Reflections of Native Voices

Nicholson Billey is of the Chahta and Mvskoke People of Oklahoma and is an enrolled member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. While obtaining a MFA in Performance + Performance Studies, Nic began to present his solo performance work that utilized various multidirectional and poly-focal fundamentals from the everyday practices of Indigeneity with aspects from drama therapy to create Este Cate. Nic also holds an MA in drama therapy. Nic is honored to be a performance member of the Don’t Feed The Indians ensemble and a team member of the Safe Harbors Indigenous Collective of NYC.

Murielle Borst- Tarrant (Kuna/ Rappahannock Nations) is an author, playwright, director, producer, cultural artist, educator, and human rights activist.  She 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. Nominated for the Rockefeller grant in 2001, won a Native Heart Award and was the only Native American Woman to have her work to be selected by the Olympic Games in Sydney Australia at the Sydney Opera House for her one woman show “ More than Feathers and Beads”. She served internationally  as the Special Assistant to the North American Regional Representative to the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues which one of her mandates was arts and culture. Directed Muriel Miquel  “Red Mother” nationally and Internationally. Keynote Speaker for the Indigenous Women’s Symposium  at Trent University. Global Indigenous Woman’s Caucus Chair ( North America ) in 2013 to May of 2014.  Selected to speak on Repetition, Tradition and Change: Native oral history and contemporary art practice in hostel post- colonial times at the International Conference at the Muthesius Academy of Art in Kiel Germany and the Norwegian Theater Academy.  She is the Artistic Director of Safe Harbors NYC. Native Consultant for Regional Tony award winner LaMaMa Experimental Theatre for their Indigenous Initiative. She produced, written and directed “Don’t Feed the Indians- A Divine Comedy Pageant!” at LaMaMa Theatre. Recent Mellon Playwright Fellow.

Chesley Cannon is a designer, animator and filmmaker. He has been a resident designer for Honolulu Theatre for Youth for the past three seasons. He holds an MFA in Design from The University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa where he designed the sets for several mainstage shows. Other Hawaiʻi credits include designs for All the World’s a Stage Theatre Company, Hawaiʻi Shakespeare Festival, Diamond Head Theatre and Kumu Kahua Theatre.

Cris Derksen is a composer/cellist and has performed from Norway to Australia. She is known for building layers of sound into captivating performances. Her 2015 Album Orchestral Powwow earned her an Instrumental Album JUNO nomination. Coming from North Tall Cree reserve in Northern Alberta her music braids the traditional and contemporary in multiple dimensions, weaving her traditional classical training and her Indigenous ancestry with new school electronics, creating genre defying music. As a composer she has earned respect in the many different arts communities for her versatility and movement between genres. She has scored for CBC’s 8th Fire and the 5th Estate, Documentaries – People of a Feather, and The Pass System, Kaha:wi Dance Theatre, as well as Summerworks Theatre Festival to name a few. She  has performed with an array of musicians such as Buffy Sainte Marie and Tanya Tagaq.

Adriana Fulop is a Slovakian born fashion and costume designer. In 1999 she moved to Toronto to pursue a carrier in fashion and costuming. In 2001, she started her own fashion label Plastik Wrap which led her into the costume design profession. In the last decade, Adriana has created costumes for many video and film productions, dancers, musicians, as well as; independent theaters and artists. Her client list includes Space Channel, APTN, Kaha:wi Dance Theatre, Bralen Dance Theatre, Indspire Awards and many others.

Moses Goods is one of Hawaiʻi’s most prominent theatre artists. Originally from the island of Maui, he is now based in Honolulu and travels nationally and internationally performing his original work to a wide range of audiences. Moses has done extensive work as a company actor with the renowned Honolulu Theatre for Youth. Other professional theatre involvement includes principal work with the long-running  production ʻUlalena and staring in the one-man show The Legend of Kaululāʻau. For his  creation of the play Duke, a one-man show that he both wrote and stars in, Moses was  awarded with a certificate of appreciation by the United Nations Association of the United States of America, Honolulu Chapter. In addition to Duke, his  professional writing credits include Lono’s Journey produced by Honolulu Theatre for  Youth and three full length plays commissioned by Windward Community College’s department of theatre and dance. Moses also writes his own storytelling material adapting traditional Hawaiian stories to his unique performance style. In 2012 Moses was awarded a MicroFest fellowship by the Network of Ensemble Theatres. As a MicroFest fellow he was given the opportunity to visit several major U.S cities in distress to observe how art is being used to help remedy social issues. This eye opening experience both broadened his social awareness and greatly impacted his work as an artist in that it showed him how important it is for all people to tell their stories. Moses also studies traditional hula under Kumu Hula Māpuana de Silva of Hālau Mōhala ʻIlima.

