Tulsa Performing Arts Center to Stage Indigenous Sketch Comedy for School Audiences Nov. 4–7

The Tulsa Performing Arts Center announced plans to stage Channeling Our Ancestors Nov. 4–7, a locally written sketch-style production produced as part of the Kennedy Center’s Any Given Child program that will bring daytime performances to Tulsa Public Schools students and an evening public performance on Nov. 7.

The program’s director of development, Pete Otis, told the Greater Tulsa Area Indian Affairs Commission on Oct. 21 that TPAC will run daytime shows at 10 a.m. and noon for school groups and an evening performance at 6:30 p.m. on Nov. 7. He said the series pairs productions with classroom study guides and pre- and post-show learning materials provided through the Kennedy Center partnership.

Becca Worthington, the show’s director, co-writer and a member of the production’s cast, said Channeling Our Ancestors uses a sketch-comedy format to explore contemporary Indigenous experience and to prompt “learning and unlearning” about Indigenous cultures. “We talk about the unlearning of the Pocahontas movie and kind of the effects that that’s had on native people today,” Worthington said. She added the production addresses topics ranging from the diversity of tribes and customs to the phenomenon of so-called Pretendians.

Worthington said feedback from last year’s run showed students often encountered new perspectives during the production. “We got responses from the seventh graders directly, and some of them were like, ‘man, I didn’t know Columbus was a jerk,’” she said, reporting the kind of blunt reactions students offered. She and Otis said many students told TPAC they appreciated seeing Indigenous people represented onstage and that performances felt welcoming.

TPAC also is offering a free master class on Nov. 1 for Indigenous community members aged 8 and up; Worthington said 34 people had signed up at the time of the commission meeting. Otis invited commissioners and other guests to attend a performance and left informational materials for the commission.

The production is one local element in TPAC’s multi-year Any Given Child participation; Otis said TPAC rotates target grades by year so that, by graduation, Tulsa Public Schools students will have multiple live-theater experiences. The commission did not take action on the presentation; TPAC representatives asked only that commissioners spread the word and accept collateral materials left at the meeting.

For details on tickets, school bookings or the Nov. 1 master class, TPAC listed Pete Otis as a contact.