Larissa FastHorse is a Native American (Sicangu Lakota) playwright and choreographer based in Santa Monica, California. FastHorse grew up in South Dakota,[1][2] where she began her career as a ballet dancer and choreographer but was forced into an early retirement after ten years of dancing[3] due to an injury.[4] Returning to an early interest in writing, she became involved in Native American drama, especially the Native American film community.[3][5] Later she began writing and directing her own plays, several of which are published through Samuel French (a Concord Theatricals Company) and Dramatic Publishing.[4][6] With playwright and performer Ty Defoe, FastHorse co-founded Indigenous Direction, a "consulting firm that helps organizations and individuals who want to create accurate work by, for and with Indigenous peoples."[7] Indigenous Direction's clients include the Guthrie Theater.[8] FastHorse is a past vice chair of the Theatre Communications Group, a service organization for professional non-profit American theatre.[9]

Career edit

In 2000, FastHorse was a delegate to the United Nations in Geneva, where she spoke on the impact cinema can have for Indigenous peoples.[5] FastHorse then shifted from a career as a dancer and choreographer, to feature television and film development.[5]

FastHorse worked for Universal Pictures before joining Latham Entertainment at Paramount as a creative executive. She produced two short films, The Migration and A Final Wish, before switching her focus to writing and directing.[5][10]

While writing and working on many projects of her own making, FastHorse also served as a panelist for The Film and Video Fellowships, formerly named the Rockefeller Fellowship.[5] She has been involved with many other networks and theatre companies, having written commissioned pieces for the AlterTheater in San Rafael, CA;[4][6] Cornerstone Theatre Company;[2] and Native Voices at the Autry[2][4] both located in Los Angeles, CA, as well as the Children's Theatre Company in Minneapolis, MN;[4] the Kennedy Center for Young Audiences in Washington, D.C.;[4] and for Mountainside Theater in Cherokee, N.C.[2][4] She has developed new plays with the Arizona Theatre Company, Tucson, AZ;[4] the Center Theatre Group Writer's Workshop, Los Angeles, CA;[4] and Berkeley Rep's Ground Floor, Berkeley, CA.[4] Her play Urban Rez, created with Cornerstone Theater, portrays the experience of Indigenous people in Los Angeles County, home to the U.S.'s second-largest Indigenous population.[11] The Thanksgiving Play was begun with a fellowship from the Guthrie Theater and developed through readings including at DC's Center Stage Play Lab in 2016;[12][13] it was produced by Artists Repertory Theatre in Oregon in April 2018.[14] Both The Thanksgiving Play in 2017[15] and What Would Crazy Horse Do? in 2014 were featured on the annual "Kilroys' List" of "recommended un- and underproduced new plays by female and trans authors of color."[16][17] What Would Crazy Horse Do?, a comedy inspired by historical interest by the KKK in collaborations with Indigenous groups,[18][19] was featured in the Lilly Awards' 2015 reading series with performers Emily Bergl, Jesse Perez, and Madeline Sayet.[20] The Thanksgiving Play also secured FastHorse's off-Broadway playwright debut, with an October 2018 production announced by Playwrights Horizons, directed by Moritz von Stuelpnagel and starring Margo Seibert, Jennifer Bareilles, Jeffrey Bean, and Greg Keller.[21]

FastHorse currently serves as Vice Chairman of Playwrights Horizons.[22]

As part of her production contract as a playwright, FastHorse requires that the theatre hire at least one other Indigenous artist for the production, and showcase at least one other Indigenous artist's work in the building.[14]

FastHorse has been collaborating with Macy's since 2020 to help make the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade more respectful for the Native American community.[23]

Honors and awards edit

  • MacArthur Fellows Program, Class of 2020[24]
  • FastHorse completed a 2006 fellowship from Fox Diversity Writer's Initiative Programs[5]
  • recipient of the 2015-2016 Joe Dowling Annaghmakerig Fellowship Award[2]
  • National Endowment for the Arts Distinguished New Play Development Grant[4]
  • AATE Distinguished Play Award[4]
  • William Inge Center for the Arts Playwriting Residency[4]
  • Sundance Institute-Ford Foundation Fellowship[4][6]
  • Aurand Harris Fellowship
  • member of the Center Theatre Group Writer's Workshop in 2011-2012 [6]
  • Two for New Works grant recipient[6]
  • National Geographic Seed Grant [6]
  • PEN/USA Literary Award for Drama[25]
  • Delegate to the UN in Geneva[6]
  • Center Stage's Wright Now, Play Later Project, 2016[12]

Television credits edit

Theatre credits edit

Choreography edit

Writing edit

  • Meeting Mom is an original short story about FastHorse's feelings after meeting her birthmother for the first time.[4][5]
  • Average Family was a piece commissioned by the Children's Theater Company.[4][6][26]
  • Fancy Dancer was also based on FastHorse's life, won FastHorse the 2010 National Endowment for the Arts Distinguishing New Play Development Grant.[6] It was not directed by FastHorse, however, but instead by Peter Brosius.[6]
  • Lazarus Rises was able to run a staged reading funded by the Sundance Institute/ Ford Foundation Fellowship and Grant.[5] Lazarus Rises is an autobiographical metaphor that follows three differently disabled Native Americans veterans as they adventure across the state of South Dakota.[5] Surprisingly enough, the blind man is behind the wheel.[5]
  • Urban Rez is a community-engaged production that was created by FastHorse in collaboration with members of the Native American community of Los Angeles.[27]
  • Teaching Disco Square Dancing to Our Elders: A Class Presentation was the first of three commission with the Native Voices at the Autry in Los Angeles.[4][6][28]
  • Cherokee Family Reunion premiered in July 2012 in association with the Cherokee Historical Association.[4][6]
  • A Dancing People was commissioned by the Kennedy Center Theatre for Young Audiences. The play brings together writing backgrounds as well as dance to blend together spoken words and dancing movements.[6][29]
  • Hunka was invited to be a part of the Arizona Theatre Company's Inaugural Cafe Bohemia season.[6]
  • Landless Commissioned and produced by AlterTheater [30]
  • The Thanksgiving Play[31]
  • What Would Crazy Horse Do?[32]
  • Native Nation[33]
  • Cow Pie Bingo Commissioned and produced by AlterTheater 2018[33]

