Photo Flash: Gather Round the Table for Capital Stage's THE THANKSGIVING PLAY

Capital Stage presents the California Premiere of The Thanksgiving Play by Larissa Fasthorse. This satirical comedy follows four well-meaning white artists attempting to devise a politically correct Thanksgiving play for Native American Heritage Month - to be performed for school children. One artist's career hangs on the line, dependent on this play's success...or failure. Will they do it? Should they do it? The Thanksgiving Play will be directed by Producing Artistic Director Michael Stevenson and is the seventh and final production of Capital Stage's 2017/18 Season: Future Tense. Performances will run from June 20 - July 22, 2018.

THE PLAY

Four mismatched artists attempting to devise an ethnically sensitive play for the local schools to celebrate both Thanksgiving and Native American Heritage Month - with no Native American actors. In this wickedly funny satire, political correctness, ego, and just plain ignorance collide as these well-meaning self-proclaimed artists try to perform a Thanksgiving miracle (without killing any turkeys).

THE PLAYWRIGHT

Larissa Fasthorse's work has been produced and/or developed at theaters including ASU Gammage, History Theater, Kennedy Center TYA, Baltimore's Center Stage, Arizona Theater Company, Mixed Blood, the Center Theatre Group Writer's

Workshop, and Berkely Rep's Ground Floor, KCRep, Cornerstone Theater Company, AlterTheater, Children's Theater Company of Minneapolis, Native Voices in the Autry, Eagle Project, Artists Rep, and Mountainside Theater. Larissa is an enrolled member of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe, Sicangu Lakota Nation. She is an award winning playwright, director, and choreographer based in Santa Monica. She was awarded the PEN USA Literary Award for Drama, NEA Distinguished New Play Development Grant, Joe Dowling Annamaghkerrig Fellowship, AATE Distinguished Play Ward, Inge Residency, Sundance/Ford Foundation Fellowship, Aurand Harris Fellowship, the UCLA Native American Program Woman of the Year, and numerous Ford, Mellon, and NEA Grants. She is a current member of the Playwright's Union, Director's Lab West 2015, and Playwright's Center Core Writers. She is developing several new projects to direct with an emphasis on cross cultural community engaged work between Indigenous nations. She is represented by Jonathan Mills at Paradigm NY.

"I love theater that makes me think, that challenges me, that teaches me about people and ideas that I hadn't thought of before. I love seeing something new. The challenge I put out for myself for this play, was very specifically, to use all white

people in the cast and to talk about indigenous issues that we need to face and have not faced. Especially a huge beloved holiday like Thanksgiving, which is so incredibly complicated and difficult for the indigenous people in this country. So I really wanted to make sure to find a way to highlight that and make us all look at these things, while enjoying ourselves and being able to laugh, hopefully at ourselves and each other, and learn something in the process." - Larissa Fasthorse

THE DIRECTOR

Michael Stevenson is the Producing Artistic Director of Capital Stage where he has directed Luna Gale, Stupid F##king

Bird, How To Use A Knife (NNPN Rolling World Premiere), Disgraced, Mr. Burns, Ideation, Clybourne Park, Mauritius, Erratica (World Premiere), Les Liaisons Dangereuses, and for the Delta King Theatre, Bad Dates. He has directed at regional theatres including: the B Street Theatre, Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival, Orlando Shakespeare Company, Perseverance Theatre Company, and Sacramento Theatre Company. As an actor he has appeared at many regional theatres including: 42nd Street Moon, American Conservatory Theatre, The Aurora Theatre, Bailiwick Repertory Theatre, Capital Stage, B Street Theatre, the Utah Shakespeare Festival, and Marriott's Lincolnshire Theatre. He holds an M.F.A. from The American Conservatory Theatre.

THE PRODUCTION

The Thanksgiving Play will be directed by Michael Stevenson (Luna Gale, Stupid F##king Bird, How To Use A Knife, Disgraced, Mr. Burns, Ideation, Clybourne Park) and will feature Gabby Battista (Capital Stage debut), Cassidy Brown (Hunter Gatherers, The North Plan, The Totalitarians), Jouni Kirjola (Mr. Burns, Love and Information, Stupid F##king Bird), and Jennifer Le Blanc (Disgraced). The production design team will include Justin Muñoz (Scenic design), Jessica Bertine (Lighting design), Rebecca Redmond (Costume design), Irene Velasquez (Properties design), Amelia Holt (Scenic Charge Artist) and Ed Lee (Sound design).

Performances for The Thanksgiving Play will begin with three previews on Wednesday, June 20th & Thursday, June 21st at 7:00 pm, and Friday, June 22ndat 8:00 pm. The production will open Saturday, June 23rd at 8:00 pm. Performances

will continue through Sunday, July 22nd, 2018. Showtimes will be Wednesdays at 7:00 pm, Thursdays at 7:00 pm, Fridays at 8:00 pm, Saturdays at 2:00 pm & 8:00 pm, and Sundays at 2:00 pm. Regular ticket prices range from $22-45. Discount tickets are available as follows: Student Rush tickets are half priced with valid student ID within 1 hour of performance; Senior tickets are $5 off regular priced tickets; Military personnel tickets are $10 off regular priced tickets with valid ID; and Group Rate tickets are $5 off each for parties of 12 or more. Tickets are currently available at the Capital Stage Box Office, by phone at 916-995-5464, or online at capstage.org.

Photo Credit: Charr Crail

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