{"id":2233,"date":"2020-10-07T08:42:01","date_gmt":"2020-10-07T13:42:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.indianz.com\/News\/?p=2233"},"modified":"2020-10-07T09:05:48","modified_gmt":"2020-10-07T14:05:48","slug":"lakota-playwright-larissa-fasthorse-wins-prestigious-genius-grant","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2020\/10\/07\/lakota-playwright-larissa-fasthorse-wins-prestigious-genius-grant\/","title":{"rendered":"Lakota playwright Larissa FastHorse wins prestigious &#8216;genius grant&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9\"><iframe src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/fJqqW2qzQ1A\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\r\n<figcaption class=\"figure-caption\">MacArthur Foundation: <a href=https:\/\/youtu.be\/fJqqW2qzQ1A>Larissa FastHorse, Playwright | 2020 MacArthur Fellow<\/a><\/figcaption>\r\n<div class=\"h3-responsive font-weight-bold\">Lakota playwright Larissa FastHorse wins prestigious &#8216;Genius&#8217; grant<\/div>\r\n<div class=\"date\">Wednesday, October 7, 2020<\/div>\r\n<div class=\"source\">Indianz.Com<\/div>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.hoganhorsestudio.com\/about-larissa\">Larissa FastHorse<\/a>, a citizen of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe, has won a prestigious fellowship from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, an award popularly known as a &#8220;genius grant.&#8221;\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nFastHorse is being recognized for her work in the arts. She is a playwright who advocates for accurate representation of Native peoples.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n\u201cA member of the Sicangu Lakota Nation, FastHorse combines a keen sense of satire and facility with dramatic forms in plays that are funny, incisive, and, at times, deeply unsettling for audiences faced with the realities of Native Americans&#8217; experience in the United States,\u201d the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.macfound.org\/fellows\/1059\/\">MacArthur Foundation  states<\/a>.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" data-attachment-id=\"2237\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2020\/10\/07\/lakota-playwright-larissa-fasthorse-wins-prestigious-genius-grant\/larissafasthorse\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/larissafasthorse-scaled.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"2560,1707\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;2.8&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;ILCE-7M3&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1599699700&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;165&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;320&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.001&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"larissafasthorse\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/larissafasthorse-1024x683.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/larissafasthorse-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"larissafasthorse\" class=\"alignnone img-fluid wp-image-2237\" \/>\r\n<figcaption class=\"figure-caption\">Larissa FastHorse. Photo  \u00a9 John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation &#8211; used with permission\r\n<\/figcaption>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nFastHorse resides  in California. Her works include <em>Average Family<\/em>, which depicts a reality television show featuring one Native and one non-Native family;  <a href=\"https:\/\/cornerstonetheater.org\/urbanrez\"><em>Urban Rez<\/em><\/a>, based on urban Indian communities in the Los Angeles area; and  <a href=\"https:\/\/cornerstonetheater.org\/shows\/native-nation\/\"><em>Native Nation<\/em><\/a>, which was created in partnership with citizens of nearly every tribal nation  in Arizona.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n\u201cI think as a Native American Lakota playwright, I  have a unique view of the theater world that other playwrights don&#8217;t,\u201d  FastHorse says in a <a href=https:\/\/youtu.be\/fJqqW2qzQ1A>video released but the MacArthur Foundation<\/a>.\r\n<P><\/P>\r\nFastHorse is a  co-founder of  <a href=\"https:\/\/www.indigenousdirection.com\">Indigenous Direction<\/a>, a consulting firm that works with companies and artists who want to create accurate work about, for and with Native peoples. She is one of 21 recipients of the MacArthur fellowship, which comes with a $625,000 award.\r\n<P><\/p>\r\n\u201cIn the midst of civil unrest, a global pandemic, natural disasters, and conflagrations, this group of 21 exceptionally creative individuals offers a moment for celebration,&#8221; Cecilia Conrad, the managing director of MacArthur Fellows,\u201d said in <a href=https:\/\/www.macfound.org\/programs\/fellows\/>announcing the class of 2020<\/a>. \u201cThey are asking critical questions, developing innovative technologies and public policies, enriching our understanding of the human condition, and producing works of art that provoke and inspire us.\u201d\r\n<P><\/P><div class=\"mt-1 mb-1\"><ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display:block; text-align:center;\" data-ad-layout=\"in-article\" data-ad-format=\"fluid\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-8411603009680747\" data-ad-slot=\"6394965691\"><\/ins><script>(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});<\/script><\/div><p><\/p>\r\nPast Native recipients of the MacArthur fellowship include the late <a href=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2011\/10\/17\/elouise-cobell-lead-plaintiff.asp\">Elouise Cobell<\/a>, a citizen of the Blackfeet Nation who won the landmark Indian trust fund lawsuit; attorney and professor <a href=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2014\/09\/17\/sarah-deer-wins-genius-grant-f.asp\">Sarah Deer<\/a>, a citizen of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation who is a leader in efforts to protect Native women from violence and crime; <a href=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2010\/10\/01\/wampanoag_linguist_celebrates.asp\">Jessie Little Doe Baird<\/a>, a citizen of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe who has helped revive her people&#8217;s language;  and <a href=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2007\/09\/25\/alaska_native_s_1.asp\">Sven Haakanson<\/a>, an Alutiiq   scholar from Alaska.\r\n<P><\/P> \r\n<div class=\"h5-responsive sub\">In her own words: Larissa FastHorse<\/div>\r\n<div class=row><div class=col-md-8>\r\nFrom the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation:<BR>\r\n\u201cWhen I start a play, I don\u2019t have a preordained idea of what form it should take or the point of the story or how it ends. Sometimes the community I am working with determines those things, sometimes it is up to me. Either way, I write the first draft of the script very quickly, allowing the characters to say and do what they want. \r\n<p><\/p>\r\nOne time, without warning, my favorite character killed himself. I burst into tears at the shock. Then my job was to embed that personal, visceral experience into the action of the script. That\u2019s where the real work happens in draft after draft, crafting that emotional journey underneath the action, a roller coaster ride hidden in plain sight. But when it works and I watch an entire audience gasp or laugh or cry together, it\u2019s magic. It\u2019s why we need theater.\u201d\r\n<\/div><div class=col-md-4><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1707\" height=\"2560\" data-attachment-id=\"2241\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2020\/10\/07\/lakota-playwright-larissa-fasthorse-wins-prestigious-genius-grant\/larissafasthorse-2\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/larissafasthorse-scaled.jpeg\" data-orig-size=\"1707,2560\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;2.8&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;ILCE-7M3&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1599698473&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;95&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;1250&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.000625&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"larissafasthorse\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/larissafasthorse-683x1024.jpeg\" src=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/larissafasthorse-scaled.jpeg\" alt=\"larissafasthorse\"  class=\"wp-image-2241 img-fluid\" \/><figcaption class=\"figure-caption\"> Photo \u00a9 John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation &#8211; used with permission<\/figcaption><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Larissa FastHorse, a citizen of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe, has won a prestigious fellowship from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2237,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_vp_format_video_url":"","_vp_image_focal_point":[],"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[17,1],"tags":[42,38,454,543,544,542,6],"class_list":["post-2233","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arts-entertainment","category-national","tag-arizona","tag-california","tag-grants","tag-larissa-fasthorse","tag-rosebud-sioux","tag-theater","tag-urban-indians","no-wpautop"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/larissafasthorse-scaled.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pcoJ7g-A1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2233","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2233"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2233\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2237"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2233"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2233"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2233"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}