Native Voices at the Autry Presents CARBON BLACK November 4, 2009

WORLD PREMIERE OF CARBON BLACK
BY TERRY GOMEZ (COMANCHE)
PRESENTED BY NATIVE VOICES AT THE AUTRY,
AMERICA’S LEADING NATIVE AMERICAN THEATER COMPANY

Saturday, November 7 - Sunday, November 22, 2009
(previews begin Wednesday, November 4)

Native Voices at the Autry, America’s leading Native American theater company, launches its 2009-10 main stage play series with the world premiere of CARBON BLACK by Terry Gomez (Comanche)*. The humor-tinged suspenseful psychological drama, directed by Native Voices Founder/Producing Artistic Director Randy Reinholz (Choctaw)*, runs Saturday, November 7 to Sunday, November 22, 2009 (previews begin Wednesday, November 4). Gripping and enigmatic, the play vividly portrays the relationship between an agoraphobic mother and her precocious son, who claims to have witnessed a horrific murder. The mother’s refusal to acknowledge the tale and her crippling dependence on sensationalized media coverage of violence around the globe serve to hold them both hostage and isolated. The award-winning cast includes actress Tonantzín Carmelo (Tongva, Kumeyaay)*, Sheila Tousey (Menominee, Stockbridge Munsee)*, Stephan Wolfert and Michael Drummond.

“Terry Gomez’s play was inspired by an outbreak of crime in her own neighborhood as well as the lingering culture of fear that has grown up in the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks,” says Reinholz. “Carbon Black examines what happens when life is distorted through the lens of local television news, and what the ramifications for individuals and society can be when the reaction to crime and violence, real or perceived, is denial and solitary confinement.”

Gomez, a playwright, writer, director, actor, educator and painter, is a member of the Advisory Committee for the Native Theater Festival at The Public Theater in New York City, where her play Inter-Tribal was produced. Among her other produced works are Tobacco Leaves, Numunu Waiipunu: The Comanche Women, Antigone, A Day at the Nighthawk, Rain Dance, Melanin, Acedia, Reunion and The Woman with a Mustache. She has been a director for the Two Worlds Native Theater Festival and the Cool Side of Hell Theater Troupe, Institute of American Indian Arts.

Native Voices at the Autry, celebrating its 10th Anniversary Season, is led by Founder/Producing Artistic Director Randy Reinholz (Choctaw)* and Founder/Producing Executive Director Jean Bruce Scott and is the country’s only Equity theater company dedicated exclusively to producing new works by Native American playwrights and performed by Native actors. It maintains successful long-term relationships with New York's The Public Theater, Native American Public Telecommunications (NAPT), Washington's Kennedy Center and La Jolla Playhouse.

Single tickets are $20 for general admission, $12 for Autry members and half price for previews. Groups (10 or more), save 40%.

NATIVE VOICES is located at the Autry National Center of the American West, 4700 Western Heritage Way, Los Angeles, CA 90027-1462. To purchase tickets, call (866) 468-3399 or visit www.NativeVoicesattheAutry.org

Native Voices at the Autry, celebrating its 10th Anniversary Season, is led by Founder/Producing Artistic Director Randy Reinholz (Choctaw)* and Founder/Producing Executive Director Jean Bruce Scott and maintains successful long-term relationships with New York's The Public Theater, Native American Public Telecommunications (NAPT), Washington's Kennedy Center and La Jolla Playhouse. It is the country’s only Equity theater company dedicated exclusively to producing new works by Native American playwrights and performed by Native actors. The company has been hailed by critics as "a virtual who's who of American Indian theater artists," "a hot bed for contemporary Native theater," "an established presence in Los Angeles and a growing influence elsewhere," "deeply compelling" and "a powerful and eloquent voice." Native Voices, which provides a supportive, collaborative setting for Native theater artists from across North America, was established as a resident company at the Autry National Center of the American West in 1999. It is widely respected in both the Native American and theater communities for its breakthrough plays and diverse programming showcasing unique points of view within the more than 500 Native American nations in North America. Deeply committed to developing new works by beginning, emerging and established Native playwrights from across North America and seeing them fully realized, Native Voices also presents three signature projects in addition to its two headline productions. They include the First Look Series, the Playwrights Retreat and Festival of New Plays and the Young Native Voices Theatre Education Project. To date, the company has presented fully staged productions of 18 critically acclaimed new plays, including 13 world premieres, 6 Playwright Retreats and 12 New Play Festivals, and more than 80 workshops and public staged readings of new plays.

The Autry National Center of the American West is an intercultural history center that includes the Southwest Museum of the American Indian, the Museum of the American West (formerly the Autry Museum of Western Heritage), and the Institute for the Study of the American West. Each institution maintains its individual identity; however, the convergence of resources allows the center to expand the understanding of the diverse peoples of the American West, connecting the past with the present to inform our shared future. The Autry National Center’s executive offices are located in Griffith Park.

WHO: Native Voices at the Autry, America’s leading Native American theater company

WHAT: Carbon Black by Terry Gomez (Comanche)*

Cast & Crew:
Randy Reinholz (Choctaw)*, Director
Executive Producers Randy Reinholz (Choctaw)* and Jean Bruce Scott

Tonantzín Carmelo (Tongva, Kumeyaay)* -- Lisa Yellowtree
Sheila Tousey (Menominee, Stockbridge Munsee)* -- Sylvie
Stephan Wolfert -- Bodell Tucker
Michael Drummond -- Carbon ‘Inky’ Black

Susan Baker Scharpf, Scenic Design
R. Craig Wolf, Lighting Design
Christina Wright, Costume and Props Design
Janna R. Lopez Räven (Taos Pueblo, Yaqui)*, Sound Design
Douglas Langworthy, Dramaturg
Dale Alan Cooke, Production Stage Manager
Jeremy Lazzara, Technical Director
Pamela Sevilla, San Diego Assistant Director and Web Site Manager
Jennifer Bobiwash, (Ojibway)*, Los Angeles Assistant Director
Ashley Johnstone, Master Electrician
Michelle Caron, Lighting Assistant
Courtney Elkin Mohler (Santa Barbara Chumash)*, Production Assistant

WHEN:
Previews:
Wednesday, November 4, 2009, 8 PM
Thursday, November 5, 2009, 8 PM
Saturday, November 7, 2009, 2 PM

Opens:
Saturday, November 7, 2009, 8 PM

Runs:
Sunday, November 8, 2009, 2 PM
Thursday, November 12, 2009, 8 PM
Friday, November 13, 2009, 8 PM
Saturday, November 14, 2009, 2 PM & 8 PM
Sunday, November 15, 2009, 2 PM
Thursday, November 19, 2009, 8 PM
Friday, November 20, 2009, 8 PM
Saturday, November 21, 2009, 2 PM & 8 PM
Sunday, November 22, 2009, 2 PM

WHERE:
Wells Fargo Theater,
Autry National Center of the American West
4700 Western Heritage Way
Los Angeles, CA 90027-1462

TICKET PRICES:
$20; ($12 for Autry members)
Previews: half price
Groups (10 or more), save 40%

TICKETS & INFO:
(866) 468-3399 www.NativeVoicesattheAutry.org

*refers to the artists’ tribal affiliation