Native play The Rez Sisters comes to Schwartz Center

The Native play The Rez Sisters, the centerpiece of Cornell's yearlong examination of Indian identity titled "Indians' Indians: (Re)Presentation of Native American People in the Arts," will make its regional premiere at Cornell's Schwartz Center for the Performing Arts Oct. 24 through Nov. 4.

Emily Dictionary (played by Chloe Liederman), Marie-Adele Starblanket (played by Shantha Susman) and Philomena Moosetail (played by Pillar Carrillo) are just three of "the rez sisters" in Tomson Highway's play The Rez Sisters, making its regional premiere at Cornell's Schwartz Center for the Performing Arts Oct. 24-Nov. 4. Robert Barker/University Photography

The play opens Wednesday, Oct. 24, at 8 p.m. Evening performances continue Oct. 25-28 and Oct. 31-Nov. 4 at 8 p.m. Matinees are offered Oct. 28 and Nov. 3-4 at 2 p.m. Tickets in advance are $7 for students and seniors and $9 for the public. Tickets at the door are $8 and $10. Following the Nov. 1 performance, a discussion is scheduled for the audience and members of the cast and crew. For tickets and information, call or visit the box office in the Schwartz Center, 430 College Ave., 12:30-5:30 p.m., weekdays; 254-ARTS.

The Rez Sisters was written by celebrated Native playwright Tomson Highway. (Highway will be on campus for a reading of his newest play, Ernestine Shuswap Gets Her Trout. Read the story.) Highway, a Cree Indian, wrote The Rez Sisters to show contemporary life on many Indian reservations in Canada. Premiering in 1986, this first play by Highway has won many awards and played to sold-out audiences across Canada and at the Edinburgh International Festival. This comedic play is the powerful portrayal of seven reservation women who try to beat all the odds by winning the world's biggest bingo.

"This play has many layers: It's funny and touching, it shows how the spirit world interacts with the real world, and it also shows the realities of today's reservation life," said guest director Randy Reinholz.

A 1988 Cornell MFA graduate, Reinholz brings his Choctaw heritage into play as director of The Rez Sisters. Reinholz is also director of the Native Voices project at the Autrey Museum in Los Angeles and head of undergraduate acting at San Diego State University. He has taught, directed and acted in professional theater and colleges across the country.

The "rez sisters" will be played by one resident professional teaching associate (RPTA) and six Cornell undergraduates: Sarah Brown (RPTA) as Pelajia Patchnose, Megan Auster-Rosen as Veronique St. Pierre, Pillar Carrillo as Philomena Moosetail, Chloe Liederman as Emily Dictionary, Ashleigh Nankivell as Annie Cook, Shantha Susman as Marie-Adele Starblanket and Lauren Wells as Zhaboonigan Peterson. Undergraduate student Michael Wolland will play Nanabush, a spirit world trickster.

The Rez Sisters is set on a reserve on Manitoulin Island in Ontario, Canada. Taking us there through his creative eye for set design is Cornell's resident scenic designer Kent Goetz. Designing lights and sound for this interactive production are resident designers Ed Intemann (lights) and Warren Cross (sound). Costumes are being researched and designed by Schwartz Center Costume Shop manager Richard MacPike. Choreography for The Rez Sisters is being created by Joyce Morgenroth, associate professor of dance.

For more information concerning Indians' Indians: (Re)Presentation of Native American People in the Arts, visit http://www.arts.cornell.edu/cca/indiansindians.