For 20 years, Native Voices has encouraged and supported Native American artists to have their voices heard on stage. And now, we need your help with our biggest production to date: Off the Rails by Randy Reinholz (Choctaw), an adaptation of Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure. 

Because the 2014-2015 season marks a milestone in the history of Native Voices, we decided to focus on a very important issue in our nation’s history through this year’s theme, “Legacy and Loss: Stories From the Indian Boarding School.”

Important? Yes.  Heavy? Not in this production. Think Blazing Saddles meets Shakespeare—with Native Americans taking the reins. 

There are a lot of moving pieces involved with producing a play this big and over the top, including set design, costumes, projections, sound, and lights—not to mention our talented group of actors, designers, and musicians who have been known to dance, sing, juggle, and tumble into our hearts. 

Your Indiegogo gift will help fund these elements and allow us to tell this story like it has never been told before. And in return, our generous donors can enjoy fun and exciting perks, like a hand-crafted, one-of-a-kind ham and cheese sandwich while sitting in on an Off the Rails rehearsal in the Autry’s Wells Fargo Theater or a chance to join the cast and play Buffalo Bill or Annie Oakley!

Native Voices at the Autry is the only Equity theatre company devoted exclusively to developing and producing new works for the stage by Native American, Alaska Native, and First Nations playwrights.

We invite you to be part of the fun and celebrate our anniversary year by pitching in to support this groundbreaking production.

Why This Play Is Significant

If you’ve never heard of Indian boarding schools, you’re not alone. This topic is typically absent from our nation’s history books yet the schools affected generations of Native Americans in unimaginable ways. Culture and identities were stripped, languages lost, lifelong friends were made, and unions were strengthened.

The U.S. government created boarding schools in the late nineteenth century. The goal, as proclaimed by founder Henry Richard Pratt, was to “Kill the Indian, and save the man.”

Off the Rails dramatizes the polarizing national tensions in an audience-friendly way by combining knee-slapping comedy, vibrant music, and a set that transports theatregoers to 1886—the era of Buffalo Bill's Wild West. Learn more through our campaign video.

Other Ways You Can Help

If you can’t contribute, you can help our cause by sharing our Indiegogo campaign with your friends and family through social media. Every bit helps!

Thank You

Your generosity supports our mission to bring together the stories of all peoples of the American West, connecting the past with the present to inspire our shared future. Thank you.

A portion of your contribution may be tax deductible. Please consult your tax advisor.

If you live out of state and won’t be in Los Angeles to obtain your perk(s), let us know and we'll donate them to a local youth organization.

Off the Rails Credits

Written by Randy Reinholz (Choctaw)

Directed by Chris Anthony

Executive Producer: Jean Bruce Scott

Video Credits

Produced by Spencer Weitzel 

Directed by Elisa Blandford and Maren Dougherty

More About Us

Native Voices at the Autry

Native Voices at the Autry is the only Equity theatre company devoted exclusively to developing and producing new works for the stage by Native American, Alaska Native, and First Nations playwrights. Founded in 1994 by Producing Artistic Director Randy Reinholz (Choctaw) and Producing Executive Director Jean Bruce Scott, Native Voices became the resident theatre company at the Autry National Center of the American West in 1999. The 2014–2015 season celebrates the company’s 15th year at the Autry and its 20th anniversary advancing Native theatre. The company provides a supportive, collaborative setting for Native theatre artists from across North America.

This season, the company established the Native Voices Artists Ensemble to more fully take advantage of the extraordinary talents of its Native actors, writers, musicians, and directors. The Ensemble is devoted to developing new work in a collaborative process as well as supporting Native Voices’ ongoing focus on the work of individual playwrights. Native Voices at the Autry is a member of Actors’ Equity Association, LA Stage Alliance, and the Dramatists Guild, and is a Constituent Theatre of Theatre Communications Group (TCG), the national organization for the American theatre.

Autry National Center of the American West

The Autry is a museum dedicated to exploring and sharing the stories, experiences, and perceptions of the diverse peoples of the American West, connecting the past to the present to inspire our shared future. The museum presents a wide range of exhibitions and public programs—including lectures, film, theatre, festivals, family events, and music—and performs scholarship, research, and educational outreach. The Autry’s collection of more than 500,000 pieces of art and artifacts includes the Southwest Museum of the American Indian Collection, one of the largest and most significant of Native American materials in the United States.