In 2015, a Mohegan theatre-maker moves to England to pursue a PhD in Shakespeare, grappling with the question of what it means to remain or leave, as the Brexit vote threatens to further disengage the UK from the wider world. Moving between nations that have failed to reckon with their ongoing roles in colonialism, Achokayis finds comfort in the journeys of their Native ancestors who had to cross the ocean in the 1700s to help their people. In this intimate and exhilarating solo piece directed by Mei Ann Teo, Sayet asks us what it means to belong in an increasingly globalized world.
“among the great artistic achievements during the pandemic” —Broadway World
“Sayet cycles through anecdotes with pathos and a playful charm” —Washington Post
“An important story — thought-provoking, respectful, and alive.” —MD Theatre Guide
In the news
Colorado Spring Fine Arts Enter to host “Where We Belong” —The Gazette
Content Transparency: This production contains flashing lights, depictions of racism, and discussions of borders, war, loss of language, residential schools, colonial theft of human remains and repatriation.
May not be suitable for individuals under the age of 14.
Photo by @jingziphotography
Cast + Creative
CAST
Achokayis: Jessica Ranville*
Cover for Achokayis: Jen Olivares*
Jessica Ranville (Red River Métis) Achokayis, (she/they) is an actor and teaching artist from Winnipeg, Manitoba and based in New York City. Her work in the theater spans devised, movement-based plays to folk musicals to Shakespeare, to new play development. Jessica is a citizen of the Manitoba Métis Federation and has performed in new and classic works within the Native theater community for nearly a decade, including multiple collaborations with Madeline Sayet and Ty Defoe. She is currently in residency at IRT Theater in Manhattan and is an adjunct for Brooklyn College’s BFA Theater Program where she teaches movement. She has developed new works at The Playwright’s Realm, The Drama League, The Lark, WP Theater, The New Ohio Theater, and LaMama. Regional: Men On Boats (Baltimore Center Stage). MFA: The New School for Drama. Miigwetch & Maarcii to her family, near and far, and to Madeline Sayet, for bringing us this story.
Jen Olivares, Cover for Achokayis (she/her) is a member of the Acjachemen Nation, a Southern California tribe who’s unceded land is also known as Orange County, CA. Jen is a director, actor, dancer/choreographer and commissioned playwright with Celebration Theater in Los Angeles. Favorite Movement/Choreography Credits: A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Winter’s Tale, SHIFT Dance Company (NYC). Favorite acting credits: Off-Broadway: The Pirate La Dee Da (Atlantic Theatre Company) Regional: Between Two Knees, Manahatta (Yale Repertory Theatre), Oklahoma!, The Way The Mountain Moved, Off The Rails (Oregon Shakespeare Festival) National Tours: Rock of Ages TV: Bull (CBS), The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Amazon Prime Video). www.jenolivares.com
CREATIVE TEAM
Mei Ann Teo (they/them) . . . . . . . . . . Director
Hao Bai (she/her) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Production Designer
Asa Benally (he/him) . . . . . . . . . . . Costume Designer
Megan J Coffel (they/them) . . . . Technical Director and Lighting Supervisor
Erik Schilke (he/him) . . . . . . . . . . Composer and Sound Designer
Jen Olivares* (she/her) . . . . . . . . . . Movement Consultant
Alison McLeod* (she/any) . . . . . . . . Stage Manager
Vera Starbard (she/her) . . . . . . . . . Dramaturg
Judy Bowman, CSA (she/her) . . . Casting Director
Victoria Lang(she/her) . . . . . . . . . Executive Producer
Ryan Bogner (he/him) . . . . . . . . . . Executive Producer
*Member of Actor’s Equity Association
PLAYWRIGHT
Madeline Sayet (she/her) is a Mohegan theatre maker who believes the stories we pass down inform our collective possible futures. She serves as an Assistant Professor at Arizona State University with the Arizona Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies (ACMRS), and is the Executive Director of the Yale Indigenous Performing Arts Program (YIPAP). She has been honored as a Forbes 30 Under 30 in Hollywood & Entertainment, TED Fellow, MIT Media Lab Director’s Fellow, National Directing Fellow, Drama League Director-In-Residence, NCAIED Native American 40 Under 40, and a recipient of The White House Champion of Change Award from President Obama. As a writer her plays include: Where We Belong, Up and Down the River, Antigone Or And Still She Must Rise Up, Daughters of Leda, The Neverland, and The Fish (In Development). Recent directing work includes: Tlingit Christmas Carol (Perseverance Theatre), Midsummer Night’s Dream (South Dakota Shakespeare), Henry IV (Connecticut Repertory Theatre), Whale Song (Perseverance Theatre), As You Like It (Delaware Shakespeare), The Winter’s Tale (Amerinda/HERE Arts), Poppea (Krannert Center, Illinois), The Magic Flute (Glimmerglass), Macbeth (NYC Parks), Miss Lead (59e59). www.madelinesayet.com Where We Belong is published by Bloomsbury. It will be available in Paperback in August 2022, but you can currently pre-order the paperback or purchase the e-book at: www.bloomsbury.com/us/where-we-belong
DIRECTOR
