Ty Defoe

Ty Defoe (Giizhig) (he/we) is an Indigiqueer citizen of Oneida and Anishinaabe Nations. As a Grammy Award®-winning interdisciplinary artist, Ty uses theater as a tool to weave messages of liberation, healing, and cultural shifting. Credits include directing TUTS’s production of Rent, choreographing 1491s Between Two Knees, and performing on Broadway in Young Jean Lee’s Straight White Men. Some recent writing works include For the People (co-written by Larissa FastHorse), and, Ajijaak on Turtle Island. Select residencies/fellowships/awards: The Kennedy Center’s Next 50, Helen Merrill Playwrighting Award, Robert Rauschenberg Artist in Residence, MacDowell, Jonathan Larson, TransLab, and Sundance fellow. Ty’s work has been presented at: Guthrie Theater, The Public Theater, OSF, Yale Rep, The Park Avenue Armory, and Syracuse Stage. Ty is a member of All My Relations Collective and DG, AEA, ASCAP, SDC. Co-founder of Indigenous Direction and professor of practice at ASU Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies. www.allmyrelations.earth/present & www.tydefoe.com

Photo courtesy of Ty Defoe.