Native American Short Play Festival coming

Littleton United Methodist Church is venue for April events

BY SONYA ELLINGBOE SELLINGBOE@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

After a three-year postponement, the Encore Players at Littleton United Methodist Church will sponsor a Native American Short Play Festival, produced by a new organization, Celebration of Native Arts (CoNA). Mark your calendar for April 21 (7 p.m.) or April 23 (2 p.m.).

e purpose of CoNA is to promote Native American theater, music and dance.

e ve plays — each 10 minutes or less in length — will be presented as staged readings and they explore universal themes such as rites of passage, grief, empowerment and family, according to directors Annawyn Shamas, and Ellen Shamas-Brandt, founder of CoNA and Denver actor/director Pamela Clifton.

e Shamas mother/daughter duo are longtime Littleton residents — and are Chickasaw tribe members, as is Laura Shamas.

Annawyn’s great-grandfather was Chickasaw, she says, and they and sister/playwright Laura have registered as members.

is has been a major project for them and the theater-oriented family has been focused on Native American writing for some time: attending perfor- mances and making contacts. ese plays, which will have staged readings, were originally performed in Los Angeles at Native Voices at the Autry eater’s Annual Short Play Festival. ey are: “ e Origin of Law” by Diane Glancy (Cherokee), “Four Women in Red” by Laura Shamas (Chickasaw), “ e Tamale Man” and “Slow Your Roll,” by P.C. Verrone (Osage, Kiowa) and “Flight” by DeLanna Studi (Cherokee). ey are “moving, thought-provoking and humorous,” according to ShamasBrandt, who sent out casting calls to the theater community.

Native Voices at the Autry was founded in 1994 and is devoted to developing and producing new works for the stage by Native American, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian and First Nations playwrights.

Actors/readers will have four rehearsals and will be paid, she said, happy that she had lled the roles when we spoke last week. Applicants sent a head shot, resume, short video and monologue.

Rehearsal time will be brief, but the actors will read from the scripts, rather than performing in the round. It’s a pleasant prospect to have the opportunity to participate in new works and we hope this community will become involved.

Admission is free, and a free will o ering will be taken to bene t the United Methodist Native American Ministries. e festival coincides with Native American Sunday on April 23 at 5824 S. Datura St., Littleton. e church has lots of free parking.