An all-Native cast and crew of Haskell students will channel their triumphs, hurts and humor from their lives at university into the first off-book play the school has seen in years.

The play will “rip your heart out and throw it on the ground and stomp on it and then put it back in and make you laugh really hard,” said Kurt Freeman, Muscogee Creek.

Freeman is a freshman at Haskell Indian Nations University in the Thunderbird Theatre club. They’re a jack of all trades on the auditorium stage, using their know-how as an audio engineer, keyboardist, singer and actor to bring “Wounspe Wanktya—A College Education” to life.

Curtains will open at 7 p.m. Friday, April 17 in the Haskell Auditorium, 2425 Choctaw Ave. Run time is about one hour, and the play will be followed by a Q&A with the playwright, Alexandra Hesbrook Ramier, Lakota.

In “Wounspe Wanktya,” two Lakota cousins, Tashina and Tiffany, embark on freshman year of college at an unnamed Division I school. They “decide to sew a sacred dress to help them get through their four years of school as they experience the good, the bad, the funny and the spiritual,” per the play synopsis.

Assistant Director Jade Warrington, who was raised Yuchi and is enrolled Menominee, said Tiffany grapples with addiction and Tashina has suicidal ideations.

“I feel like as a Native student, two of the most prominent issues as a college student (are) the depression and then the addiction, which is something that we especially see here at Haskell, unfortunately,” Warrington said.

But cast and crew would argue the play isn’t desolate. It’s honest, relatable and laugh-inducing when Freeman’s character whips out a “Netflix and chill” pickup line. 

Allison Levering, Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska, hopes her peers in the audience realize “that you’re not alone, and mental health matters, and getting help for addictions matters.”

Levering plays Tiffany and sees some of her own character arc at Haskell reflected in the character’s story.

Levering is the anchorperson for the local, student-led Native news platform “Good Morning Indian County.” Her dream is to represent her people in the media and to “be a voice of resilience.”

“That’s what we’re trying to do, is to show how it is for Native people on the reservation and off the reservation, and making that change from a small community to a big college community where we might be overlooked or seem that we’re fitting the stereotypes for Native people,” she said.

For Warrington, an all-Native cast makes all the difference. In high school theater, she often played the singular Native role. Thunderbird gives Haskell actors an “opportunity for individualism,” she said.

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“When they’re able to see themselves in their characters — rather than just relating with a character based off of being Native, but actually resonating and being like, I’ve experienced this, I’ve lived this — that is a different kind of passion that we can tap into,” she said.

Levering draws on the history she has performing with her scene partners on other stages. She’s been dancing in the same jingle dress categories at powwows with Myrna Red Leaf, Tulalip Tribes, who plays Tashina, for the last three years. 

“It’s really heartwarming to see how community can come together, and … to see the arts being expressed by Native people in our home theater,” Levering said. “I think that’s really important that we’re filling this space with art that represents us in a good way.”

The play also brings back “the whimsy” of Thunderbird, Warrington said.

Thunderbird Theatre operated from 1975 until shortly before COVID-19. They revived in spring 2025 for a staged reading of “Shawnee Living History,” and this play marks the revitalization of the storied performing arts club.

“So many generations have been through these doors, and so many Thunderbird Theater club members have been here and used the stage,” Levering said. “And to see it alive again with people, and to have it filled with music and a play with such a theme that honors our ways, is really monumental here at Haskell.”

Playgoers will be bathed in the strains of Pink Floyd, John Lennon and Yoko Ono piped over the loudspeakers, performed live.

The Haskell Band rehearsed the classic stings behind the stage during a tech rehearsal Sunday. They left the auditorium doors open so passersby could groove to the impromptu concert.

The Haskell Chorus and student hand drummers will also perform. 

Warrington is anticipating a scene toward the end of the show: Tashina has just argued with Tiffany and she stares at a pill bottle, contemplating suicide. Then, the show’s set manager will enter the stage as Tashina’s ancestor. The ancestor and drum group will encircle Tashina, lift her up and sing a round dance song.

“And the round dance song we revised to have words that actually fit the theme of the play, and it’s just such a powerful ‘aha’ moment, like almost a song of joy and relief,” Warrington said.

Wulfe Wulfemeyer (they/them), reporter and news editor, has worked with The Lawrence Times since May 2025. They can be reached at wulfe@lawrencekstimes.com.

Read their complete bio here. Read their work for the Times here.

Jacob Rice (he/him), photo editor, has worked with The Lawrence Times since March 2026. He can be reached at jrice@lawrencekstimes.com.

Read his complete bio here. Check out his photography for the Times here.

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