NORMAN, Okla. – The Oklahoma Indigenous Theater Company will return to the world of live performance with a staged reading of “… As Needed for Pain,” a one-act play written by OITC co-founder Maya Torralba (Wichita, Kiowa and Comanche).
The performance takes place at 7 p.m., Tuesday, May 5 at the Jacobson House Native Art Center, 609 Chautauqua Ave. in Norman.
The May 5 date for the performance is also the National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Relatives (MMIWR). This date also commemorates the birthday of Northern Cheyenne tribal member Hanna Harris, who went missing on July 4, 2013, and is forever 21 years old. OITC selected this date for their performance to show unity with other Indigenous theater companies and university fine arts programs on this day of prayer and remembrance.
Torralba’s play holds a mirror to four generations of Kiowa women whose daily lives are battles for survival against assimilation, chemical dependency and domestic violence. Throughout the story, Grandma Spider – a voice from the Kiowa past and present – gives strength and hope to these women through her prayers and words of encouragement.
“This story is a message of hope for those families affected,” Torralba said. “My sister’s birthday coincides with this day, and her death is one of the many MMIWR cases. I want to honor her memory by sharing a part of her story and how our family is coping with her loss.”
The play features an all-female Indigenous cast and creative team that includes director Anevay Greenwood (Otis-Missouria). Greenwood is an actor, director and playwright based in Oklahoma City. In 2024, she graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theater Performance from the University of Central Oklahoma.
Greenwood is the current artistic director of the Oklahoma Indigenous Theatre Company. She is also a member of the Oklahoma Film Actors Studio. Since 2022, she has been an instructor for The Chickasaw Arts Academy for Theater Performance. In 2025, Greenwood had her play “Native in America” produced by Theatre Crude Fringe Festival.
“It’s a powerful story (“… As Needed for Pain”) that needs to be told,” Greenwood said. “I want to thank Maya for trusting me to direct this show.”
Snacks and refreshments will be available before the performance. A talk back will follow the performance, with a cedaring and prayer concluding the evening’s events.
Based on sensitive content, audience discretion is advised.
The event is free and open to the public. For more information, call the Oklahoma Indigenous Theatre Company at 405-423-6455.
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‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.cherokeephoenix.org ’
