HILLSBORO, ORE.: Native Performing Arts Network (NPAN, formerly Native Theater Project) has organized a National Day of Theater Readings for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Relatives. These readings of plays by Native American writers will raise awareness of the crisis of violence and invisibility of contemporary Indigenous people in the Americas, particularly women, on May 5, 2026. Theatres of all sizes, universities, and other organizations across the country are invited to participate in this national day of action and shine a spotlight on the work of Native theatre artists, activists, and groups like the National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center.
“This is not just a crisis of violence, but a crisis of invisibility,” said NPAN creative director Jeanette Harrison in a statement, citing the Urban Indian Health Institute’s statistic that 95 percent of Native women who go missing in the U.S. do not make the national news. “Theatres—especially if we all come together—can make a significant impact on visibility.” NPAN has invited theatres to contact ntp@bagnbaggage.org to become involved.
Harrison also curated a list of recommended plays about MMIWR for New Play Exchange, which address various aspects of the MMIWR crisis. “One of the plays focuses on a family searching for a missing loved one, another is about the people left behind, another is about law enforcement. What I love most about these plays is how much heart they all have,” Harrison said in a statement.
In Washington, D.C., four companies are participating: Mosaic Theater Company, Arena Stage, Theater Alliance, and Woolly Mammoth. All stated commitments to honoring the lives of Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women and amplifying stories of resilience by Indigenous voices in theatre.
For Mosaic, the effort is an “inspiring artistic event and important cause,” Mosaic Theater artistic director Reginald L. Douglas in a statement, who added that he hopes NPAN’s invitation “will be a call to action for our local D.C.-area community, including our neighbors working in government. These are American stories from American artists.”
“To name what has been lost is an act of courage. To tell these stories is an act of love,” said Arena Stage artistic director Hana S. Sharif in a statement. For Arena, participating in this day of action “continues a long-held belief that the American theatre must reflect the full spectrum of stories that shape our nation. We are grateful to stand in community with Native artists, to listen, to learn from their histories, and to share their visions for a more just world.”
“At Theater Alliance, we’re committed to telling stories that confront injustice and deepen our collective understanding of one another,” said Theater Alliance executive artistic director Shanara Gabrielle in a statement. Participating, for them, is “an act of solidarity and accountability,” and moving “beyond acknowledgement into authentic engagement.”
In Boston, new play company Boston Playwrights Theatre has invited Indigenous playwrights Isabella and Sophia Madrigal to contribute a new 10-minute play to its annual Boston Theater Marathon XXVIII of 50 new plays on May 3, 2026. Artistic director Megan Sanberg-Zakian called the day of action a “critical opportunity for our theatre community to turn our collective attention to the stories of those who have received too little stage time—literally and figuratively.”
In Oregon, NPAN, social justice and arts service organization Advance Gender Equity in the Arts (AGE), and Hillsboro’s professional theatre company Bag&Baggage Productions will workshop AGE Legacy Playwright award winner DeLanna Studi’s I Is for Invisible, which was recently announced as a finalist for the 2026 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, marking the first time in its 48-year history that a Native writer has been selected.
“DeLanna has the superpower of writing about incredibly difficult subject matter with both empathy and humor,” said AGE artistic director Andréa Morales in a statement. She called Studi’s play “relatable to the lived experience of Native people, and accessible to the general public. This play will make you laugh, make you cry, but most importantly, make you think. It inspired me to look closely at the ramifications of MMIWR and to raise consciousness in my own community and beyond.”
Additional participating theatres include Perelman Performing Arts Center (New York City); the Eagle Project, the only Lenape-led, Native American-based performing arts company on the traditional lands of Lenapehoking (New York City), Colorado College (Colorado Springs, Colo.), Tiger Bear Productions (Palm Springs, Calif.), Theatre of NOTE (Los Angeles), and the Guthrie Theater (Minneapolis).
