About this show

Somewhere we lost them
We forgot to remember
But she and she and she
They’re with me now, so.

Do you believe your ancestors walk with you? When 18-year-old Carrie moves in with her grandmother, Rosa, she is thrown into a world of memory and mystery that unearths her family’s identity -- shining a light on a dark and bloody period in the history of the American Southwest. Presented in collaboration with Native Voices at the Autry, the only Equity theatre company in the country dedicated to developing and producing new plays by Native artists, Desert Stories for Lost Girls by Lily Rushing (Genízaro) is a haunting and lyrical rumination on identity, family, and colonialism over generations.

CONTENT ADVISORY:

This play explores many aspects of injustice against Indigenous peoples that are emotionally distressing. Indigenous women in our time are disproportionately more likely to experience sexual assault and violence than any other demographic group. This play reckons with the historical reality of sexual violence as a tool of colonization and holds space for the psychological impacts of such abuse through generations.

September 28 - October 16, 2022

Previews: September 28 & 29
Opening Night: September 30

Tom Allard*

(Loyal Shawnee band of Cherokee Nation)

Brenda Banda

Brenda Banda*

Samantha Bowling*

(Cherokee)

Rainbow Dickerson

Rainbow Dickerson*

(Thai/Rappahannock)

Carolyn Dunn*

(Cherokee, Mvskoke Creek, French Creole, and Tunica/Choctaw Biloxi descent)

Katie Anvil Rich*

(Cherokee, Chickasaw)

Glenn Stanton*

(Cherokee)

* Member of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States

Credits

Written by
LILY RUSHING - (Genízaro)

Directed by
SYLVIA CERVANTES BLUSH

Dramaturgy by
COURTNEY ELKIN MOHLER
(Santa Barbara Chumash)

Scenic & Props Design by
CHRISTOPHER SCOTT MURILLO*

Costume Design by
LORNA BOWEN
(Muscogee Creek, Seminole, Cherokee)

Lighting & Projection Design by
DEREK CHRISTIANSEN & RUBY O’BRIEN

Sound Design by
MIA GLENN-SCHUSTER

Production Stage Manager
MARICELA SAHAGUN*

Graphic Design by
TIMA LOTAH LINK
(Šmuwič Chumash)

Vocal Coach by
ROSHNI SHUKLA

Fight Coordinator by
RICHARD SOTO

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