All about Native Voices

Romeo and Sacagawea and a Talking Dog, Too: Native Voices Brings an Indigenous Perspective to TheaterA Native version of Romeo and Juliet. Lewis and Clark from Sacagawea’s point of view. A commodity cheese-based superhero with a talking-dog sidekick.

When you think of Native storytelling, you think of movies (Dances with Wolves, Smoke Signals), books (Black Elk Speaks, The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven), even cartoons and comic books. What you don’t think of is the Native theater, and plays that can stand the test of time. But Los Angeles-based Native Voices, an Equity theater company devoted to Native American plays, is trying to change that.

Since 2001, Native Voices has mounted eight Equity productions. Several have gone on to other locations and been published. The program has helped hundreds of budding Natives playwrights hone their skills and begin crafting scripts.