INTERVIEW: Safe Harbors join with NYTW for new partnership
Image courtesy of NYTW / Provided by Matt Ross PR with permission.
Safe Harbors NYC has become a company-in-residence at the New York Theatre Workshop. The company joins with the Dominican Artists Collective, JAG Productions and Noor Theatre as partners with the legendary off-Broadway institution. Murielle Borst-Tarrant is the founder of Safe Harbors, an organization that is committed to developing and producing theatrical work by Native artists.
“We don’t know where the future is going to be with New York theater, but we’re hoping with support of allies like the New York Theatre Workshop, we’ll be able to get work done, and we will be seen as a theater company,” Borst-Tarrant said in a recent phone interview. “That’s what we’re in development of really doing.”
The founder of the company said her goal is to produce as much work that is Native written, Native acted and Native directed as possible. She wants Native theater-makers to tell their own stories, rather than sit on the sidelines and have others tell their stories for them.
“For to take those stories and have them produced and to be seen, to show that our voice can be put in the American theater canon, that’s extremely important to all of us,” she said. “We would be practicing self-determination of our art ourselves without somebody dictating to us what they want to see.”
Safe Harbors NYC has worked with NYTW before on several projects. In 2020, for example, the company presented Reflections of Native Voices, a two-week festival of Native playwrights, actors, producers, directors and song-makers. The company also presented Don’t Feed the Indians — A Divine Comedy Pageant! at La MaMa Theatre, a production in which Borst-Tarrant served as producer, writer and director.
Borst-Tarrant said that for a long time Native people were not “at the table” when being considered for theatrical productions in New York City. Her old adage is that if a person is not at the table, then there’s a good chance they are on the menu, so it has been her life’s work to ensure there’s respect and opportunities for the Native theatrical community. There are many challenges right now in the New York theater world, including COVID-19, but there are also many possibilities.
“It’s my life’s work to tell stories that need to be told with our voices,” she said. “There’s nothing done about us without us — that’s the bottom line. And how do we do that and [sustain it] so we are not just the flash in the pan? ‘Oh, Indians were in two years ago’ — we can’t do that anymore. No, how do we stay sustainable as the First Peoples of this nation and have a distinct voice? That is the passion I have. That is the passion this organization was making. And how do we bring a new generation of voices into the fold? How do we sustain and do our work? … What are the solutions? We all know what the problems are, but what are the solutions? And the solution to me is to do wonderful work.”
Borst-Tarrant said the name Safe Harbors comes from an historical reference to New York City. Her own family, she said, has been in New York City area since the 1800s, and she was taught that as an island refuge, Manhattan hosted many important meetings.
“And it was considered a safe harbor, Manhattan, for people to come in and talk,” she said. “There was a spring meeting and a summer meeting, and then there was the winter meeting. … And the fall meetings were always very important because of the long, harsh winters, right, and I was told that sometimes if there were warring parties, they would leave their weapons outside of this island of Manhattan for people to have these talks and negotiations. … Safety to me is to think outside of the box, to be safe thinking artistically the way you want things to go. This is a safe place, and that is always the bottom line. How do we make this a safe place, this idea, this concept in the middle of Manhattan?”
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
Safe Harbors NYC is a new company-in-residence at the New York Theatre Workshop. Click here for more information.
