MEMBERS/NATIVE THEATER ARTISTS
JOAN HENRY
Tsalagi/'Nde/Arawaka
Vocalist, Actress, Dancer, Composer, Poet-lyricist, Percussionist, Choreographer
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The Performing & Fine Arts and fostering awareness & interconnectedness in our world all flow together for Joan Henry.
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Featured over the past year in works by Rachel Chavkin (Primer for a Failed Superpower), Jonathan McCrory (How the Light Gets In / Water Is Life, T. Defoe & T. Sinutoke composers), Heather Henson & Ty Defoe’s spectacular CRANE: On Earth, In Sky& AJIJAACK On Turtle Island (D. Avery & L. Mitchell composers) and at the annual Summer HOOT & Clearwater music festivals, Joanhas enjoyed notable reviews Off-Broadway in CEDARS at La Mama Experimental Theatre, as Lady Macbeth, and as Paulina in The Winter’s Tale for Amerinda’s Indigenous Shakespeare Ensemble in NYC. Previous credits also include the National Tour of Camelot with Richard Harris, the West Side Story 30th Anniversary Company, TV-movie Everyday Heroes, Walt Disney’s Pocahontas & LionsGate’s Blood Red Earth; a slew of recordings including two jazz albums with stellar jazz drummer Jack DeJohnette – Earthwalk and Music for the Fifth World, and appearances with Kenny Burrell, Pete Seeger, Paul Winter, Cornelius (Neal) Tate, Waylon Jennings and David Amram, to name a few. Her works also include solo CDs and collaborations: traditional songs, stories co-produced with her son GC, contemporary works with longtime musical allies Gus Mancini, Dennis Yerry and other fellow artists, and a straight-ahead jazz sextet with indigenous flair – SPIRITED – taking off from the Hudson Valley to rave notices.
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Something new is always in the works…
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JAKE HART
Blackfeet/Cherokee/Mexi
Actor/VoiceActor/Writer/Producer/CelebDad
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Jake Hart is a New York based Voice Actor with several current campaigns. He also voices everything from audiobooks and instruction manuals, to industrials and puppet films. Most recently, his voice can be found as Thanos in the Guardians Of The Galaxy the Telltale Series video game. He is represented by Abrams Artists Agency and can be bi-coastal from NYC to LA.
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LUX HAAC
Choctaw/Pequot descent
Costume Designer
Lux Haac is a New York based costume designer working in theatre, film, opera, and dance. Recent credits include: I and You, Annapurna (Syracuse Stage), The Thanksgiving Play (Repertory Theatre of St Louis), Hear Me Say My Name (Discovery Theater/National Museum of the American Indian), Ragtime (PlayMakers Repertory Company), Eureka Day (Colt Coeur/Walkerspace), Between Two Knees (Oregon Shakespeare Festival), Native Gardens (Syracuse Stage, Geva Theatre Center, Portland Center Stage), Ajijaak on Turtle Island (New Victory Theater), and Well Intentioned White People (Barrington Stage Company). Lux is a Core Collaborator with All My Relations Collective who are currently developing the piece GIZHIBAA GIIZHIG | REVOLVING SKY. She is a member of USA 829 and Wingspace Theatrical Design. MFA: NYU/Tisch.
TY DEFOE
Oneida/Ojibwe
Writer/Actor/Activist/Interdisciplinary Artist
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Ty Defoe, (Giizhig) from the Oneida and Ojibwe Nations is an Interdisciplinary Artist. A two-spirit cultural pioneer, musician, and writer. Known for his cultural education and practices, Ty gained recognition in many circles around the world. A Grammy Award winning artist for his work on Come to Me Great Mystery. Ty aspires to bridge an integral approach to artistic projects pulling in messages rooted through music, dance literature, video, photography, and theatre. He is a seasoned cultural educator at museums, universities, and schools across the USA and Canada. Ty's global cultural arts and repertoire consists of: the Millennium celebration in Cairo, Egypt with the Call for Peace Drum and Dance Company. He has traveled throughout Greece, Germany, Italy, Japan, Turkey at the Ankara International Music Festival, and festival of World Cultures in Dubai. Some of his favorite venues have been in birch bark trees in his own community where he learned to hoop and eagle dance and play the flute. Ty is a frequently guest artist at the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington D.C. and NYC. He has been mentored in traditional arts and storytelling from his long time mentor Kevin Locke.
