Yale Indigenous Performing Arts Program: 9th Annual New Native Play Festival

The Yale Indigenous Performing Arts Program (YIPAP) promotes and cultivates Indigenous storytelling and performance to further authentic representation across New Haven community and the arts field. The YIPAP 9th Annual New Native Play Festival presents developmental readings of works by acclaimed professional Native playwrights as well as the winning play submitted to the Young Native Playwrights Contest. Join us for one or more of this year's readings of Dark Earth, From the Old Wood Forest, and Pigeon. Scroll for details and registration.

Tuesday, April 23 @ 7:30 PM  REGISTER

Dark Earth - By Blossom Johnson (Diné) | Directed by Daniel Leeman Smith (Choctaw). In 1972 Dinétah, a close community is uncertain of their future over water, coal, and natural resources. The community watches as "Mr. Peabody'' hauls away coal along with their hopes and dreams. Siblings Anna and Sarah have to decide if their family needs to relocate away from the mine or stand their ground on dark earth. Bessie and Harlen are caught in the middle as they grapple with the Hopi-Navajo land dispute, family obligations and being good stewards. Jessie is just trying to keep his diner open while the coal mine is booming with customers who pay their tabs.

Wednesday April 24 @ 7:30 PM  REGISTER

From the Old Wood Forest - By Sierra Rosetta (Lac Courte Oreilles Chippewa) [Winner of this year's Young Native Playwrights Contest] | Directed by Tara Moses (Seminole). In the late 1960s, Annie Ford and Elwood Morris classically meet and fall in love at their annual high school dance. Annie is from an old-school white family, while Elwood, his brother, and aunt are the only Native Americans living in their rural Wisconsin town. The two families intertwine as tension mounts over Annie and Elwood’s relationship, generational trauma, and unforeseeable tragedy. Based on the true story of the playwright's paternal grandparents.

Thursday, April 25 @ 7:30 PM  REGISTER

Pigeon - By Dillon Chitto (Mississippi Choctaw, Laguna, and Isleta Pueblo) | Directed by Madeline Sayet (Mohegan). Situated within the world of Queer Native identity, PIGEON is the first play in a two-part series centered around a group of Queer Urban Natives residing in the Northside of Chicago. When confronted by a mysterious trickster bearing an unusual offer, the family members find themselves at a crossroads, forced to prioritize either communal bonds or individual pursuits for their survival.