Personal edit

FastHorse is a member of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe of the Lakota people.[4] She lives with husband, sculptor Edd Hogan, in Santa Monica.[5]

References edit

  1. ^ "Playwright 'Larissa FastHorse' on 'The Thanksgiving Play' and the Macy's parade". NPR.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Larissa FastHorse Receives Fellowship From the Guthrie". American Theatre. 2015-09-16. Retrieved 2016-05-08.
  3. ^ a b Heffley, Lynne (2008-02-05). "Writing is a dance". Los Angeles Times. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved 2016-05-09.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s "Larissa FastHorse". Dramatic Publishing. Retrieved 2016-05-09.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k MindLabs.net, Anne Shuff @. "Plays for Young Audiences". playsforyoungaudiences.org. Retrieved 2016-05-09.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q "Alter Theater". Alter Theater. Retrieved 2016-05-09.
  7. ^ Group, TCG: Theatre Communications. "2017 Fall Forum on Governance: Turning the Tide". www.tcg.org. Retrieved 2018-09-04.
  8. ^ "TCG Fall Forum: A Collegial Conversation About Systemic Challenges". AMERICAN THEATRE. 2017-12-01. Retrieved 2018-09-04.
  9. ^ "TCG: Theatre Communications Group > About Us > Mission, Vision, and Values". www.tcg.org. Retrieved 2019-12-13.
  10. ^ "Larissa FastHorse". IMDb. Retrieved 2018-09-16.
  11. ^ "'Urban Rez' Explores What It Means To Be Native American". NPR.org. Retrieved 2018-09-04.
  12. ^ a b "An Interview with Playwright Larissa FastHorse - DC Metro Theater Arts". DC Metro Theater Arts. 2016-10-10. Retrieved 2018-09-04.
  13. ^ Benson, Mitchel (2018-07-05). "'Thanksgiving Play' gone off the rails? That's the genius in Capital Stage's comedy". The Sacramento Bee. ISSN 0890-5738. Retrieved 2018-09-19.
  14. ^ a b "Native Women Rising". AMERICAN THEATRE. 2018-03-20. Retrieved 2018-09-04.
  15. ^ "The Kilroys Releases Fourth Annual "The List" | Playbill". Playbill. 23 June 2017. Retrieved 2018-09-04.
  16. ^ "The Kilroys Were Here (at the Lillys' Behest)". AMERICAN THEATRE. 2015-03-18. Retrieved 2018-09-04.
  17. ^ "ABOUT THE LIST | The Kilroys". The Kilroys. 2015-06-12. Retrieved 2018-09-04.
  18. ^ "Native Americans, The KKK And Keeping The 'Blood Pure'". NPR.org. Retrieved 2018-09-04.
  19. ^ Uno, Roberta (2017-09-14). Contemporary Plays by Women of Color: An Anthology. Routledge. pp. xx. ISBN 9781317280446.
  20. ^ Kang, Inkoo (2015-03-05). "America Ferrera, Kate Mulgrew, Emily Bergl to Read 3 Plays from Lilly Awards' Kilroys' List". IndieWire. Retrieved 2018-09-04.
  21. ^ "Larissa FastHorse's The Thanksgiving Play Finds Its Cast Off-Broadway | Playbill". Playbill. 12 September 2018. Retrieved 2018-09-16.
  22. ^ "Board of Trustees". Playwrights Horizons. Retrieved 2021-11-04.
  23. ^ Tran, Diep (2023-11-22). "How Playwright Larissa FastHorse Helped Improve the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade". Playbill.com. Retrieved 2023-11-25.
  24. ^ "Larissa FastHorse - MacArthur Foundation". www.macfound.org. Retrieved 2020-10-10.
  25. ^ "Larissa FastHorse - Playwright/Choreographer". HoganHorse Studio. Retrieved 2019-12-13.
  26. ^ Brosius, Peter; Adams, Elissa (2011). The Face of America: Plays for Young People. U of Minnesota Press. pp. xi. ISBN 9781452932934.
  27. ^ "Urban Rez: Playwright Larissa FastHorse on the Urban Indian Experience". KCET. 2016-03-19. Retrieved 2016-05-09.
  28. ^ Miller, Daryl H. (2008-02-11). "Tender truths set to do-si-do disco". Los Angeles Times. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved 2018-09-19.
  29. ^ Bowling, Caitlin. "New outdoor drama debuts at Cherokee's Mountainside Theater". Smoky Mountain News. Retrieved 2018-09-19.
  30. ^ "Theater review: 'Landless' tells tales with a social bent". SFGate. 2015-01-11. Retrieved 2018-09-19.
  31. ^ ACENA, TJ (April 10, 2018). "About that turkey of a play ..." Oregon ArtsWatch. Retrieved 2018-09-19.
  32. ^ FastHorse, Larissa (2018). "What Would Crazy Horse Do?". Contemporary plays by women of color : an anthology. Uno, Roberta, 1956- (Second ed.). London: Routledge. ISBN 9781138189454. OCLC 989726525.
  33. ^ a b "Larissa Theater Resume". HoganHorse Studio. Retrieved 2019-12-13.

External links edit