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His awards include: NEA/NEFA for reconstructing and indigenizing, Drum is Thunder, Flute is Wind, First American in the Arts Outstanding Performance Award, First Americans in the Arts Scholarship Award, a Indigenous Heritage Festival Award: this award is given to artists who have made a major positive impact on indigenous people and rights of the world, and a Robert Rauschenberg Artist in Residence, and 2017 Jonathan Larson award winner. Ty created book and lyrics on Clouds Are Pillows for the Moon (with composer Tidtaya Sinutoke at Yale Institute for Musical Theatre; ASCAP Musical Theatre Workshop), Hart IslandRequiem (The Civilians R&D Group), Crossing Borders (CAP 21), Red Pine (Native Voices at the Autry; IAIA of Santa Fe), The Way They Lived (Co-collaboration with Micharne Cloughley at The Civilians at the Met Museum).
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Ty is a mentor for Hawaiian Theatre Initiative, a member of East Coast Two-Spirit Society, and co-founder of Indigenous Direction. He aspires to create dynamic artistic expressions for social change and is passionate about creating inclusive platforms for people to create and access art. His writing publications can be viewed in the Pitkin Review, Woody Guthrie Anthology, the Thorny Locust Magazine, and Howl Round. He has received degrees from CalArts, Goddard College, NYU’s Tisch. A Theater Communications Group Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Fellow alumni & artEquity facilitator. He lives in NYC and loves the color clear, appeared on Netflix show, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt as Young Anthony Black Elk. Represented by Alaina Feehan at ATB Talent. Member of AEA, ASCAP, and the Dramatist Guild. tydefoe.com
Pronouns: He/Him/They/We/ Us
IAKOWI:HE'NE'/MELISSA OAKES
Mohawk Nation
Fashion Designer, Consultant, Jewelry designer, Teacher, Athletic Coach, Social Justice Advocate
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Designer, activist, and high school volleyball, swim coach, and owner of Mohawk Coterie. Mohawk Coterie is a Progressive Grass-Roots Company focused on Native Made Fashion and BusinessDevelopment. Our Vision is Teach, Inspire, and submerge. We plan to redefine Native American presence in theGlobal Marketplace by cultivating one designer at a time.
TONY ENOS
Echota Cherokee
Singer/Song Writer/Producer/Dancer/Actor/
Writer/Graphic Designer
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Hailed as "the most exciting performer to come out of Philadelphia since Patti LaBelle" by gbmnews.com, Two-Spirit Cherokee pop artist Tony Enos celebrates a near decade as a singer/songwriter/producer, electrifying live stage entertainer, and activist. Always encouraging love wherever he goes, and fighting for our youth, the Philadelphia native was voted 2017 Native Trailblazer Indie Music Awards "Artist To Watch" for his single "Two Spirit" which has become the Two-Spirit movements anthem.
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The New York resident burst onto the music scene in 2009 with his debut album "Did It Rite," released under his own Philly based label, lil' T Entertainment LLC. Following "The Heat Tour 2012/2013", and his break through 2012 sophomore album "The Heat," the seasoned live performer has been leaving audiences across the country spellbound! His ability to bring audiences from all walks of life together and make a each person feel as though they're the only person in the room, while delivering a dazzling and heart pounding show is reminiscent of the instincts and talent of the music icons that the world loves so much.
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In addition to his ongoing philanthropic efforts in the LGBTQ2S community and youth rights, HIV/AIDS awareness, and Domestic Violence awareness, the musician is bringing attention to Native American/First Nations/Indigenous issues such as the Two Spirit reclamation, and healing. "I truly believe where words fail, music speaks," says the South Philly native. The Vegas style entertainer is back in the studio self producing his his 3rd studio album, "No Place Like Home," slated for release in late Spring of 2018.
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The LP will be reflective of the multi-award winning artist's growth as a musician releasing music since 2008. "I have a lot more to offer as an artist and a 33 year old man, than to be stifled by the boundaries and ideals of "modern" pop music." Indeed, the new album will showcase Enos' versatility as a singer/songwriter/producer, and feature new genre's for Tony such as pop country, in addition to the pop stylings fans expect from a Tony Enos album. The albums first two singles "Have A Good Time" feat. INSANE P, and "Gone," have both been released on iTunes to much fan excitement and buzz. The Native American performer has been touring the country promoting love, light, and healing with his infectious pop sound and smart lyrics. Visit Tony on iTunes today and find out why Tony Enos has become one of the most influential artists in Out Music.
LARISSA FASTHORSE
Sicangu Lakota
Playwright /Choreographer
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Larissa FastHorse, is an award winning playwright and choreographer from the Sicangu Lakota Nation. Two of her commissions will be produced in 2015/16 with Cornerstone Theatre Company and Eagle Project. Other productions include Landless at AlterTheater, Cherokee Family Reunion at Mountainside Theatre NC, Teaching Disco Square Dancing to Our Elders: A Class Presentation for Native Voices at the Autry and Average Family for Children’s Theatre Company of Minneapolis where Larissa is developing her Untitled Ballet Play.
