AlterTheater

Help AlterTheater produce an award-winning new Indigiqueer comedy by Dillon Chitto!

PUEBLO REVOLT

Pueblo Revolt by Dillon Chitto explores the Pueblo Uprising through the eyes of a gay Pueblo teen and his older brother. Equally hilarious and harrowing, the play weaves together history and Indigifuturism to examine queerness, family, religion, and survival. Dillon Chitto is a Native American of Mississippi Choctaw, Laguna, and Isleta Pueblo descent. He learned the importance of art, culture, religion, and traditions from his parents, grandparents, brother, and members of his community.

WHY NOW?

According to a 2021 presentation by the National Council of Urban Indian Health, over half of Two-Spirit people have attempted suicide - a rate significantly lowered among those who felt appreciated in their tribe or culture. AlterTheater is uniquely positioned to serve LGTBQ+ Native youth: we are already connecting Native artists and youth in the Bay Area and in reservation communities through our Arts Learning Project. AlterTheater is a Native-led organization developing work by Native artists for and with Native communities.

Two-Spirit and LGBTQ+ Native youth experience the same challenges faced by LGBTQ+ youth throughout the country, but these are exacerbated by colonial trauma, what San Francisco State Professor Andrew Jolivette calls ‘Posttraumatic Invasion Syndrome’, as well as invisibility in non-Native spaces.

Producing Pueblo Revolt and providing access for our students and their communities to the performance and playwright is about four goals: one, building community among Indigiqueer youth; two, advocating for and increasing visibility of LGBTQ+ issues in Native communities; three, making LGBTQ+ youth feel valued within their community; and four, raising the profile of Indigiqueer stories among the general public.

HELP US MAKE THE LEADERBOARD!

#GiveOUTDay is an incredible opportunity for donors to double the impact of their gifts! Prizes are awarded to organizations like ours by number of unique donors like you. Donate today and help us bring this important story to our communities!

ABOUT DILLON CHITTO

Dillon Chitto is an Indigenous playwright from New Mexico of Mississippi Choctaw, Laguna, and Isleta Pueblo descent. He learned the importance of art, culture, religion, and traditions from his parents, grandparents, brother, and members of his community. Dillon writes, “The plays I write stem not only from my personal experience, but from the lives of those around me who I am privileged to get to know. I hope in sharing these stories, others may get a glimpse into a world that is not their own, and more importantly, that some see themselves and their stories represented onstage. Indigenous and queer stories must come to the forefront not only as a voice of decolonization, but also to disrupt the history of heteronormative representation on stage. Many outside perspectives may assume both Indigenous and queer stories are tragic, which is why I see multifaceted Indigiqueer theater as crucial for all audiences. I write comedies to challenge this outsider notion and highlight how we’ve survived colonization using our humor.”

ABOUT ALTERTHEATER

In 2004, 5 artists of diverse backgrounds, including 2 Native American (Onondaga and Chiricahua Apache/Tohono O’odham), founded AlterTheater on the belief that excellence in storytelling occurs when all voices are present and empowered. This core value is reflected in the makeup of our board - 80% BIPOC -  in our mainstage productions, and in our AlterLab commissioning and playwright residency programs. We believe communities are stronger, artists create more excellent work, when people are empowered to bring all parts of themselves to the work.

AlterTheater seeks to create a more just, more equitable community by:

• supporting the creative growth of theater artists from historically underrepresented communities;
• telling stories that reflect the full complexity and diversity of our community; and
• sharing stories with our full community, in places where people are.

AlterTheater has always centered Indigenous voices and practices. Located on Coast Miwok land, AlterTheater creates work in consultation with our local elders, as evidenced by our decade-plus partnership with Marin American Indian Alliance. Our community includes Coast Miwok and Natives from at least 63 tribes. While not an exclusively Native or LGBTQ+ company, AlterTheater’s leadership, staff and artists all include Native and/or queer voices. We believe in telling stories by, for, and with our community.