Community News- Press Release
Native Performing Arts Network announces cast for next production
Epic adaptation closes out Bag&Baggage season
Photo credit: Kirsten Lara Getchell
HILLSBORO, ORE (March 16, 2026) – Native Performing Arts Network announces the cast for its next production, the Pacific Northwest premiere of Antíkoni by Beth Piatote. The final show of Bag&Baggage’s 2025/2026 season, this co-production is a bold and urgent reimagining of Sophocles’ Antigone, framed through a Native American perspective.
Set within a museum filled with Indigenous belongings in a near-future world where Nationalists have seized power, a Nez Perce family is caught between the demands of modern survival and the sacred traditions they are determined to uphold. At the heart of the conflict is Kreon, a Native museum curator who complies with the new regime to protect his position, and his niece Antíkoni, who refuses to let go of her people’s truth—risking everything to honor what is sacred. This co-production between Native Performing Arts Network and Bag&Baggage is an investigation of resistance, ethical duty, and the enduring struggle to protect history, identity, and sovereignty.
“I’m thrilled that Native Performing Arts Network and Bag&Baggage are banding together to tell a story this epic and this timely,” says Jeanette Harrison, NPAN Creative Director, who will direct the 9-actor play.
Starring in the title role is Cassie Funmaker, a Ho-Chunk Nation citizen who appeared in NPAN’s first production, Diné Nishłį (i am a sacred being) Or, A Boarding School Play. Also joining the cast are Bag&Baggage resident artists Taya Dixon, who will play Antíkoni’s sister Ismene and Carlos-Zenen Trujillo, both of whom received their BFAs in performance from Southern Oregon University. Dixon and Trujillo collaborated in the first show of Bag&Baggage’s season, Glass Menagerie. Edward Lyons, Jr., whose Portland credits include Milagro Theatre, rounds out the immediate family as Kreon. Joining as the chorus of Aunties are Star Lawson, Howell Shepherd, and Aurora Hernandez. Fresh from his role as Connor in Broadway Rose’s Dear Evan Hansen, Cuin Moore rounds out the cast with Nathan Woodworth, a Karuk language speaker and storyteller whose theater credits include work from London to Los Angeles. Woodworth will play Antíkoni’s love interest.
“I love what Beth has done by using a Greek play and transforming it through a Native lens,” said Taya Dixon (Confederated Tribes of Siletz). “I’m excited to explore a character I technically already know, but in a completely new context. Ismene is a concerned sister, trying to understand her sister’s perspective while also trying to make sure she stays safe. I’m excited to explore the world of this family, and how they navigate a conflict that has no easy solution.”
In crafting her story, playwright Beth Piatote chose to adapt an ancient Greek text. “Sophocles’ Antigone is a brilliant work that centers on a young woman standing up to the unchecked authoritarian power wielded by her uncle,” Piatote said, “putting forward the questions of state power and its destructive nature, as well as articulating moral resistance and naming misogyny. While retaining many of the central questions of the original, my adaptation shifts the context and replaces the Greek chorus with a chorus of Aunties who tell traditional Nez Perce stories. The heart of the play is in these stories, showing how power distorts our values while offering ways to overcome it.”
In addition to the tribal nations already named, Native representation in the artistic team includes Tlingit, Navajo, Onondaga, and Native Hawaiian artists.
“I am also most excited to collaborate with so many wonderful Indigenous artists,” Dixon said. “It truly fills my heart to get to know more Native creatives through this process.”
Joining the design team is Kellen Trenal, proudly representing both African (Black American) and niimíipuu (Nez Perce) ancestry. Trenal is a recipient of Native Arts and Cultures Foundation’s LIFT Award. Trenal will design properties as well as costumes. Musician Ed Littlefield, Tlingit from Sitka, Alaska, will design sound.
The production begins preview performances on June 4th at Bag&Baggage’s The Vault Theater & Event Space in downtown Hillsboro, and runs through June 21st. Opening Night is Saturday, June 6th. Performances run Thursday through Saturday at 7:30 pm, and Sundays at 2 pm.
On Sunday, June 14th, NPAN and B&B partner with FLIP Museum to offer “Family Afternoon Out”, with Indigenous-themed activities for children aged 4-10 years old. “We’ve partnered with local Native educators to develop programming that combines Native cultures with STEAM learning for kids up to age 10,” said FLIP Museum executive director Jack Graham. “Kids will learn about first foods and how seasonality impacted the way of life for the peoples who lived on the land where our children’s museum is now located.”
About Native Performing Arts Network
Native Performing Arts Network seeks to increase the visibility of Native stories and people by supporting Native artists with community, career and personal growth opportunities, and by connecting theaters with Native creative leaders. NPAN’s approach is rooted in sovereignty, community collaboration, and the belief that Native stories must be nurtured first in Native spaces before reaching broader audiences. To reach those broader audiences, NPAN collaboratively produces work by Native playwrights in theater venues and beyond. The organization’s first production, the world premiere of Blossom Johnson’s Diné Nishłį (i am a sacred being) Or, A Boarding School Play, became one of the top‑selling shows in co‑producer Bag&Baggage’s season. The production also sold out performances at Portland State University’s Native American Student and Community Center (NASCC), and played at the Native American Youth and Family Center (NAYA). NPAN is based in Hillsboro, one of Oregon’s most diverse cities. nativeperformingarts.org
About Bag&Baggage Productions
Bag&Baggage Productions (B&B) is a social impact theatre company that employs artistic expression to elicit cultural connections and to unify the community through meaningful engagement and transformative learning opportunities. Up next at B&B is the Hillsboro Film Festival.
What: Antíkoni by Beth Piatote
Beth Piatote’s Antíkoni is a bold and urgent reimagining of Sophocles’ Antigone, framed through a Native American perspective and set within a museum filled with Indigenous belongings. In a near-future world where Nationalists have seized power, a Nez Perce family is caught between the demands of modern survival and the sacred traditions they are determined to uphold. At the heart of the conflict is Kreon, a Native museum curator who complies with the new regime to protect his position, and Antíkoni, who refuses to let go of her people’s truth—risking everything to honor what is sacred. This co-production between Native Performing Arts Network and Bag&Baggage Productions is an investigation of resistance, ethical duty, and the enduring struggle to protect history, identity, and sovereignty. Recommended for Ages 11+
Who:
Written by Beth Piatote
Directed by Jeanette Harrison
Starring: Taya Dixon, Cassie Funmaker, Aurora Hernandez, Star Lawson, Edward Lyons, Jr., Cuin Moore, Howell Shepherd, Carlos-Zenen Trujillo, Nathan Woodworth
Costume & Properties Design: Kellen Trenal
Set Design: Tyler Buswell
Lighting & Projections Design: Violet Costales
Sound Design: Ed Littlefield
When & Where:
6/4 – 6/21: The Vault Theater at Bag&Baggage Productions, 350 E Main Street, Hillsboro, OR
Thursdays-Saturdays at 7:30 pm, Sundays at 2 pm
Ticketing Link:
https://bagnbaggage.app.getcuebox.com/o/SJ0K0BCF/shows/FKC7M3PG
B&B Box Office: (503) 345-9590×1 OR boxoffice@bagnbaggage.org
General Ticketing Link: https://bagnbaggage.app.getcuebox.com/o/SJ0K0BCF/shows or https://tinyurl.com/DNatBnB
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