Indian Princesses

By Eliana Theologides Rodriguez
Directed by Miranda Cornell
at the Linda Gross Theater
May – June, 2026

In the summer of 2008, five young girls of color and their white fathers attend a program designed to bond families through handmade activities, camp-like adventures, and heavy dose of cultural appropriation. But where can these girls turn when the program sparks questions that their fathers are unable – or unwilling – to answer? Inspired by the playwright's experiences in a father-daughter program of the same name, Indian Princesses is a tender satire that explores the stories we tell, the histories we omit, and the truths that live inside us, waiting to come out.

Indian Princesses was developed in part through the Terrence McNally New Works Incubator in partnership with The Terrence McNally Foundation.

A Note from the Playwright

You may have heard of the Indian Princesses or Indian Guides program, which still exists today throughout the US as a father-child bonding program. Though the mission of the program is wholesome––helping fathers and children bond through earthy adventures, hand-made ceremony, and intentional community-building––its reality is a complete bastardization of Native American culture, appropriating sacred practices and garb for the fleeting enjoyment of majority white families. The phrase “Indian Princess” itself embodies this dissonance: a constructed fantasy by white settlers, she is an imaginary sidekick invented to retell the brutalities of American history as a G-rated narrative, appropriate for audiences of all ages. 

It wasn’t until I reflected on the program as an adult that I realized the irony of my participation in it. My mom’s side of the family is of Yaqui and Tewa descent, but her relatives were forced into assimilation school, which forever severed them and future family members from Native community and culture, and which is why today, I do not self-identify as Native. The never-ending American colonization project robbed my family of our heritage, then aestheticized, repackaged, and sold that heritage back to us generations later as a family-friendly after-school activity.

I do not possess any remnants of the sacred dress or artifacts of my ancestors, but I do have a faux-suede vest with the YMCA logo and some plastic-beaded dreamcatchers. I do not know a word of my ancestors’ languages, but I remember every word of our 2008 tribal chant. In other words, I cannot call myself Native, but I can call myself a YMCA-certified Indian Princess.

Eliana Theologides Rodriguez

ELIANA THEOLOGIDES RODRIGUEZ (Playwright) is a writer and dancer whose plays include Indian Princesses (La Jolla Playhouse, 2024 Terrence McNally Fellowship, 2023/2024 Playwrights Realm Writing Fellowship), Marble Rooftop, Emma has Church (2024 DNA Workshop at La Jolla, 2024 O’Neill NPC Finalist, 2020 John Golden Award for Excellence in Playwriting), Poor Queenie (2021 Playwrights Realm Writing Fellowship Finalist, 2021 Goldberg Play Prize Finalist, 2020 Kennedy Center MFA Playwrights Workshop), and Juniperfect (2021 commission with Adventure Theatre MTC). She is currently under commission at South Coast Repertory and is a proud member of EST Youngblood and the Clubbed Thumb Early Career Writers Group (24/25). An upcoming production of Poor Queenie is scheduled for 2025 at Subtext Studio in Chicago. BFA: NYU Tisch, Dramatic Writing.

MIRANDA CORNELL (Director) is a Jewpanese director with a passion for the dialectic, the sincere, and the strange. Recent directing credits: the world premiere of Indian Princesses (La Jolla Playhouse) and The Heart Sellers (Stages Houston). She has developed work with Roundabout Theatre Company, NYTW, Clubbed Thumb, Playwrights Realm, Ma-Yi, The New Group, the Asian American Arts Alliance, Round House, and Cleveland Playhouse among others. Associate/resident credits include The Outsiders, The Doctor, Dear Evan Hansen. Formerly: Van Lier Fellow in Theater at A4, Roundabout Directors Group, 2050 Artistic Fellow at NYTW, and a Clubbed Thumb New Play Directing Fellow. BA: Vassar College.

ATLANTIC THEATER COMPANY (Neil Pepe, Artistic Director; Jeffory Lawson, Managing Director). At Atlantic, our aim is singular—to empower simple and honest storytelling that fosters greater understanding of our shared world. We are a family of artists dedicated to exploring essential truths onstage, be it a show at Atlantic Theater Company or a class at Atlantic Acting School. As a producer, presenter, and educator of theater, we are driven by the belief that theater can challenge and transform our ways of thinking and urge us to reflect on our role in society. From our Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize-winning productions to our community-based education programs, we are committed to uncovering and celebrating the stories of our varied human existence. Founded as an ensemble of impassioned artists in 1985, Atlantic Theater Company has grown into a powerhouse Off-Broadway company. We challenge, inspire, and awaken audiences with truthful storytelling presented across our two venues, the Linda Gross Theater and the intimate Stage 2 black-box. As a producer of compelling new works, we are committed to championing the stories from new and established artists alike, amplifying the voices of emerging playwrights through our deeply collaborative programs and initiatives. We have produced more than 200 plays and musicals including Tony Award-winning productions of Buena Vista Social Club (Marco Ramirez), Kimberly Akimbo (David Lindsay-Abaire, Jeanine Tesori), The Band’s Visit (David Yazbek, Itamar Moses), Spring Awakening (Steven Sater, Duncan Sheik), and The Beauty Queen of Leenane (Martin McDonagh); Pulitzer Prize recipients Between Riverside and Crazy (Stephen Adly Guirgis) and English (Sanaz Toossi); New York Drama Critics’ Circle winners for Best New Play The Night Alive (Conor McPherson) and Best Foreign Play Hangmen (Martin McDonagh); Obie Award winners for Best New American Play Guards at the Taj and Describe the Night (Rajiv Joseph); and Obie Award Special Citation recipient Skeleton Crew (Dominique Morisseau).

ATLANTIC THEATER COMPANY’S LINDA GROSS THEATER is located at 336 West 20th Street (between 8th and 9th Avenues). 

THE TERRENCE McNALLY FOUNDATION (Santino DeAngelo, Executive Director) is a New York-based, 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to uplifting bold new voices in the American theatre and championing LGBTQ+ causes, as Terrence McNally did throughout his life. Funded by royalties from McNally’s work and guided by his enduring legacy, the Foundation offers a range of dynamic programs that empower early-career playwrights: the Terrence McNally New Works Incubator at Rattlestick Theater provides a paid residency with mentorship from celebrated playwrights and culminates in a developmental workshop and industry presentation; Philadelphia Theatre Company’s Terrence McNally Award supports a Philadelphia-based playwright with a cash prize, dramaturgical support, and a public reading; the Terrence McNally Recovery Commission grants dual commissions to an early-career playwright and a veteran artist in recovery to create new work and foster creative mentorship; and the Terrence McNally Residency at the Hermitage Artist Retreat offers an immersive, week-long creative experience on the Gulf Coast to a promising early-career playwright. Through these initiatives, the Foundation honors McNally’s lifelong devotion to artistic risk-taking, community building, and helping the next generation of theatre-makers thrive.