'DON'T FEED THE INDIANS' Begins Tonight at La MaMa

La MaMa presents the world premiere of Safe Harbors Indigenous Collective's Don't Feed the Indians: A Divine Comedy Pageant, conceived, written and directed by Murielle Borst-Tarrant (Kuna/Rappahannock Nations), with musical direction by Kevin Tarrant (Hopi/Ho-Chunk Nations), and featuring an all Native American cast.

Don't Feed the Indians: A Divine Comedy Pageant begins tonight, November 2, for a run through November 19, 2017, in a limited engagement at La MaMa's Downstairs Theatre, located at 66 East 4th Street between 2nd Avenue and the Bowery in New York City. Opening night is set for tomorrow, November 3.

Come one, come all to the greatest sideshow of Indigenous people you'll ever see! We've got everyone's favorite Native clichés from the Stoic Indian to the Wise Indian Guide, from lounge singers to fortunetellers, all the bare chested, broad shouldered, feather wearing Indians you could want...but this time with a twist. Don't Feed the Indians: A Divine Comedy Pageant uses vaudeville, dance, musical theatre, storytelling and Native performance rituals to expose and explore the treatment of Indigenous cultures in the entertainment industry. Created by a family of three generations of Native American performers, and inspired by the carnival freak shows and human zoos of the 19th and early 20th century, Don't Feed the Indians is a raucous and biting look at cultural appropriation at its most grotesque and absurd. See what happens when the Natives fight back!

The all Native American cast includes Nicholson Billey (Delaware/Choctaw Nations), Murielle Borst-Tarrant (Kuna/Rappahannock Nations), John Scott-Richardson (Haliwa-Saponi Tribe), Danielle Soames (Mohawk/Kahnawake Nations), Henu Josephine Tarrant (Hopi/Ho-Chunk/Kuna/Rappahannock Nations) and Kevin Tarrant (Hopi/Ho-Chunk Nations).

The production team includes Dawn Avery (Composer, Mohawk Nation), Sheldon Raymore (Costume Design, Lakota Nation), Ann Mirjam Vaikla (Set Design), Nicholson Billey (Movement), Obie Award winner Morgan Jenness (Dramaturge) and Pamela McCaddin (Production Stage Manager).

Performances are Thursdays - Saturdays at 7pm and Sundays at 2pm. Tickets are $25 and $20 for students and seniors, and can be purchased online at lamama.org or by calling 212-352-3101. A limited amount of $10 tickets are available for each show. Appropriate for ages 18 and up. For more, Like La MaMa on Facebook and follow on Twitter and Instagram @LaMaMaETC.

Safe Harbors Indigenous Collective seeks to create a new paradigm for the presentation of Indigenous arts and culture within the broader American theatre to combat stereotypes and support vibrant Native American communities. The Collective addresses Indigenous cultural and socioeconomic issues through theatrical performances, panel conversations and community events. It functions on a grassroots level within local NYC Native American/Indigenous Arts communities as well as nationally and internationally through presentation and education. For more information, visit lamama.org/programs/indigenous_collective, www.facebook.com/dontfeedtheindians and www.facebook.com/Safe-Harbors-Indigenous-Collective-of-La-MaMa-163055580718069.

La MaMa is dedicated to the artist and all aspects of the theatre. The organization has a worldwide reputation for producing daring performance works that defy form and transcend barriers of ethnic and cultural identity. Founded in 1961 by award-winning theatre pioneer Ellen Stewart, La MaMa has presented more than 5,000 productions by 150,000 artists from more than 70 nations. A recipient of more than 30 Obie Awards and dozens of Drama Desk, Bessie, and Villager Awards, La MaMa has helped launch the careers of countless artists, many of whom have made important contributions to American and international arts milieus.

La MaMa's 56th season reflects the urgency of reaffirming human interconnectedness. Their stages will embrace diversity in every form and present artists that persevere with bold self-expression despite social, economic, and political struggle.

Murielle Borst-Tarrant (Kuna/Rappahannock Nations) is an author, playwright, director, producer, cultural artist, educator and human rights activist. She is a second-generation artist from the acclaimed company Spiderwoman Theater, and the author of the fantasy series The Star Medicine. Murielle works on the deconstructing of methods of the arts in Native communities in urban areas across the country and in the New York City education system. She consults many urban and non-urban universities on the development on Native theater programming. Murielle was nominated for the Rockefeller grant in 2001, won a Native Heart Award and was the only Native American woman to have her work selected by the Olympic Games in Sydney Australia at the Sydney Opera House for her one woman show More than Feathers and Beads. She has directed her mother, Muriel Miquel "Red Mother" of Spiderwoman Theater, nationally and internationally. Murielle was named as one of the most influential women in American Theater by American Theater Magazine. For more information, visit www.murielleborsttarrant.com.

Kevin Tarrant (Hopi/Ho-Chunk Nations) is the founding member and lead singer of the SilverCloud Singers, an intertribal Native American singing and dance troupe weaving the traditional with the contemporary of Native song and dance. Founded in 1991, SilverCloud takes its name in tribute of Josephine Mofsie Tarrant, the mother of Kevin Tarrant. The singers of SilverCloud come from many tribes, and from many parts of the U.S and Canada. The group was started with the intention of using traditional methods of Native culture as a means to educate through song and dance, mentoring Native youth through culture in New York City and across the country. In addition to their national and international tours, they've worked with Robbie Robertson and Ulali on the soundtrack for the TNT series "Native Americans." Kevin has performed at the National Museum of the American Indian, Princeton University, Columbia University, Yale University, American Museum of Natural History, Whitney Art Museum, United Nations, The Apollo, the Theater at Madison Square Garden, the American Indian College Fund Flame of Hope Gala, The Public Theater and La MaMa, among others.

Photo Credit: Theo Cote

To post a comment, you must register and login.