and Nolan Doran) - The Lesson is a fantastical reimagining of a chance encounter between a revolutionary Beethoven and a more-established Mozart, whose worlds - and hearts - collide in Vienna in 1787. The show is set in an alternate universe that melds the future and past into an entirely new, queer, fun, and political space. A hybrid of theatre, film, concert, and dance party, The Lesson is a meditation on the purpose of artistic expression, the influence of family on who we are, and the control of information and ideas by the government.  Featuring performances from Milo Alosi, Jonathan Christopher, Bradley Dean, Heath Saunders and Forest VanDyke Connect with Bryan Blaskie: Instagram and Twitter: @bryanblaskie Connect with Laurie Hochman: Instagram: @laurie.hochman  Twitter: @lauriehochman Connect with Avi Amon: Instagram: @aviamon Twitter: @amonavi  Connect with Ty Defoe: Instagram and Twitter: @tydefoe Connect with Nolan Doran: Instagram: @nolandoran.nyc Twitter: @nolandoran Connect with New York Theatre Barn: Support us: nytheatrebarn.org/give Twitter: @nytheatrebarn Instagram: @newyorktheatrebarn  Facebook.com/nytheatrebarn nytheatrebarn.org Joe's personal Instagram: @bisforbarros Jen's personal Instagram: @jensandler Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, we talk about the Dramatists Guild's new Inclusion rider and the initiatives surrounding it. At the time of this recording the rider had not been released. We're happy to report that we've released the rider and you can get a copy here: https://www.dramatistsguild.com/inclusion This rider is the first of its kind to come out of the theatre industry. Our goal is to empower and encourage playwrights to advocate for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Access, and Anti-racism in our own works while collaborating with our producing partners towards these shared goals. Our guests are playwrights and DG Council members Ty Defoe and Chisa Hutchinson. TALKBACK is a production of the Dramatists Guild. It's produced by Amy VonMacek, Sarah Storm, and me, Christine Toy Johnson and mixed by Robare Delaney Pruyn. Our theme music is by Andrea Daley. . The Dramatists Guild Presents: TALKBACK is distributed by The Broadway Podcast Network. Join the conversation online use hashtag #DGTALKBACK Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I'm really excited to share my conversation with my (Producer Ashley)'s friend Ty Defoe. Ty and I talked the day after the inauguration of Joe Biden and that is reflected in the interview. We also chat about Ty being on Broadway, working with (#Icon) Kate Bornstein, and helping the craft the indigenous representation and public acknowledgement of the crimes, treatment, and genocides committed against indigenous people throughout history in the North American Continent for this year's Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. TY DEFOE (Giizhig) is from the Oneida and Ojibwe Nations. He is an interdisciplinary-hyphenated artist, activist, writer, cultural worker, and shape-shifter. As a two-spirit person Ty aspires to an integral approach to artistic projects, social justice, indigeneity, and environmentalism. Ty gained recognition in many circles around the world including a Grammy Award for his work on “Come to Me Great Mystery.” Ty's global cultural arts highlights are: the Millennium celebration in Cairo, Egypt with the Call for Peace Drum and Dance Company; Turkey for the Ankara International Music Festival, and Festival of World Cultures in Dubai. Ty's frequents his own community where he learned to hoop dance, eagle dance, and play a variety of wooden flutes. https://www.tydefoe.com/ --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/isittransphobic/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/isittransphobic/support

Tune in this week with Meghan and Holly as they talk with interdisciplinary artist Ty Defoe about breaking out of binaries as a two-spirit Indigiqueer person and finding balance between safe and brave space in theatre. Ty also speaks on being “genre fluid,” building just systems to create justice on stage with projects like Broadway’s Straight White Men, and imagining queerness seven generations from now. Ty Defoe: Website | Instagram | Twitter Ty’s Work: Indigenous Direction artEquity All My Relations - GIZHIBAA GIIZHIG | Revolving Sky Queer Culture Rec from Ty: Hot Comb by Ebony Flowers Queer Gives: American Indian Community House Brooklyn Community Pride Center Callen-Lorde Community Health Center Thesis on Joan: Follow Thesis on Joan on Instagram & Twitter  Leave us a voicemail at (845) 445-9251‬ Email us at thesisonjoan at gmail dot com You can read a transcript of this episode here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A conversation with Native American artists and leaders who offer their perspective on issues of sovereignty, ancestry, and post-pandemic survival, organized in partnership with theater director Madeline Sayet and featuring Tara Moses, Asa Benally, Ty Defoe, Mary Katheryn Nagle, Kinsale Hueston.listen on apple podcasts