She was awarded the NEA Distinguished Play Award, Aurand Harris Fellowship, AATE Distinguished Play Award, William Inge Residency, the Joe Dowling Annaghmakerrig Fellowship Award and numerous Ford Foundation and NEA Grants as well as being an NEA Theatre Panelist and TCG Board Member. Larissa is represented by Jonathan Mills at Paradigm NY and Britton Rizzio at Writ Large. www.hoganhorsestudio.com​
Pronouns: She/Her
ASA BENALLY
Cherokee-Navajo
Fashion/Costume Designer
Asa Benally is a Cherokee-Navajo costume designer based in New York City. He was raised on the Navajo reservation in Northern Arizona.
“My childhood was spent on the Navajo Reservation. I was raised in a family of artists, weavers, and silversmiths. My grandmother wove traditional Navajo rugs, and some of her designs took up to six months to complete. She taught me my first lessons in color theory and composition. The quality of her work was dependent on her ability to be patient. These early lessons laid the foundation for my work as a costume designer.”
Credits include Coriolanus and The Seagull (Yale School of Drama); Cymbeline (Yale Repertory Theater); Tricks the Devil Taught Me (Minetta Lane Theatre); A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Measure for Measure, The Taming of the Shrew, Macbeth (Frog and Peach Theater Company); Far Away, Platonov (Columbia University); The Crazy Shepherds of Rebellion, The Secretaries, Roberto Zucco, Trouble in Tahiti (Yale Cabaret); The Winters Tale (HERE Arts Center); Father Comes Home…(Juilliard); Peer Gynt, Big Love (Amherst College); The Brobot Johnson Experience (The Bushwick Starr); She Loves Me, The Saringa Tree, Barefoot in the Park (Creede Repertory Theater); SWEAT (Center for Contemporary Opera). M.F.A Yale School of Drama. B.F.A. Parsons School of Design.
Upcoming Projects: Topdog/Underdog (Lake Dillon Theater); Partonope (Neo Opera); Whalesong (Perseverance Theater).
JENNY MARLOWE
Chippewa
Actor / Playwright / Activist
Jenny Marlowe is an actor, playwright, educator, and community activist. She is a passionate advocate for equity, diversity, and inclusion in the arts with a particular focus on issues of visibility and representation for Indigenous people in media and popular culture. Jenny is Artistic Associate with cultural consulting firm Indigenous Direction. She is also the Programming Chair for Emerging Arts Leaders/Los Angeles; and a member of Actors' Equity Association's National EEO Committee, of SAG-AFTRA’s L.A. Local EEO Committee, of Arts for LA's 2018-19 Program Advisory Committee, and of Cornerstone Theater Company’s Community Council. She is a 2018 Arts for LA ArtsDay Delegate and a graduate of artEquity’s Facilitator Training program. Jenny has performed at theaters all over the country, including ArtsEmerson, Perseverance Theatre, Kansas City Rep, Cornerstone Theater Company, A Noise Within, the La Jolla Playhouse, and Native Voices at the Autry, where she is a member of the resident ensemble. Recent television appearances include ABC’s ‘Modern Family’ and ‘Variedades on Olvera Street’ for KCET. Her own plays have been workshopped and showcased by Centre Stage South Carolina, Ensemble Theatre of Chattanooga, and the Southwark Playhouse London. But she is perhaps best known for a series of viral videos about Native Americans in popular culture that she made in collaboration with BuzzFeed. With more than 25 million views, the videos have been featured in multiple national and international media outlets and are currently included in college curricula at universities all over the U.S. and Canada. Jenny is a graduate of Princeton University, Kings College London, and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, where she earned a double Master’s degree in Text & Performance Studies and a professional certificate in Shakespeare. Originally from Cape Cod, Massachusetts, she currently resides in Los Angeles. Jenny is a proud member of SAG-AFTRA, AEA, and British Equity and is represented by Stein Entertainment.
Pronouns: She/Her
TECUMSEH CEASER
Matinecock/ Wampanoag Pokanoket, Montaukett
Artist specializing in shell carving, Cultural Consultant
Tecumseh's creations are inspired by my Native American culture. He is influenced by my Matinecock and Wampanoag heritage and use traditional symbols and materials in my work. These products present a way for Native Americans to embrace their culture in mainstream society, while also providing non-Natives with authentic indigenous jewelry straight from the source.
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