DEADLINE FOR PROPOSALS EXTENDED TO NOVEMBER 1, 2006

In addition to unique performances, Spiderwoman Theater's legacy lies in their commitment to Native communities, Native issues, and their own Native heritage. We wish to honor their achievement and simultaneously celebrate Native American theater through a conference and performances. We hope for a diversity of presentations that explore the nature, the audiences, and the uses of Native American/Indigenous/First Nation theater and performance. The following are invited, with book publication of selected presentations anticipated:

• Academic papers
• Collaborations (interviews/dialogues/conversations)
• Performance pieces or dramatic texts

Submissions could address Native American drama or other forms of Native American performing arts. Topics that explore community, spirituality, political resistance, memory, family, or women are encouraged. Questions that might be addressed include:

• How is Native American performance developed within Native communities? What methods and techniques are being used to educate youth, build community, and develop cultural resources? What is the impact of theater on Native communities?
• How have Native American plays and performances been presented for non-Native audiences? What is the role of Native American theater in multicultural theatre in the US? What are the current identity issues; how have they been explored in work crossing ethnic and cultural boundaries?
• How are rituals, histories, and traditions explored and reclaimed in performance? What is their relationship to contemporary life? What is the role of Indigenous language in dramatic performance?
• How will visions of the future be realized? What are strategies for encouraging new artistic works, mentoring, and training?

The conference includes evening performances by Spiderwoman Theater, Thunderbird Theater, and Victoria Nalani Kneubuhl's "The Conversion of Ka'ahumanu"; access to the Native American Women Playwrights Archive; and conversation with playwrights.

Supported by the John W. Altman Humanities Scholar-in-Residence Program, Miami University Libraries, Miami Univ. Press, Departments of English and of Theatre, and the Center for American and World Cultures.

See the Native American Women Playwrights Archive website for further information about NAWPA and the conference.