Update October 2020: Larissa FastHorse has just been named a MacArthur "genius" Fellow, in recognition of her work "creating space for Indigenous artists, stories, and experiences in mainstream theater and countering misrepresentation of Native American perspectives in broader society." Larissa FastHorse is an award-winning playwright, director and choreographer. Her plays have been produced across the country from Juneau, Alaska to New York City, where her latest, “The Thanksgiving Play,” was presented by Playwrights Horizons this past spring after its premiere in Portland, Oregon at Artists Rep. “The Thanksgiving Play” also represents a significant milestone. With eight more productions slated over the next year, it just became the first play by a Native American or Indigenous playwright to appear on “American Theatre” magazine’s list of the 10 most produced plays of the season. Larissa is currently Vice Chair of the Board of Theatre Communications Group, a national advocacy and service organization for non-profit professional theatres. A member of the Sicangu Lakota Nation, Larissa has worked on artistic projects with Native communities all over the country. In 2015, she and artist-activist Ty DeFoe founded their own business, Indigenous Direction, a consulting company that advises organizations who want to engage with Indigenous art, audiences and artists in equitable ways. In her conversation with Rob Kramer, Larissa reveals how she’s honed her collaborative leadership skills to serve the community-focused mission of her art and why it’s always good for an artist to be of service in her own rehearsal room. https://www.macfound.org/fellows/1059/

We're back with a brand new episode of our podcast, which was recorded LIVE at the 2019 #LCEForum in front of an audience of dedicated artists and educators. In Episode 20, "Story Nurturer", following a delightful and enlightening introduction by LCE’s Alex Sarian, Courtney sits down with indigenous self-proclaimed “interdisciplinary shapeshifting” artist and storyteller, Ty Defoe, of the Ojibwe and Oneida Nations. In this woven tapestry of a conversation, Courtney and Ty navigate through a lot of incredibly fascinating topics including the presence of the arts in Ty’s childhood, indigeneity, colonialism, how we are all connected through and because of art. Courtney also poses the question to the audience, “Are Teaching Artists shapeshifters?” You don’t want to miss this one, folx!

Ty Defoe is the kind of performer I (Laura Heywood) gravitate towards because he breaks so many boundaries and has dedicated his life to amplifying voices and stories of communities who are too often disregarded, overlooked, and grossly underrepresented — specifically, but not limited to, trans* and indigenous voices. I first saw Ty onstage in Broadway’s “Straight White Men” — notable because neither he nor the character onstage identifies as straight, white or male. Which was sort of the point.  In addition to his Broadway work, Ty is the co-creator of Ajijaak on Turtle Island, a beautiful theatrical experience with puppetry and music that recently concluded its run at the New Victory Theatre on 42nd street. He has also worked with the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, the Guthrie Theatre in Minneapolis, The Museum of the American Indian in Washington DC, and many more. He is a hoop dancer, a storyteller and shape shifter. In a 2015 article on HowlRound, Ty describes himself this way: “I am from Ojibwe Nation and Oneida Nation (People of the Standing Stone). I am two-spirit. I live in New York City. I am a writer. These ways of identifying are only parts of me, but as I move through the world, I find that I can’t take off my identities like a jacket and simply hang them in the closet. They are interwoven, and in creating any theatre that has verisimilitude or humanity, I must lean into the intersection of identities.” I am so drawn to this idea, and so delighted to bring in this unique human being who lives so proudly in the center of a beautiful venn diagram of identity.  

Ty Defoe is an Ojibwe and Oneida grammy award-winning performance artist, activist, and writer who identifies as Two-Spirit. In Native American cultures, not only is it acknowledged that gender is more fluid than our patriarchal binary society allows, but Two-Spirit individuals are also highly revered for their spiritual gifts. In this episode, Ty talks to us about the difficulty of being accepted as Two-Spirit, even within his own culture, as a result of colonialistic and religious brainwashing, whilst recalling the tender way his mother observed his body change with testosterone hormone therapy. Ty challenges the assumptions about classic literature (who is Shakespeare a classic for, anyway?), asks why hair should be an indicator of gender, and inspires us all to look more closely at the way we label ourselves and those around us. “People build fences and boxes and walls to keep the truth out.” “Examining self and examining what you're taught always stirs the pot a little bit...But I think that's what people who are making art, people who are two-spirit, who are queer, who are on the margins, are on the fray, I kind of feel like, that's the role, to make this revolution happen.”

