Welcome to another episode of the Willoughby Hills podcast!
My guest today is playwright Larissa FastHorse, a member of the Sicangu Lakota Nation and the first known Native American female playwright to have her work produced on Broadway.
I first became introduced to Larissa’ work through Scott Foley, who starred in the Broadway production of The Thanksgiving Play this spring at the Hayes Theater. The play is a farcical look at four white people attempting to tell a culturally sensitive version of the Thanksgiving story to elementary students. After seeing the play, I knew I wanted to speak with Larissa.
Larissa discusses her journey to becoming a playwright, the challenges with white allyship, and what it takes to make a theater more inclusive to all audiences.
I happened to see The Thanksgiving Play soon after I finished reading White Women by Regina Jackson and Saira Rao. It’s interesting how much overlap there is between this conversation with Larissa and the one I had with Saira a few weeks ago on the podcast. If you’ve heard that show yet, please go back and listen to it.
Larissa’s most recent production is For the People, which she co-wrote with Ty Defoe and is running through November 12 at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis.
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111. Playwright Larissa FastHorse on Building Inclusive Theater