In December of 2007, as part of its Native Theater Festival, the Public Theater brought Native theater professionals from around the U.S. and Canada to New York City for a series of readings and discussions. The five-day festival included play readings, post-performance discussions, concerts, roundtables, and the performance of Darrell Dennis' 'Tales of and Urban Indian.' This video documents an interview with Sheila Tousey, conducted by Diane Glancy as a part of a supplementary Native Theater Festival interview series.
Sheila Tousey (Menominee and Stockbridge-Munsee) has acted in many productions in NYC and regional theaters across the U.S. Some of the directors she has worked with include Joann Akalaitis, Joe Chaiken, Linda Chapman, Kennetch Charlette, Liviu Ciulei, David Esbjornson, Hanay Geiogamah (American Indian Dance Theater), Muriel Miguel, Lisa Peterson, Elizabeth Theobald Richards, Sam Shepard, Tony Taccone, Paul Walker and Robert Woodruff. Sheila, along with Maria Vail and in collaboration with Sam Shepard, recently adapted 'Bottlehouse,' a play based on the short stories and poetry of Sam Shepard. Training: MFA NYU Graduate Acting Program.
Diane Glancy (Cherokee) is a professor at Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota, where she has taught Native American Literature and Creative Writing. She received her M.F.A. from the University of Iowa. Glancy has published two books of plays, 'American Gypsy' (University of Oklahoma Press, 2002), and 'War Cries' (Holy Cow! 1998). A group of shorter plays, 'The Sum of Winter,' and an introduction to factional theater appear online at www.alexanderstreet.com. Her plays also appear in various anthologies. Diane Glancy's last play, 'Stone Heart: Everybody Loves a Journey West,' the story of Sacajawea accompanying the 1804-06 Lewis & Clark expedition, was produced in 2006 at the Autry National Center in Los Angeles and traveled to the Smithsonian Museum of the Native American in NYC and the National Museum of the American Indian on the Mall in Washington, D.C. Glancy has also published novels, short stories, essays, and poetry.