This episode of Let Me Ascertain you is the third and final installation of “The Way They Live,” the final performance of the Civilians’ season-long residency at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. “The Way They Live” was written by Micharne Cloughley, based on interviews Civilians associates and members of the company’s Field Research Team conducted with curators, artists and visitors in the Met’s American Wing between 2014 and 2015.This episode includes song crafted from interviews about three artworks in the wing.First up, Kyle Beltran performs an original song by Michael Friedman, "John Brown," inspired by Thomas Hovenden’s painting "The Last Moments of John Brown." The song is introduced by Cindy Cheung, playing a museum curator.Next, Grace McLean performs her original song "Obsessed by Madame X," inspired by a filmmaker’s reaction to John Singer Sargent’s "Portrait of Madame X."Finally, Ty Defoe and the company of “The Way They Live” perform Ty's "In All Directions," a song inspired by a Native American dancer and choreographer's reaction to James Earle Fraser’s iconic sculpture "The End of the Trail."“The Way They Live” was performed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 15 and 16, 2015. Mia Rovegno directed a cast that included Damian Baldet, Jordan Barbour, Kyle Beltran, Cindy Cheung, Irene Lucio, April Matthis, Grace McLean, Jennifer Morris, Tanis Parenteau, Monica Salazar and Rona Siddiqui. The piece featured songs by Maggie-Kate Coleman and Erato A. Kremmyda, Grace McLean, Lady Rizo and Yair Evnine, Kirsten Childs, Michael Friedman, Rona Siddiqui and Ty Defoe.To hear more of these podcasts, subscribe to Let Me Ascertain You here on Soundcloud, or on iTunes: itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/let-m…cast/id477971690

This episode of Let Me Ascertain you is the second of three culled from “The Way They Live,” the final performance of the Civilians’ season-long residency at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. “The Way They Live” was written by Micharne Cloughley, based on interviews Civilians associates and members of the company’s Field Research Team conducted with curators, artists and visitors in the Met’s American Wing between 2014 and 2015.This episode includes monologues and a song crafted from interviews about three artworks in the wing.First up, Jennifer Morris and Irene Lucio portray two women on the curatorial staff of the American wing, talking about Mary Cassatt's "Portrait of the Artist."Next, Morris--still portraying a Met Museum curator--introduces Winslow Homer's painting "Dressing for Carnival." April Matthis then plays a visitor to the museum who responds to the piece. She sings a song called "Never" by Kirsten Childs.Finally, actor Cindy Cheung plays a museum technician talking about moving pieces of art around the gallery. She discusses Homer's painting "Veteran in a New Field."To hear more of these podcasts, subscribe to Let Me Ascertain You on Soundcloud (https://soundcloud.com/thecivilians), or on iTunes (itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/let-m…cast/id477971690).“The Way They Lived” was performed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 15 and 16, 2015. Mia Rovegno directed a cast that included Damian Baldet, Jordan Barbour, Kyle Beltran, Cindy Cheung, Irene Lucio, April Matthis, Grace McLean, Jennifer Morris, Tanis Parenteau, Monica Salazar and Rona Siddiqui. The piece featured songs by Maggie-Kate Coleman and Erato A. Kremmyda, Grace McLean, Lady Rizo and Yair Evnine, Kirsten Childs, Michael Friedman, Rona Siddiqui and Ty Defoe.

This episode of Let Me Ascertain you is the first of three culled from “The Way They Live,” the final performance of the Civilians’ season-long residency at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. “The Way They Live” was written by Micharne Cloughley, based on interviews Civilians associates and members of the company’s Field Research Team conducted with curators, artists and visitors in the Met’s American Wing between 2014 and 2015.This episode includes monologues and songs crafted from interviews about three artworks in the wing. First up, actor Jennifer Morris portrays a curator discussing the Tiffany Magnolia Vase. Then, Cindy Chung performs the song “What He Saw,” by Maggie-Kate Coleman and Erato Kremida, about one visitor’s conflicted reaction to the vase.Next, Irene Lucio portrays the Wing’s new Latin America curator, who discusses special objects in the Wing and introduces composer Rona Siddiqui’s song “To Sleep with the Dogs,” performed by Jordan Barbour and Sarah Farrell.Finally, Jennifer Morris returns as a curator to discuss the 19th century painting “Moving Day,” which depicts the chaos that historically occurred on May 1st, when leases in New York City all expired and the entire city would move at once. This context sets the scene for Lady Rizo and Yair Evnine’s song “Crowded Solo,” performed here by Evnine and Monica Salazar.To hear more of these podcasts, subscribe to Let Me Ascertain You here on Soundcloud, or on iTunes: itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/let-m…cast/id477971690“The Way They Lived” was performed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 15 and 16, 2015. Mia Rovegno directed a cast that included Damian Baldet, Jordan Barbour, Kyle Beltran, Cindy Cheung, Irene Lucio, April Matthis, Grace McLean, Jennifer Morris, Tanis Parenteau, Monica Salazar and Rona Siddiqui. The piece featured songs by Maggie-Kate Coleman and Erato A. Kremmyda, Grace McLean, Lady Rizo and Yair Evnine, Kirsten Childs, Michael Friedman, Rona Siddiqui and Ty Defoe.