Chicago Children’s Theatre will premiere its next world premiere virtual film, The Relocation of Nokwsi, on National Indigenous People’s Day, Monday, October 11, 2021.
The film will drop at 10 a.m. CT on the company’s YouTube channel, CCTV: Virtual Theatre and Learning from Chicago Children’s Theatre, for free screening at home and in schools for the next year.
Screen captures from The Relocation of Nokwsi courtesy Chicago Children's Theatre.
Created, written and narrated by Robert Hicks Jr., The Relocation of Nokwsi is set during an often overlooked moment in Indigenous history in the 1950s and 60s, when the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) created a relocation program to coerce American Indians to move to urban areas and assimilate into mainstream society. “Urban Indians” faced discrimination and encountered difficulties securing jobs and housing. In spite of racist BIA policies, Native people were resourceful and found ways to thrive. Rising activism eventually put an end to the program in the 1970s.
Gather round and listen to the story of Nokwsi’s journey away from his people, the Cherokee, Paiute, Yakama, and Shoshone. No longer surrounded by nature, Nokwsi begins to navigate a world of noise and lights, where people are always in a rush. He confronts homesickness, air pollution and racism, but eventually finds joy in his new community and beauty through the concrete.
The Relocation of Nokwsi, for ages eight and up, is a poetic and powerful reminder of their resilience, with gentle day-to-day lessons on how to stay connected to ourselves. The title character is inspired by and conveys the author’s admiration for his grandfather, who left his home in 1956 to live and work in Chicago.
The Relocation of Nokwsi runs 10 minutes. It is created, written and narrated by Robert Hicks Jr. Tokeya Waci U created original illustrations. Original music and sound design is by Alex Kimball Williams. The production team includes Jeffrey Paschal, director of photography; Will Bishop, puppet director; Lonnae Hickman, puppet assistant; and Will Bishop and Jacqueline Russell, producers.
The Relocation of Nokwsi is the second digital production to emerge from Chicago Children’s Theatre’s Springboard Project, an initiative launched in 2020 to foster new works made especially for today’s young people. The first was Diamond’s Dream, a contemporary puppet film by Jerrell L. Henderson and Caitlin McLeod about a teen on the CTA Red Line train who confronts the ghost of a child victim of the 1918 Spanish flu, released in January 2021.
Coming next, in celebration of International Day of Persons with Disabilities, Friday, December 3, 2021 at 10 a.m., is This Ability by Daniel Carlton and Nambi E. Kelley. This Chicago-set adventure is fun and fast-paced, showcasing young live actors who are blind, deaf and have autism performing against beautiful animated backdrops on film.
In all, 15 theater artists - Greg Allen, Justin Ellington, Micah Figueroa, Isaac Gómez, GQ, Terry Guest, Ike Holter, Jerrell Henderson and Caitlin McLeod, Robert Hicks Jr., Nambi E. Kelley and Daniel Carlton, Sully Ratke, Lanise Antoine Shelley and Elizabeth Wong - were commissioned through CCT’s Springboard Project to conceive new ideas for original TYA plays. The project is made possible in part by a grant from The Ralla Klepak Trust for the Performing Arts.
