Darby Jaye T., Mohler Courtney E., Stanlake Christy. Critical Companion to Native American and First Nations Theatre and Performance: Indigenous Spaces

Methuen Drama, 2020. — 280 p.This foundational study offers an accessible introduction to Native American and First Nations theatre by drawing on critical Indigenous and dramaturgical frameworks. It is the first major survey book to introduce Native artists, plays, and theatres within their cultural, aesthetic, spiritual, and socio-political contexts. Native American and First Nations theatre weaves the spiritual and aesthetic traditions of Native cultures into diverse, dynamic, contemporary plays that enact Indigenous human rights through the plays' visionary styles of dramaturgy and performance. The book begins by introducing readers to historical and cultural contexts helpful for reading Native American and First Nations drama, followed by an overview of Indigenous plays and theatre artists from across the century. Finally, it points forward to the ways in which Native American and First Nations theatre artists are continuing to create works that advocate for human rights through transformative Native performance practices.Addressing the complexities of this dynamic field, this volume offers critical grounding in the historical development of Indigenous theatre in North America, while analysing key Native plays and performance traditions from the mainland United States and Canada. In surveying Native theatre from the late 19th century until today, the authors explore the cultural, aesthetic, and spiritual concerns, as well as the political and revitalization efforts of Indigenous peoples. This book frames the major themes of the genre and identifies how such themes are present in the dramaturgy, rehearsal practices, and performance histories of key Native scripts.Jaye T. Darby is a lecturer in the Graduate School of Education and Information Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles, USA. She has published widely in Native theatre and transformative studies. With Geiogamah, she co-edited American Indian Performing Arts: Critical Directions and two other volumes on Native performance. She is also co-editor of the collection Keepers of the Morning Star: An Anthology of Native Women's Theater with Stephanie Fitzgerald.
Courtney Elkin Mohler is an Assistant Professor of Theatre in the Jordan College of the Arts at Butler University in Indianapolis, USA. She has published articles on Native American performance], Critical Race Theory and Theatre for Social Justice in Theatre Topics, Modern Drama, Text & Presentation, Platform and has contributed a chapter to American Indian Performing Arts: Critical Directions (2009).
Christy Stanlake is a Professor of English at the United States Naval Academy, USA. A proponent of theatrical praxis, she has worked as both a scholar and practitioner in Native American Theater, including publishing Native American Drama: A Critical Perspective (2009) and directing the national tour of JudyLee Oliva's Te Ata in 2013.