Ashlie Blaske and Steve Wood, both members of EBCI, rehearse for their upcoming production, “Where the Summit Meets the Stars,” at Harlequin Productions in Olympia, Wash. (Photo contributed)
By BROOKLYN BROWN
One Feather Reporter
OLYMPA, Wash. – Ashlie Blaske and Steve Wood are both members of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI) starring in a production of “Where the Summit Meets the Stars,” written by Tlingit actor Frank Henry Kaash Katasse, presented by Sky Bear Media and directed by Nez Perce actor Josephine Keefe, at Harlequin Productions in Olympia, Wash.
Blaske, playing the lead role of Rose, was born and raised in the Seattle area of Washington state. Keefe also played Rose in a previous production of the play.
Wood is playing Blaske’s partner, Anthony. Wood said the character is Tlingit and Italian, which hits home for Wood who is EBCI and Italian. Wood was born and raised in Phoenix, Ariz.
Steve Wood, a member of the EBCI from Tucson, Ariz., will star as Anthony in an upcoming production of “Where the Summit Meets the Stars.” (Photo contributed)
Ashlie Blaske, a member of the EBCI from Seattle, Wash., will star as Rose in an upcoming production of “Where the Summit Meets the Stars.” (Photo contributed)
“It’s a beautiful story about an Alaskan Native woman who has a plane crash in Alaska and wakes up and you have to figure out where she’s at. And then it’s her journey back to herself and back to her home. And the person she ends up being rescued by, you have to figure out who this person is, what their role is in her life. And then Steve plays her partner and there’s flashbacks to our relationship,” Blaske said.
Wood added, “It’s a really great dichotomy of present versus flashback and what we are leaving behind and what our life on earth really means to us because we take it for granted. That’s demonstrated so much through our scenes. It’s very real and easy to identify with.”
Wood worked with Keefe previously on a play called “Sovereignty,” by Cherokee Nation citizen Mary Kathryn Cagle, about the history of the Cherokee Nation from the Treaty of New Echota in 1835 to the present.
“I saw this production [Where the Summit Meets the Stars] as part of the season, and they were looking to cast an all Indigenous ensemble and creative crew up to the musicians and the designers and whatnot, so I just nosed my way in and said, ‘Hey, Josephine, this is really cool. Can you tell me about it?’ And she just said, ‘Well, here’s the script, read it and tell me what you think,’” Wood said.
“Right around the new year, I got some more information, and I submitted all my info, and then I came to Seattle for a weekend, just two days and met with Josephine. We talked about the script, and then the rest is history… though I’m not Tlingit, it’s very interesting and very wonderful to explore other tribes as well. There’s such a familiarity, even though we’re all different from different tribes. It’s this amazing familial feeling that I get. It’s hard to explain.”
Blaske shared her experience landing her role, “My story is similar, but a little different. I’ve been also acting originally in the Seattle area. Nothing professional by any means. I’ve been a producer as well. I have a day job. I work in IT. This is just something I do because I love it. It’s not my livelihood by any means. I saw this one pop up and it was looking for an Indigenous woman in her 30s. I’m like, ‘Great. Yes!’”
“In the new year, I got a reply back. I shared it with all of my friends in the community and all of my acting partners, and they all said, if you have a chance to work at this theater, you cannot say no. This is the best thing to do in this state. If they want to see you, you need to try. So, I said ‘okay,’ and went through a couple rounds of auditions, submitted some self-tapes, and then we had a read together at least once, and then it was a couple weeks after that, and here we are.”
Blaske and Wood had never met prior to their first read together. “When we logged into Zoom several weeks ago for Ashlie’s callback audition, I had already been cast, but they wanted us to read to see how we were doing. And then we each gave our tribal affiliations and both of us were like, ‘What?!’”
“The costume designer for ‘Sovereignty’ was EBCI as well, but aside from that, I’ve never met any other artistic or actor affiliated with the same tribe as I am, and that’s really cool,” Wood said.
“And we’re not even in the same state!” Blaske added, “So for both of us to be part of this project is really cool.”
Wood said he and Blaske have formed an easy connection. “It’s easy. It doesn’t feel forced. I feel like I have known [Ashlie] for some time, and I think our shared affiliation is a part of that,” Wood shared.
“There’s a sense of the pride there, even if we’re not telling a Cherokee story, the pride of being Indigenous, and sharing an Indigenous story. We’re making people very aware like, ‘Hey, we are viable. We are creative. We are important. We are relevant.’”
The production will run from May 1 to May 17. Buy tickets and get more information at: http://harlequinproductions.org/show/where-the-summit-meets-the-stars/.