Anthony Hudson (Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde) is a multidisciplinary artist, writer, performer, and filmmaker perhaps best known as Portland’s premier drag clown Carla Rossi, an immortal trickster whose attempts at realness almost always result in fantastic failure. Together they have been featured at the Portland and Seattle Art Museums, the Vancouver Queer Film Festival, the 2019 Portland Biennial, the Risk/Reward Festival, PICA’s TBA Festival, Melbourne’s Yirramboi Festival, and more, in addition to regularly hosting and programming QUEER HORROR – the only LGBTQ+ horror film screening series in the United States – at the historic Hollywood Theatre. Anthony was named a 2018 National Artist Fellow from the Native Arts and Cultures Foundation, a 2018 Western Arts Alliance Native Launchpad Artist, and a 2019 Oregon Arts Commission Fellow, and has received project support and fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, USArtists International, the Oregon Community Foundation, the Regional Arts and Culture Council, the Portland Art Museum & NW Film Center, Ucross Foundation, Caldera Arts Center, and more. Anthony also co-hosts the weekly queer feminist horror podcast Gaylords of Darkness with writer Stacie Ponder. Anthony’s first professionally produced theatrical play, LOOKING FOR TIGER LILY, adapted from Anthony’s solo show of the same name, will make its world premiere at Artists Repertory Theatre.

In his eleven seasons as Artistic Director for Honolulu Theatre for Youth (HTY), Eric Johnson has been a major component in the institution’s rise to one of the nation’s top theatres for young audiences. Since taking the reins in 2005, Eric has dramatically increased the company’s commitment to new work, including the first season of entirely new work in the company’s 58 year history. Prior to HTY, Johnson was an Artistic Associate at the Fulton Opera House and the Founding Artistic Director of Blue Shift Theatre Ensemble. His work has toured nationally and internationally throughout Spain, France, Belgium and Switzerland. As a freelance director, Johnson’s credits include La Jolla Playhouse, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Center Theatre Group, Childsplay, Imagination Stage and the Kennedy Center New Visions/New Voices Festival. He is a proud alumnus of the  TCG/NEA Early Career Directors Program and the Princess Grace Fellowship, and in 2010 was named one of Pacific Business News’ 40 Best Business Leaders Under Forty.

Louise Pōtiki Bryant is a Ngāi Tahu choreographer, dancer, and video artist. With her artistic practice, Louise aims to honour her whakapapa and relationship to the whenua. Her practice is also informed by kaupapa Māori (Māori principles and practices), mana wahine (the intrinsic spiritual power of women), and ātua Māori (deities/ancestors). Louise is a founding member of Atamira Dance Company for whom she has choreographed six works, including Ngāi Tahu 32, Te Aroha me the mamae, and TAONGA: Dust Water Wind. Louise has also choreographed for companies such as Black Grace Dance Company, The New Zealand Dance Company and Orotokare, Art, Story, Motion. Louise also has a body of solo and collaborative works which draw upon her whakaahua and interdisciplinary practices. She designs installations for her works, and is responsible for the design, production and editing of the projected video elements—an integral part of each performance. She has made seven dance and several music videos for Māori singer/songwriters as well as designing video for many music, opera and dance productions including three of Kaha:wi Dance Theatre’s recent dance works; Re-Quickening, Blood Tides and Blood, Water, Earth. Louise has undertaken several artist residencies including the Harriet Friedlander Residency awarded by the Arts Foundation of New Zealand, a residency which  offered Louise a period of choreographic and artistic inspiration in New York City.

Shane Powless is from the Mohawk Nation from Six Nations of the Grand River. He works as a videographer/photographer/editor/graphic designer/lighting technician/audio technician. Over the years, Shane has travelled extensively with various dance, theatre productions and musical groups providing the above services. His focus has been working within his Six Nations community, supporting our artists and cultural projects with organizations and artists such as: Woodland Cultural Centre, Kaha:wi Dance Theatre, Thru the Red Door, Six Nations Polytechnic Institute, Six Nations Council, Derek Miller Band, Logan Staats, Rochester Knighthawks, Lacey Hill, and more.

Lacy Rolf is a graduate of University of Missouri-Kansas City with her MFA in costume design and technology and MA in music theatre. Lacy’s Hawaiʻi credits include designs for Diamond Head Theatre, Kumu Kahua Theatre, Hawaiʻi Shakespeare Festival, Palikū Theatre, Hawai’i Theatre Center, Ohana Arts and Hawai’i Pacific University. She is the  recipient of four Poʻokela Awards for costume design.