The Relocation of Nokwsi: Creative Team Biographies
Robert Hicks Jr. (creator, writer, narrator) is a member of the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe of Nixon, Nevada. He is a musician, filmmaker, painter, and audio engineer. He has won multiple awards for his films at the AIHEC film festival and is looking to enter multiple film festivals around the world. The stories he likes to tell are based on real life and Native American lore. With his film studio, NOKWSI FILMS, he plans on creating a creative outlet for everyone interested in film. Hicks approaches every project with a community health aspect in mind, with an emphasis on suicide prevention. He believes small acts of kindness can heal a person and in the process heal the community. He is currently enrolled at the University of Kansas in the Indigenous Studies Masters program and the Applied Behavioral Science Behavioral Psychology PhD program. Nokwsiart.com
Tokeya Waci U (translation: Comes Dancing First) (illustrator) is a member of the Oglala Lakota and Haliwa-Saponi tribes. He has had the opportunity to travel all over this Indigenous land ever since he was a baby. His hometown in the Pine Ridge reservation in South Dakota and Hollister, NC are particularly meaningful to him, and he introduces these communities within his art. In 2017, he began his journey as a Ledger Artist, portraying life's experiences to strengthen and empower Indigenous people. He has had the pleasure of having himself and his artworks featured in museums along the East Coast and in Albuquerque, and the new upcoming TV show FBI's Most Wanted. He served as the 2019 featured merchandise artist for the Santa Fe Indian Art Market, his artwork adorning their t-shirts, coffee, mugs, tote bags, and gift cards. Tokeya is now affiliated with Teton Trade Cloth as part of the Cultural Advisory Team and has also done a few artsy items for their shop. He graduated from Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence, KS with a Liberal Arts Degree focusing on fine art. He also studied Psychology and Theatre at Fort Lewis College in Durango, CO.
Alex Kimball Williams (original music and sound design), the artivist (artist + activist) behind Bad Alaskan, constructs electronic music with Indigenous dance and meditative elements. Their music contains jazz, neo soul, classical, and ambient influences consolidated to model and examine multiraciality, educating Natives and non-Natives alike. Williams has written scores for short films and podcasts, conducted community music workshops, and regularly provides their services for protests, vigils, classrooms and other spaces bringing people together with purpose.
About Chicago Children’s Theatre
“The Chicago theater scene is legendarily vibrant, so naturally a number of companies tailor productions to younger audiences. The cream of the crop is Chicago Children’s Theatre.” – Chicago Tribune
Chicago Children's Theatre, 100 S. Racine Ave. in Chicago's West Loop, plans to return to live performances in November, 2021.
Chicago Children’s Theatre was founded in 2005 with a big idea: Chicago is the greatest theater city in the world, and it deserves a great children’s theater. Today, Chicago Children’s Theatre is the city’s largest professional theater company devoted exclusively to children and young families. CCT has established a national reputation for the production of first-rate children’s theater with professional writing, performing, and directorial talent and high-quality design and production expertise.
In January 2017, the company celebrated the opening of its new, permanent home, Chicago Children’s Theatre, The Station, located at 100 S. Racine Avenue in Chicago’s West Loop community. The building, formerly the Chicago Police Station for the 12th District, was repurposed into a beautiful, LEED Gold-certified, mixed-use performing arts, education and community engagement facility that now welcomes all Chicago families.
CCT provides tens of thousands of free and reduced-price tickets to under-resourced schools each season in partnership with Chicago Public Schools. CCT also continues to grow its performing arts and STEAM education programs, offering classes, workshops, winter and spring break camps, and summer camps for ages 0 to 14.
In 2019, Chicago Children’s Theatre won the National TYA Artistic Innovation Award from Theatre for Young Audiences/USA. In addition, Chicago Children’s Theatre has garnered six NEA Art Works grants, and in 2017, became the first theater for young audiences in the U.S. to win a National Theatre Award from the American Theatre Wing, creators of the Tony Awards.
Chicago Children’s Theatre’s 2021-22 Season of Resilience is supported by Goldman Sachs, Paul M. Angell Family Foundation, The Ralla Klepak Foundation for Education in the Performing Arts, The Shubert Foundation, Polk Bros Foundation, The MacArthur Fund for Culture, Equity and the Arts at Prince, Bayless Family Foundation, The Crown Family, Rea Charitable Trust, ComEd, US Bank, City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE), Illinois Arts Council, Illinois Humanities Council, National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), The Susan M. Venturi Fund in memory of James and Roslyn Marks to Support Theatre Education Accession, and Erin and Jason, Ben, Bici and David Pritzker.
Chicago Children’s Theatre is led by Co-Founders, Artistic Director Jacqueline Russell and Board Chair Todd Leland, with Board President Armando Chacon.