Celebrating Community and Creativity During Native American Heritage Month

Hello from Alternative Theater Ensemble! November is Native American Heritage Month, and November 29 is Native American Heritage Day. Please join us in celebrating the incredible Indigenous artists among our ensemble and our collaborators! 

Indigenous folks have been and will remain a key constituency of our work. This is true for the staff we support, the artists we work with, and the communities in which we embed ourselves. While Indigeneity is often relegated to history—or to a singular month or day of the present—ATE is proud to promote the work, stories, and livelihoods of Indigenous creatives consistently throughout our 20-year history.

Fundraising for the 2025 Indigenous Performing Arts Residency

The Indigenous Performing Arts Residency (IPAR) is the result of ATE’s history of Native artist-led programming, like our Arts Learning Project for Native Youth, AlterLab’s strong history of developing Indigenous-identified artists, and the work of our Native Ensemble Members. ATE is dedicated to addressing the challenges faced by all theater artists, including playwrights. We recognize that playwrights often feel disempowered and excluded from artistic decision-making in theaters, and frequently experience a lack of connection with theaters that produce their work. This year we are empowering Drew Woodson to choose a project that feels aligned with the direction of his creative interest and professional trajectory. 

The theater industry is notoriously fickle, and finding financial backing for writing can feel like an insurmountable task. We are attempting to utilize IPAR as a bridge opportunity between the development space and the production space. As a small theater company, we are situated to gather partners, producers, and community members to demonstrate the power and feasibility of a play that others may ignore. We believe in Drew Woodson, and after seeing his work we are confident several others will join us in supporting his vision going forward. 

For our 20th season and in support of the Indigenous Performing Arts Residency, we ask that you donate whatever possible to Alternative Theater Ensemble. No amount is too small—every tax deductible donation will go toward funding ATE’s critical cultural programming, in the Bay Area and beyond. 

If you are not able to donate financially at this time, please reach out with other types of support—we are happy to discuss volunteer opportunities, offers of space, food, goods, or other types of collaboration. 

Donations can be made via PayPal or credit card, or by check at the following address: 

Alternative Theater Ensemble
P.O. Box 150659
San Rafael, CA 94915-0659 

Culture Corner by Elio Amador

Welcome to Culture Corner, a new section of our newsletter curated by Elio Amador, focused on sharing art that inspires us to do and create more. I asked a couple ensemble members about local art and mainstream media they had recently seen and here’s what they had to say.

Leah Sanginiti said, “I recently attended SFBATCO's New Roots Theatre Festival and saw Cuckoo Edible Magic, a play about two friends in the Bay Area who go on an unexpected adventure. Because the piece is still in development, the artists had the freedom to play with theater conventions through practical sound effects and creative incorporations of stage directions narrated by onstage characters. These playful workarounds surprisingly elevated the experience of watching the piece so much that I feel inspired to consider the genre conventions I assume are non-negotiables in my own creative practices.”

Eric Avery shared, “I recently saw MoonCandy Live House Ensemble perform at Because of Black Music I Am's recent game night. I was moved by their use of modern and historical African American music techniques. As an artist focused on understanding  the healing and connecting power of the arts I was inspired to continue studying, listening, and exploring sonic expressions of blackness as I approach my next performance project The Pla[y/n] for Reparation$.”

In terms of mainstream art, Eric responded, “Films are my go to. This past month I enjoyed spooky movies like Smile 2 and Terrifier 3 in theaters and was reminded of how joyous it is sharing an experience with an audience. I'm looking forward to the return of live audiences and more original creations, not just endless sequels.”

Personally, I have been inspired by Julio Torres’ work as a queer El Salvadoran with surrealist tendencies. Especially with his show Fantasmas and film Problemista, I have been inspired to stay the course as someone who must somehow make art a living in order to survive the powers that be.

Ensemble Happenings

ATE’s Seeking Joy Together series at Berkeley Public Libraries commenced with a potluck! With more than 20 attendees, we facilitated a conversation around fostering curiosity and community organizing strategies in the current political reality. We are proud to be able to blend joy and resistance, and our attendees felt the same! Many of them expressed interest in continuing this type of programming with us in the future, so keep an eye out for more ATE community gatherings to come.

Ensemble Member Tanis Parenteau (Métis/Cree) and AlterLab alum Vickie Ramirez (Tuscarora) attended the Red Nation International Film Festival this month for the Los Angeles premiere of their film Glen Reige 20 WP. The film was written and directed by Vickie, and produced by and starring Tanis.