Drama. Native American Studies. Performing Arts. Approaching Native American theater as ceremonial performance comprised of centuries-old tribal traditions and aesthetic concepts, Hanay Geiogamah combines his thirty-five years of creative and experimental work and research in Native theater to illuminate the elements of myth, spirituality, and ceremony and their integration into dramatic performances. Specific observations on how ritual is constructed and activated are presented along with selected examples of the process from recent native theater works. Other topics include spirituality as the basis for dramatic text, the techniques of the shaman as director, and the creative process of integration.

Author City: LOS ANGELES, CA USA

Hanay Geiogamah is a professor in the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television and has been a member of the Department of Theater faculty since 1991. From 2002 to 2009 he served as the director of the UCLA American Indian Studies Center. He is the founding artistic director of the acclaimed American Indian Dance Theatre, and since 1997 he has served as principal director of Project HOOP, the national Native American theater advocacy program that works with tribal communities to develop Native theater and performing arts curricula and programming. Professor Geiogamah's career in the theater began in 1972 with the founding of the Native American Theater Ensemble at La MaMa Experimental Theatre in New York City. He is a member of the Kiowa Tribe of Oklahoma.