LibGuides: Diversity in Theatre: Indigenous

Playwrights

Indigenous Playwrights

Here are just a few of many Indigenous playwrights. Click to see a list of their writings in our library.

Larissa FastHorse
Diane Glancy
Joy Harjo
Linda Hogan

Velina Hasu Houston
Cherríe Moraga
Lynn Riggs
William S. Yellow Robe, Jr.

Find More

Use the resources here to find more indigenous playwrights.
Then, search an author's name in our catalog. Change the search from Keyword to Author to find their scripts.

BIPOC Playwrights Project
Directory of BIPOC playwrights of the 20th and 21st centuries with English-language works.

Dictionary of Literary Biography This link opens in a new window
See especially the volume for Native American Writers of the United States.

Organizations

Indigenous Theatre Organizations

Indigenous Directions
A consulting firm for companies and artists who want to create accurate work about, for and with Indigenous Peoples.
Spiderwoman Theater
Performance, training, and education rooted in an urban Indigenous performance practice.
We See You, White American Theater
A collective of BIPOC theatremakers working against racism in American theatre.

Research

Online Resources

Dictionary of Literary Biography This link opens in a new window
Search a person's name, or see especially the volume for Native American Writers of the United States.

Indigenous Theatre Books in the Library (selections)

American Indian Performing Arts by Hanay Geiogamah, Jaye T. Darby (Editors)
Call Number: PN2270.I53 A447 2010 [Mortensen shelves]
Essays analyzing Native performances through indigenous critical lenses. Studies how Native performing artists "re-present" American Indian history, culture, and contemporary issues.
Critical Companion to Native American and First Nations Theatre and Performance by Darby, Mohler, and Stanlake
Call Number: PN2270.I53 D37 2020 [Mortensen shelves]
Introduces Native artists, plays, and theatres within their cultural, aesthetic, spiritual, and socio-political contexts.
Indigenous North American Drama by Birgit Däwes (Editor)
Call Number: PS153.I52 I56 2013 [Mortensen shelves]
Traces the historical dimensions of Native North American drama using a critical perspective.
Native American Drama by Christy Stanlake
Call Number: PS153.I52 S73 2009 [Mortensen shelves]
A history of Native American theatre, and a study of four Native dramaturgy discourses pertaining to theatre's performative medium.

Find More

Search the catalog by subject:

American drama > Indian authors
Canadian drama > Indian authors
Indian theater > History

Plays

We have many more plays than those listed here! To find more, search an author's name or play title in the catalog.

Indigenous Play Anthologies in the Library (selections)

Keepers of the Morning Star by Jaye T. Darby, Stephanie Fitzgerald (Editors)
Call Number: PS628.I53 K47 2003 [Mortensen shelves]
Showcases the range of Native women's theater, from the fusion of storytelling, ceremony, music and dance to the experimentation of poetic stream of consciousness and Native agitprop.
Seventh Generation by Mimi D'Aponte (Editor)
Call Number: PS628.I53 S48 1999 [Mortensen shelves]
The first major collection of dramatic works by Native Americans.
Stories of Our Way by Hanay Geiogamah, Jaye T. Darby (Editors)
Call Number: PS628.I53 S76 1999 [Mortensen shelves]
Twelve plays that span more than thirty years of American Indian theater and draw on a rich range of tribal experiences.
Where the Pavement Ends by William S. Yellow Robe
Call Number: PS3575.E46 W48 2009 [Mortensen shelves]
Five of Yellow Robe's most poignant and powerful plays that explore American Indian experience.

Find More

Search the catalog by subject, for example:

American drama > Indian authors
Indian theater
Indians of North America > Drama

Tagpacker Plays (UC-Irvine)
Browse plays by genre, time period, character genders, playwright demographics, and more.
List includes plays owned by University of California Irvine. Search a title in UHart's catalog to see if we own a copy.

Monologues

Indigenous Monologue Anthologies in the Library

Monologues for Actors of Color by Roberta Uno (Editor)
2000 and 2016 editions.
PN2080 .M535 (men) and PN2080 .M536 (women)
Monologues for African-American, Native American, Latino, and Asian-American identities. Includes notes on the characters and stage directions.

Suggest a Resource

Know of a resource you think should be added to this guide? Let us know!

Want to suggest we purchase something new? Contact Tracey Rudnick (rudnick@hartford.edu).