Inaugural KaniniFest to take place for free at the Momentary; brings one-act plays, workshops, parties and more | The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

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Northwest Arkansas' first BIPOC one-act play festival KaniniFest will take place at the Momentary this weekend and it's free and open to the public.

Co-founders Tenisi Davis and Christopher Alexander Chukwueke, who are current artists-in-residence at the Momentary, made the festival to bring BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) playwrights to the area from all over the U.S. The inaugural event offers "immersive performances, exhilarating dance workshops, enchanting drum circles, captivating art installations and so much more," according to the Momentary website.

"On top of the theatrical productions, it's really a cultural event that's rooted in theater," said Christopher Alexander Chukwueke, interdisciplinary artist and actor last seen on a season 13 episode of CBS' Blue Bloods. "We're just so proud and happy to be representing almost every culture and ethnicity that resides here in Northwest Arkansas."

There will be a "whole host of presentations, performances, workshops and guest speakers," he promised. Highlights include five original plays, a few parties (including one in the Tower Bar), a youth acting workshop and dance workshops. Of those, one is geared toward Pacific Island dance, another to Bachata and Salsa and also one given by the Chinese Association of Northwest Arkansas.

Davis, who is creator of Moja Productions, a dancer with decades of experience and a master drummer, will be giving a workshop on West African Drum and Dance.

FILL THE VOID

To know how KaniniFest came about, you must go back a couple years -- when Davis and Chukwueke were both cast in the same production at TheatreSquared.

The two forged a bond while on stages of "Detroit 67." Between work and hanging out at the studio apartments provided by T2, they managed to see a little of all the area had to offer and made the rounds to Springdale, Rogers, Bentonville and Fayetteville.

They fell in love with the region and community, but they noticed that one thing was missing.

"We noticed that there was also a void that was evident and prominent," Chukwueke said. "In the ways of the artistic offerings that were available for people to see, there was just a real lack of diversity."

At the time, Davis had read an article by the Dramatist, the official journal of the Dramatists Guild of America. It cited their study, "The Count," which analyzed gender, race, nationality, genre and whether productions were new work or revivals, according to The Lilly's.org. Davis was alarmed to learn that only 15% of those whose work was getting produced were artists and playwrights of color.

"Immediately that staggeringly low number affected how we view things," Davis said. "We were like, we can't change the world in a day, but what can we do? No matter how small it is, we can try to increase that number and really elevate BIPOC voices and art."

KaniniFest was conceived then as their answer to that. A couple years later, when it came time to open up submissions, they did so nationwide and had hundreds of responses.

They utlimately chose four winners, including Lisa McCree, Sheri D Bradford, Yasmine Lancaster and Yide Cai. Davis and Chukwueke are excited to be producing their plays on the main stage at the Momentary.

One that the founders are highlighting is a production by the Wahzhazhe Puppet Theater, which will bring members of the Osage Nation to perform their origin story.

"It's just so engaging and breathtaking with how visually beautiful it is," Chukwueke said. "The story itself is just so touching and we're really excited about that opportunity to provide them with the space to show their origin and their culture."

CREATIVE DEEP DOWN

Welana Queton, who is Osage Creek and Cherokee, has been raised and culturally active in the Osage community her whole life. She's been dancing and attending Osage dances since she was born.

For more than 20 years, Queton has worked with museums and collections, specializing in American Indian ethnographic collections. Now she's brought that expertise and knowledge of tribal culture to the public through the creation of the Wahzhazhe Puppet Theater.

"I like to research, read a lot of our Osage ethnographic record and histories, which also serve as a lot of the basis for our stories," she said. Most recently that came to fruition with "One Place, Many Nations: Acknowledging the 39," at the First Americans Museum. She was lead co-curator for the exhibition, a six year project and featured all tribes located in Oklahoma. "It consisted mainly of cultural material, things that we use within our cultures."

While the rest of her family was quick to find their own artistic practices -- her mother a ceramic sculptor, her father a photographer, her baby brother an old-time fiddler and her middle brother a painter -- Queton's was less obvious and more academic. She always wanted to learn or figure things out.

