A journey to understand the impact of colonialism on Indigenous nations
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — March 21, 2023 — The Fine Arts Center Theatre Company is pleased to announce the Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company production Where We Belong will take center stage beginning April 13.
Coming off the successful film adaptation of Where We Belong, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, in association with Folger Shakespeare Library, is giving audiences around the country a chance to witness Madeline Sayet’s deeply insightful solo show with a national tour of Where We Belong directed by Mei Ann Teo and starring Jessica Ranville, who is a member of the Actor’s Equity Association.
In Where We Belong, a Mohegan theatre-maker moves to England in 2015 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 United Kingdom 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, Sayet asks us what it means to belong in an increasingly globalized world.
Woolly Mammoth’s Artistic Director Maria Manuela Goyanes shares, “We are so thrilled to bring Madeline Sayet’s Where We Belong to Colorado, especially with the luminous Jessica Ranville in the part of Achokayis. This play brings up stories that our country has worked hard to avoid talking about, and Jessica embodies them beautifully, with the heart and immediacy they warrant.”
The Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center at Colorado College’s commitment to the tour is led by a desire to engage in authentic, continuous, long-term relationships with both the Indigenous nations whose land the Fine Arts Center occupies and the local Native community. These values are embodied in a Community Accountability Rider developed by playwright Madeline Sayet with support from Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company.
TICKET INFORMATION
Tickets start at $21. The Fine Arts Center offers military and membership discounts, as well as discounts for patrons under 40. Reserve online at devfac.coloradocollege.edu or call the box office at (719) 634-5583.
PLEASE NOTE: Exposure to COVID-19 is possible in public places. For the latest information on any COVID guidelines and requirements, visit the FAC website.
WOOLLY MAMMOTH THEATRE COMPANY
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.
Broadway & Beyond Theatricals is a theatrical producer and booking agency led by founders Victoria Lang, Ryan Bogner and Tracey McFarland. Broadway: The Kite Runner, Paradise Square. Upcoming: The Cottage. Tours as agent: The Kite Runner, Paradise Square, The Cher Show, Legally Blonde, Million Dollar Quartet Christmas, Madagascar, An American in Paris and more. www.bbtheatricals.com
ABOUT THE FAC THEATRE COMPANY
The award-winning FAC Theatre Company produces an annual season of innovative and exciting theatrical productions and is committed to creating stories that heal, uplift, educate and enlighten in a thoughtful and inclusive environment.
Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center at Colorado College
The story of the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center at Colorado College (FAC) began with the founding of the Broadmoor Art Academy in 1919. A museum, performing arts theatre, and community art school, the FAC is a pillar in the cultural community of the Rocky Mountain West providing innovative, educational, and multi-disciplinary arts experiences designed to elevate the individual spirit and inspire community vitality. For more information about the FAC, visit devfac.coloradocollege.edu or follow on Facebook @CSFineArtsCenter.
Land Acknowledgement
Colorado College occupies the traditional territories of the Nuchu, known today as the Southern Ute Tribe, the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, and the Northern Ute People, who lost their beloved homelands due to colonization, forced relocation, and land theft. Other tribes have also lived here including the Apache, Arapaho, Cheyenne, and Comanche — and notably, continue to do so, along with many other Indigenous Peoples. To actively seek social justice, we acknowledge that the land continues to hold the values and traditions of the original inhabitants and caretakers of this land. We pay honor and respect to their ancestors, elders, and youth — past, present, and future.
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