Santee Smith / Tekaronhiáhkhwa is a multidisciplinary artist from the Kahnyen’kehàka Nation, Turtle Clan, Six Nations of the Grand River, Haldimand Treaty Territory, Ontario, Turtle Island (Canada). Santee trained at Canada’s National Ballet School and completed Physical Education and Psychology degrees from McMaster University and a M.A. in Dance from York University. Santee premiered her debut work Kaha:wi – a family creation story in 2004 and one year later founded Kaha:wi Dance Theatre which has grown into an internationally renowned company. Santee’s artistic work speaks about identity and Indigenous narratives. Her body of work includes 14 productions and numerous short works. Her commissions include choreography for the National Arts Centre Orchestra, Canadian Opera Company, North American Indigenous Games, among others. She is the recipient of the K.M. Hunter Award; Victor Martyn Lynch-Staunton Award; John Hobday Award; Hamilton Music Award for Kaha:wi; Dora Mavor Moore Award for Outstanding Choreography in the Dance for Susuriwka – willow bridge and a REVEAL Indigenous Arts Award. Her production Blood Tides received two 2019 Dora Mavor Moore Awards in Dance for Outstanding Production and Outstanding Performance Ensemble and The Mush Hole received five awards in 2020. Santee is a sought after teacher and speaker on the performing arts, Indigenous performance and culture, most recently at Citadel Theatre/Training Program, McMaster University and Stratford Festival. Her life and works have been the topic of TV series like the recent The Move II (CBC). Santee is the Chancellor of McMaster University.

Timothy White Eagle is a mixed-race artist. His art practice rises from a decades long exploration of traditional ritual and embodiment practice.  He crafts experiences and objects designed to heal both creator and audience.  His preferred mediums include objects, photography, performance and installed space. His work has been presented on three continents. He was the recipient of the WAA/AIP Launch Pad award1 in 2019 as well as a Seattle City Artist award in 2020.  He received a BFA in Theater from U of Utah. Timothy tours as an artistic director and performer with MacArthur Genius, Taylor Mac on his Pulitzer Prize finalist “A 24 Decade History…”.

Safe Harbors NYC was originally founded as programming at La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club and personally envisioned by Artistic Director Mia Yoo and Murielle Borst-Tarrant. Together, wanting to create a new paradigm in regard to the presentation of Indigenous Arts and Culture within the broader American Theater world, the mission to combat stereotypes and support Indigenous communities. The Collective is still a collaborative program that functions on a grassroots level within local NYC Native American/Indigenous Arts communities nationally and internationally and continues to work closely with La MaMa’s Indigenous Initiative.

The La MaMa Indigenous Initiative aims to provide a platform for Indigenous arts and culture, both nationally and worldwide. La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club is committed to supporting ethnic diversity, cultural pluralism, and marginalized identities in the arts. The Initiative curates original Indigenous programming, including workshops, markets, and theatrical productions, to elevate the voices and artistic works of Native communities both nationally and internationally.

Founded in 1955, Honolulu Theatre for Youth (HTY) is one of the oldest and most respected children’s theaters in the country. HTY has served over five million people through school and family performances and drama education programs. Over 300 new plays for young audiences have been commissioned by HTY. HTY produces professional theatre and drama education programs that make a difference in the lives of young people, families and educators in the state of Hawaiʻi. HTY believes that drama education and theatre are unique, socially-based education and art forms that help their participants and audiences walk in the shoes of others, allowing them to expand their imaginations, enrich their lives and discover the infinite possibilities in the world. HTY works towards a future for Hawaiʻi in which people are culturally literate and imaginative, are critical thinkers and inventive problem solvers, with a respect for history and a sense of place in a complex world.

The Ikidowin Peer Educators and Acting Ensemble is a troupe of Native teens 12 through 18 years old and created by the Indigenous Peoples Task Force (IPTF) 28 years ago located in South Minneapolis. This program trains youth to lead theater-based education on topics such as Sexual health, Teen pregnancy, Sexual Violence, Substance abuse, Historical trauma and other issues. The youth participate in creating original theatrical pieces to perform in schools, conferences and theaters. The goal is to use storytelling to educate our communities and promote wellness. The curriculum is designed to also teach our native values through the Seven Grandfather teachings: Love, Respect, Bravery, Honesty, Humility, Truth and Wisdom.

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