My Antonia

My Antonia is the poetic drama of a spirited Eastern European immigrant girl on the Nebraska plains in the late 1800s. Told through a series of flashbacks by Antonia’s childhood friend, Jim Burden, the play encompasses years of experiences, revealing a soulful portrait of a simple yet heroic woman and the trials and triumphs of the American immigrant.

This production uses a minimal set to employ the audiences’ imagination, and enlists 14 actors to play 21 specific roles as well as numerous townspeople, spoken memories, farmhands, etc. In addition, it will be choreographed by Stas Kmiec, an expert in Eastern European folk dances

Willa Cather, although born December 7, 1873, in Back Creek, Virginia and buried in Jaffrey, New Hampshire, is best remembered for her immortalization of the Nebraska plains where she moved with her family in 1883 and spent her childhood in Red Cloud, a town of 2,500. In 1890, immigrants made up approximately 40% of the population of Nebraska, and Cather herself was immersed in the immigrant culture. "Annie" Sadilek Pavelka, a hired girl that worked for her neighbors, later became the inspiration for Antonia in her novel, My Antonia.