Native Voices Ninth Annual Short Play Festival
Bones, Bingo & Blackjack!
Saturday, November 9, and Sunday, November 10, 2019, 1:30 p.m.

Free With Marketplace Admission
Space Is Limited / Early Arrival Is Suggested

Join Native Voices for an afternoon of clever, funny, and thoughtful 10-minute readings from playwrights investigating how gaming impacts relationships, power, and life itself in Native communities. Although gaming has brought both prosperity and problems to Indian country in modern times, it began hundreds of years ago when the winning bet could mean life or death. One of these plays will receive the Von Marie Atchley Excellence in Playwriting Award, a $1,000 cash prize! For details, visit TheAutry.org/NativeVoices.

This program is included as part of the Autry Museum’s annual American Indian Arts Marketplace. Taking place November 9 and 10, this weekend of festivities features contemporary and traditional artwork by 200 artists representing more than 40 Native Nations.

Sheepherder's Special by Jay B. Muskett (Diné)
The stakes are high when three Navajo elders show up for their weekly bingo game. Today's special: friendship on the rocks!

Cashed Out by Claude Jackson, Jr. (Gila River Indian Community)
Rocky thinks that money will solve her problems, but when she hits it big at the casino, the game isn't over - choices have to be made, and they aren't easy.

The Interview by Alec Shamas (Chickasaw) and Kholan Studi (Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma)
There's more at stake than money when lifelong friends are up for the same casino job. Health benefits and a salary await the winner, but what happens to best friends when one of them loses?

Casino Place Names by Camaray Davalos (Pechanga)
When a young Native man returns home to connect to his roots, his friends hook him on a casino game of decolonization! You gotta play to win!

One-Foot High Kick by Kira Neta Apaachuaq Eckenweiler (Native Village of Unalakleet)
When Stu enters the one-foot high kick competition against his fellow Alaska-native pals, he plans to dance away the big winner, but what happens when friendships are at stake?

Blackjack King by Andrew Roa (Shasta/Azteca)
Kit’s friends have more to overcome than his impulsive betting when their intervention misses the mark and debtors double down.

Buying Happiness by James Lujan (Taos Pueblo)
Love is a game of chance, and Priscilla wants to roll the dice. Will her wealthy tribal leader father tell her to go all-in, or will he stop the game in its tracks?