Mei Ann Teo, Director (they/them) is a queer immigrant from Singapore making theatre & film at the intersection of artistic/civic/contemplative practice. As a director/devisor/dramaturg, they create across genres, including music theatre, intermedial participatory work, reimagining classics, and documentary theatre. Teo’s work has been in international festivals including Belgium’s Festival de Liege, Edinburgh International Fringe, Beijing International Festival, Singapore Theatre Festival. They helmed Dim Sum Warriors the Musical by Colin Goh and Yen Yen Woo, composed by Pulitzer Prize winner Du Yun for national China twenty-five city tour. They have directed and/or developed new work at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Theatreworks Hartford, Playwrights Realm, Goodman Theatre, Public Theater, Berkeley Rep (Ground Floor), Crowded Fire, History Theatre, Page 73, Musical Theatre Factory, and the National Black Theatre. Recent work includes Jillian Walker’s world premiere SKiNFoLK: An American Show at the Bushwick Starr, Madeline Sayet’s Where We Belong at Shakespeare’s Globe, Woolly Mammoth, BCS, and PTC, the North American premiere of Amy Berryman’s Walden at Theatreworks Hartford, and the English US premiere of Stefano Massini’s 7 Minutes at Waterwell. Teo received the League of Professional Theatre Women’s Josephine Abady Award, is the inaugural recipient of the Lily Fan Director Lilly Award, and is the Associate Artistic Director and Director of New Work at Oregon Shakespeare Festival.
Details
Show Dates
April 13–23, 2023
Wed | 7 p.m.
Thurs, Fri, & Sat | 7:30 p.m.
Sat & Sun Matinées | 2 p.m.
ASL interpretation is offered on Saturday, April 22 at 2 p.m. Please call the box office at (719) 634-5583 to purchase tickets.
If you are part of our local Indigenous community, please contact the box office for complimentary tickets.
(719) 634-5581 or fac@coloradocollege.edu
As a theatre patron you receive FREE museum admission included in the cost of your tickets! Museum hours
Tickets
| Standard Seats & Wednesday evening performances | Select Seats | Premium Seats | Under 40* |
|---|---|---|---|
| $21 | starting at $43.50 (15% off for members and military*) | starting at $50.50 (15% off for members and military*) | $25 |
Additional Info
Group Tickets
We offer many convenient group sales options with special benefits and savings from 10-25% off single ticket prices! Details
FAC Member Tickets
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Student Rush Tickets
Students can purchase rush tickets the day of the performance at the FAC front desk for $15 (Colorado College students receive a FREE rush ticket 1 hour before the performance). Tickets subject to availability; Must purchase in person; CC students must present a CC Gold Card.
CC Staff & Faculty
CC Staff and faculty can purchase rush tickets the day of the performance at the FAC front desk for $25. Tickets subject to availability; Must purchase in person and present a CC Gold Card.
*Military & 40 and under
We ask that you call or come in to receive your discount.
Where We Belong Audience Experience
The Tony Award®-winning Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company creates badass theatre that highlights the stunning, challenging, and tremendous complexity of our world. For over 40 years, Woolly has maintained a high standard of artistic rigor while simultaneously daring to take risks, innovate, and push beyond perceived boundaries. One of the few remaining theatres in the country to maintain a company of artists, Woolly serves an essential research and development role within the American theatre. Plays premiered here have gone on to productions at hundreds of theatres all over the world and have had lasting impacts on the field. Currently coled by Artistic Director Maria Manuela Goyanes and Interim Managing Director Ted DeLong, Woolly is located in Washington, DC, equidistant from the Capitol and the White House. This unique location influences Woolly’s investment in actively working towards an equitable, participatory, and creative democracy.
Woolly Mammoth stands upon occupied, unceded territory: the ancestral homeland of the Nacotchtank whose descendants belong to the Piscataway peoples. Furthermore, the foundation of this city, and most of the original buildings in Washington, DC, were funded by the sale of enslaved people of African descent and built by their hands.
Folger Shakespeare Library is the world’s largest Shakespeare collection, the ultimate resource for exploring Shakespeare and his world. The Folger welcomes millions of visitors online and in person. It provides unparalleled access to a huge array of resources, from original sources to modern interpretations. With the Folger, you can experience the power of performance, the wonder of exhibitions, and the excitement of path-breaking research. The Folger offers the opportunity to see and even work with early modern sources, driving discovery and transforming education for students of all ages.
The award-winning Folger Theatre in our nation’s capital bridges the arts and humanities through transformational performances and programming that speak inclusively to the human experience. Now under the leadership of Artistic Director Karen Ann Daniels, Folger Theatre continues its legacy through exciting interpretations and adaptations of Shakespeare and expands the classical canon through cultivating today’s artists and commissioning new work that is in dialogue with the concerns and issues of our time. Folger Theatre thrives both on its historical stage and in the community, engaging audiences wherever they happen to be.
During a multiyear building renovation, join the Folger online and on the road. Learn more at folger.edu.