Photo by Jati Lindsay
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Our writing partnership challenges the American mythmaking of musical theater. Ronee Penoi is a Laguna Pueblo and Cherokee composer/lyricist (her father was enrolled with both tribes). Annalisa Dias is a first generation Goan-American book writer/lyricist. Our creative work together reflects ten years of personal and professional collaboration in various contexts (The Welders Playwriting Collective, TCG’s Rising Leaders of Color program, Groundwater Arts, and more).
Our work is emergent and fractal, occurring in localized sprints in varied geographies, all with musical project development as the catalyst. We are grateful to have visited Carlisle, Pennsylvania three times between 2021 and 2023, supported by Dickinson College’s Center for the Futures of Native Peoples and its Theater Department. Our work together has also been supported by Berkeley Repertory Theater, Baltimore Center Stage, Pittsburgh Public Theater, the Sundance Interdisciplinary Program, Dartmouth College, The Tank, the Kennedy Center’s REACH Residency, and the Network of Ensemble Theaters. |
About the projects
#RESIST: THE MUSICAL#RESIST: THE MUSICAL is a comedic satire that reveals the ways the inherent narcissism of the #resistance may actually be a manifestation of the same kind of individualist showmanship that gave rise to the era of Trump. In #RESIST, residents of the Big City are excited to vote for their first female president. When things don't go as they expected, Big City residents turn to social media to unleash their rage and to hashtag-resist. Except, this doesn't go quite as they planned either. In the age of the #resistance, our new musical skewers white feminist ideology, performative wokeness, and the liberal fantasy of a post-racial America. Songs include, "How Did This Happen?" “Let’s Hashtag Resist,” "A March Will Solve Our Problems," and "Take a Back Seat, Becky." |
THE CARLISLE PROJECTTHE CARLISLE PROJECT unravels the complicated legacy and trauma of Indian boarding schools in an expressive song cycle. The project uses song, satire and ceremony to tell the harrowing history of Carlisle Indian School and the brutal assimilation enforced under its motto “Kill the Indian, Save the Man.” In this musical song cycle, indigenous women separated by time, place, and experience grapple with the generational trauma and erasure that Carlisle caused, and explore what it means to be Native American now. Songs include, "Don't Let Me Be Lonely," "You Were There," "Bring Them Home," and "Man on the Bandstand." |
Demos & Recordings
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More coming soon!
Gallery
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Flora MusicalsAnnalisa & Ronee's work has been showcased at Dartmouth College, The Tank, NYC, Baltimore Center Stage, and Pittsburgh Public Theater.
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Special Thanks
Ronee and Annalisa's work has been supported with developmental funding and opportunities by Berkeley Repertory Theater, Baltimore Center Stage, Pittsburgh Public Theater, Dickinson College, The Tank: Tank-aret, the Network of Ensemble Theatres NET/TEN program, Dartmouth College, the Kennedy Center's Page to Stage Residency program, and numerous individuals who personally donated through Indiegogo.
