05/15/2025
~ Latino/Indigenous Actor Needed / Se necesita actor latino/indígena ~
for
the role of RAMÓN in illioo Native Theatre’s New Play
BlueJay’s Canoe, by Theresa May & Marta Lu Clifford
at Very little Theatre in Fall 2025.
Actors needed for BlueJay’s Canoe, a play to be presented at Very Little Theatre in Eugene next Fall. BlueJay’s Canoe tells the story of an Indigenous/Mexican American family that celebrates stories of healing and resillience. We are especially looking for a person to play the father, Ramón, who identifies as both Mexican American and Indigenous.
Se necesitan actores para la obra, "La Canoa de BlueJay", que se presentará en el Very Little Theatre, Eugene, el próximo otoño. "La Canoa de BlueJay" narra la historia de una familia indígena/mexicoamericana que celebra las historias y la sanación.
Rehearsals start in mid- September with performances on weekends in November, at Very Little Theatre, 2350 Hillyard St., Eugene, OR. Performers receive an honorarium of $500 through our grant from Oregon Community Foundation.
Please contact the director, Theresa May via FB message, or contact Very Little Theatre (thevlt.com), with your interest in being part of this community-based project.
RAMÓN (M early 40s to early 50s) (Chumash/Mexican American), hydraulic engineer; teaches high school in Act 1; speaks some Spanish in the play; father of 15 year-old Xak; partner to Cass (Klamath/Modoc) ER doctor.
Rehearsal & Performance Schedule - Evening & weekend rehearsals beginning Sept. 15, 2025; and performance dates Thurs/Fri/Sat/Sun Nov. 9-22, 2025. We will try to work around actors’ schedules, and not all actors will need to rehearse every night; probably 3 nights a week until the last week of October. We realize this is a large time commitment. But it will be great fun!
The story - BlueJay’s Canoe, by Theresa May & Marta Lu Clifford (Chinook, Cree, Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde), has been developed with the support of Oregon Community Foundation’s Creative Heights Grant. A story of healing, filled with humor, this is a play about the power of stories in everyday life, or as the play says, “sometimes stories save your life.” BlueJay’s Canoe weaves Native stories with recent & timeless history into a contemporary tale of healing, recovery and resilience. The story takes place in the Pacific Northwest during the uncertain times of 2020-21 as sixteen-year-old XAK lands an internship at KMAS Indigenous radio where he meets the brash Indigenous radio host, BLUEJAY/qisqis, and his Auntie GOLDIE, a storyteller. Filled with humor, history and Indigenous life-ways of Oregon, BlueJay’s Canoe is a story about the power of stories, and responsibility for the places we inhabit, and our connection to the people, creatures, lands and waters we share.
About illioo Native Theatre - iIlioo means “joyful” in the language of the Kalapuya people, on whose land we are honored to live, work and play. Founded in 2020 by Marta Lu Clifford (Chinook, Cree, Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde), Theresa May, and Lori Tapahonso (Diné, Acoma Pueblo), illioo Native Theatre celebrates Indigenous theatre and honors the spiritual importance of traditional performance forms, including storytelling and song in the development of new works that tell stories that need to be told. Facebook.
