For Off Broadway/Broadway American Indigenous or First Nations creatives
The Story
Creating Change
Chokma! Saholhchifoat Nicolette Blount. Chikashsha saya! Hello My name is Nicolette Blount and I am Chickasaw.
A little about me, I am a Chickasaw musical theatre composer, lyricist, and librettist, producer, performer, and director. I am the first Native Dramatists Guild Foundations National Fellow and I was recently named one of the 2026 Women to Watch on Broadway by the Broadway Women's Fund. My show Savage: The Unconquerable Wanda Savage, about my 1920s Chickasaw great-granmother vaudeville and silent film star, is a 2X O'Neil semifinalist and has received multiple national awards and accolades.. If I have been given a seat at the table, I intend to pull up more chairs. As a member of the Native community, I know firsthand how invisible Native artists can be in this industry and I wanted to do something about it.
While in a producer's master training class with a Broadway producer (Theatre Resources Unlimited) I was asked to come up with a hot topic for class. I decided to research and talk about if DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) is helping Natives. I read the 2018/2019 AAPAC Visibility Report for Broadway/OffBroadway. I was shocked! You can read it here: AAPAC Visibility Report . Basically, at that time, Natives account for 2.7% Broadway writers, 0.7% Nonprofit writers, and in all other creative areas...0% (the current AAPAC report in 2021/2022 is all 0% now)! It's not like Natives aren't in the theatre industry. We currently have 11+ Native theatres in the US. At the time, I looked on another popular BIPOC website that gives visibility to theatre creatives and there were only two Native American artists listed, one being myself. I have found, when trying to cast my own shows, that many in the industry don't know any Native actors or other Native creatives. I came to the conclusion that the answer to the questions "Is DEI making a difference for Natives in our industry?" is sadly, but loudly NO. I wanted to try to help make a difference by sharing my resources and connections. I decided to make a website, The goal is to have a visible, industry accessible list of all Native theatre creatives in and around NYC or those who aspire to work in Off Broadway/Broadway. This includes, but is not limited to, actors, writers, set designers, costume designers, musicians, directors, dancers, choreographers, music directors and more. Many of the creatives listed here have already been contacted by industry professionals for opportunities and auditions.
In Native culture, we are raised to be communal, to give back, to lift each other up, to think we before I. That is why this website exists. It is entirely self-funded. I earn nothing from it and charge nothing to the artists listed here. I am not a casting agent or talent agent. I am a Native creative who believes that visibility, advocacy, and community are how we create real change in this industry. We are stronger together than separate.
