Copyright © 2008
Gallup Independent
By Diné Bureau

WINDOW ROCK — The upcoming play “This House of My Pain” is scheduled to be performed at El Morro Theatre in Gallup on Friday.

“This has been a project of mine for several years and it’s great to know it is finally going to become a reality,” said Ernest David Tsosie III.

Tsosie has gained recognition across Indian Country for his roles in feature films, like “A Thief in Time” (2004), “Turquoise Rose” (2006), and “Mile Post 398” (2006). In November 2007, Tsosie won the Best Supporting Actor award at the 2008 American Indian Film Festival in San Francisco for his role as Ray Yazzie in “Mile Post 398.” Tsosie can also be seen in the upcoming Holt Hamilton feature film “The Blue Gap Boyz” (2009), which is currently in post production. While Tsosie has gained notoriety in Native films, his roots are in theatre work.

Tsosie has been a professional performer since 1996 and is a member of the Actors Equity Association, a union for professional theater actors. He studied acting at Pima College in Tucson, Ariz.

The play “This House of My Pain” is the second play Tsosie in which story will be performing in and has written.

The first play he both wrote and performed in was “Danny Boy and Bonnet,” which was performed on the Navajo Nation and Phoenix area in 2006.

Tsosie’s dramatic play “This House of My Pain” takes its audience through one man’s journey of loss and touches upon family legacies of domestic violence and alcoholism.

“It’s a story of loss, but it’s also a story of forgiveness,” Tsosie said.

Tsosie will be playing the main character, Thomas Freeman. The play will also include performances by Natasha Kaye Johnson and 11-year-old Christopher Samora of Twin Lakes.

“It’s great to work with Ernie again,” said Johnson, who worked alongside Tsosie in “Turquoise Rose” and in the short film “Rez Runner.”

“He has a positive energy about him and when we work together things just click. We have a couple of upcoming projects we’ve been brainstorming and I can’t wait to get started on those as well,” Johnson said.

“It’s cool I get to work with Ernie,” said Samora, who attends sixth grade at Tohatchi Middle School and is the youngest brother to Johnson. “I’m excited for my friends to see me on the stage.”

Tsosie hopes the play will allow people to appreciate theatre, an art form which is rarely performed on the Navajo Nation and in neighboring border towns.

“I really want to expose people to this art form and am hoping they eventually grow to love it just as I have,” said Tsosie. “This play is an opportunity to showcase our talents as actors and playwrights in a local venue.”

The Oct. 24 showing will begin at 7 p.m. at El Morro, 207 W. Coal, Gallup . Doors will open at 6 p.m. with no late entries. There will be an afternoon and evening performance on Sunday, October 26th at 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. The play will be approximately 45 minutes followed by a violence prevention presentation by Tsosie and Reggie Mitchell. Admission is $10 per seat.

A meet and greet session for the cast and crew of “This House of My Pain” is scheduled for Wednesday, Oct. 22 from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Navajo Arts and Crafts Enterprise in Window Rock. Refreshments will be served. 

The play will also be performed at 7 p.m. at the Monument Valley High School SAC Auditorium in Kayenta on Thursday, Oct. 30. Admission is $5. It is being sponsored by Tohdenasshai Shelter Home.

Meet and greet information: J.T. Willie,
(928) 871-4090.
Information:
(505) 409-3417.