The Alaska Native Heritage Center (ANHC) will host its second annual Alaska Native Playwrights Project (ANPP), designed to identify, train and nurture Alaska Native writers who wish to tell their stories and the stories of their people in theatrical form.
In an eight day writing intensive (January 6-13, 2012), selected Alaska Native artists will receive training in the fundamentals of playwriting from a group of nationally recognized Native American and Alaska Native playwrights, who will then mentor participants through the process of creating the first draft of a full-length or one-act play.
Participants will be expected to agree to an eleven month commitment of time – from the January training through the November readings – and complete at least the first draft of a full-length or one-act play. Completed scripts are to be submitted by August 31, 2012. These plays will be given a public reading in November, 2012. Each participating writer will receive guidance, mentorship, a $500 stipend and, in the case of artists from outside Anchorage, travel, accommodations and food allowances.
It is a goal of the Alaska Native Heritage Center that the selected writers reflect a cross-section of Alaska’s Native peoples. Submissions are welcomed from all regions; artists need not currently reside within the region, state or country.
Of the nine plays completed by last year’s cohort, three were included in the 2011 Last Frontier Theatre Conference Play Lab in Valdez, AK, and two were invited to the Native Voices Playwrights Retreat and 13th Festival of Plays, with readings at San Diego’s LaJolla Playhouse and the Autry National Center in Los Angeles.
The application deadline for the next cohort is Wednesday, August 31, 2011. To be considered, please complete the attached application form and submit, together with work sample materials, to the address below. Be sure to include your email address. Application confirmations and communications with prospective participants will be sent out via email. Applicants selected to participate in the Project will be informed beginning October 31, 2011. Send application and work samples to:
Ed Bourgeois, Director
Alaska Native Playwrights Project
Alaska Native Heritage Center
8800 Native Heritage Center Drive
Anchorage, AK 99504
The Alaska Native Heritage Center, a renowned cultural center and museum in Anchorage, is an exciting place where all people can come to expand their understanding of Alaska's first people. Here we share the rich heritage of Alaska's eleven cultural groups drawing upon the lifeways of long ago, the wisdom of our elders, and the traditions that endure. Our cultural center and museum is located in Northeast Anchorage, Alaska is designed to enhance self-esteem among Native people and to encourage cross-cultural exchanges among all people.