But when the Osage Nation celebrated a couple years ago its 150th anniversary of moving from Kansas to Oklahoma and made a call for creative ideas, Queton's hand shot up "Oh I do, I do!"

STORIES OF WAY BACK

The team in charge of the sesquicentennial celebration was made of people who specialized in language and historic preservation; others who worked at the museum. Queton suggested a parade, and one of the curators countered, "Well, what about a play?"

Queton had never produced anything like that -- she'd been on the other end as an actor, performer and dancer. But she was sold. They had thespians in their community and she felt they could totally do it.

She found inspiration on Facebook, where she saw images of a giant bear and a giant wolf that were used in a week-long act of activism, in protest of Line Three in Minnesota.

"I saw those giant puppets right at this lake or river that they were trying to protect and I was just fascinated," Queton recalled. "Like 'Oh my gosh! What are those? Who made those?' They were beautiful."

With a little late-night social media research, she found their creator, Christopher Lutter-Gardella of Big Animal Productions. His ethos spoke to everything that Welana wanted to do in her production, and she brought him on board. Then she enlisted Russ Tallchief as their stage director and Candice Byrd-Boney as their scriptwriter.

Over the course of seven months or so, they crafted their production that had a story for each of the 24 clans. Lutter-Gardella led the creation of the puppets during a workshop where members of the community got to contribute. Working with the Osage Language Immersion School helped them weave Native language in the story.

On the evening of the first performance, they set the start time right at sunset. Queton said she chose the time intentionally, since sunrise is a special time in their culture, especially powerful for ceremonies and prayer. Since everyone was a bit nervous, her husband led their crew in a calming prayer.

"He had said, 'We're going to perform God's story, a creation story, maybe we should ... give them thanks and ask them to guide us,'" Queton recalled. "Then we came out (of our tent) and the sky was just super orange and pink and blue. It was really magical. And then it did, it flowed."

WAY OF LIFE

The storyline of the first production was geared toward the Osage people, a story of their way of life, from creation until the present, that comes with a death, a funeral and the acknowledgement that they return to the heavens. Those in the audience who had been picturing tiny little hand puppets were blown away by the larger-than-life size of the animals. And Queton felt proud to have made something that was true to their heritage, something that would pass on their values and cultural knowledge.

At KaniniFest, audiences will see a very similar version of the production. Only the beginning of the story was altered, and any Osage words used are explained. The cast was cut down a bit, since it takes so many kids, and some teens and adults to man the large puppets. About 20 people are involved in this one.

The buffalo require two people, Queton said. On stage will be six buffalo, some elk, stars -- Morning Star, Evening Star and Radiant Star -- an eagle that helped the Osage people come to earth, a swan and a water bird.

They've also brought dancers from Dance Maker Academy in Pawhuska, Okla.

It's an all-hands-on-deck production. "I might have to be some of the elk," Queton said. She hopes the play will give viewers a "deep, serious philosophical understanding of the way the world works and that (Osage people) have been here since time immemorial.

"We still have a huge community that works together, and we're fun and playful too."

Co-founder Tenisi Davis hopes that all attending KaniniFest get a feeling from the event that harkens back to the meaning of the word kanini, which is "oneness."

"That's the energy behind our festival," he said. "Come here and take in all these different beautiful cultures, stories, have your own view and interpretation of something new."

Inaugural KaniniFest

WHAT — This one act play festival is geared toward family and inclusion. Workshops are designed for ages 10 and older.

WHEN — Oct. 11-13

WHERE — The Momentary 507 SE E St. Bentonville

COST — Free and open to the public; registration is strongly encouraged for workshops. Food trucks and merchandise will be available on site.

INFO — themomentary.org or (479) 367-7500

Christopher Alexander Chukwueke (Courtesy Photo) "We're proud of the fact that we're able to provide BIPOC playwrights with the opportunity to tell their story unabashedly, without feeling like they need to curtail their message in any way in order to be accepted." — KaniniFest Co-founder Christopher Alexander Chukwueke (Courtesy Photo) Tenisi Davis (Courtesy Photo/Zach at BK Headshots) None

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Inaugural KaniniFest to take place for free at the Momentary; brings one-act plays, workshops, parties and more | The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

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