Pueblo Revolt -at Sante Fe Playhouse by Dillon Chitto-A Reflection by Bo Shimmin

Pueblo Revolt Set- Created by Dillon Christopher Chitto, directed by Tara Moses

On opening night of Pueblo Revolt in the Santa Fe Playhouse, magic filled the air as Noe Field-Perkins stepped onto the stage as Feem Whim while audience members filed in. This strong directorial choice made by Tara Moses introduced us to Feem Whim as the young and pining-for-love caretaker of an adobe house in Taos Pueblo. Magnetic and strong, Feem Whim would serve as the heart of the piece and as they swept dust from the stage / floor, I was instantly transported back to my own childhood growing up on the Pueblo of Acoma in my adobe house, built by my great-great grandparents. With scenic design by Kimberly Powers and lighting design by Fabian Garcia, the audience was dropped into 1690’s New Mexico, with a touch of modernism as neon lights and magazine posters covered the walls. 

Lights went down and the introduction in Keres, the Native language of many of the Pueblos, came over the speaker. Hearing my Native tongue in this space was electrifying. In their opening monologue, Feem Whim spoke to an imaginary lover drawn on paper and taped to a chair stacked on the kitchen table. I was staring down the barrel of my childhood. Seeing a young, queer actor onstage brilliantly leading the show, I was reminded that this was the whole point. No matter where Dillon Chitto was taking us, the fact that this story was being told was already a win. By allowing us into this young person’s psyche, Dillon’s comedic writing shone. Bradley Lewis, of Acoma Pueblo played Ba’Homa, the protector of this home, and was a perfect counterpart to Feem Whim’s youth and naivety. Lewis was a strong and towering figure next to Feem Whim. Their relationship was both tender and intense. 

Steeped in history, we watched as the two brothers navigated plans to launch a Pueblo revolt that was already in the works. The plan: to battle the Spanish for control of Santa Fe. The infamous Acoma Revolt of 1599 was brought forward as an example, reminding the brothers of the Spanish brutality that was forced upon so many communities. As we navigate the brothers’ journey, we are reminded of the power of ancestors, familial bonds, and perseverance. To be in Santa Fe watching this powerful show unfold was a reminder of all that was forced upon us and all that continues to happen in our current time, with splashes of comedy and hope always ensuring that everything would be alright in the end. 

Dillon Chitto, author of Pueblo Revolt, was gracious enough to lend me some of his time so I could ask some questions about his work. Below is a summarized interview. 

B: Let’s go back to the beginning. How did you find yourself working in theatre? 

D: My mom is Laguna/Isleta and my dad is Mississippi Choctaw, and I was born and raised in Santa Fe. I actually found the theatre through the Pueblo Opera Program. The first opera I saw at age 5 was Carmen and I fell in love with it then. In high school, I did sound design. I never went to school for theatre, but actually went to Seminary for four years and then when I left, I went to the University of New Mexico for a year. During that year, I found myself in a senior playwriting seminar where I ended up writing my first play, Bingo Hall, that would be picked up by the Native Voices at the Autry Museum for their New Playwrights Festival. 

B: I would love to know more about the inspiration behind Pueblo Revolt. When did the idea come about and as it’s gone through different stages of development, how has it changed?

D: Growing up Pueblo and in Santa Fe, we had two years of New Mexico history and of those two years, the Pueblo revolt was only a paragraph… But we’ve known about it and were taught more growing up. Since I wasn’t learning it in school - I was a history buff back then and taught myself more about the subject and began writing comic books. And when I started writing plays, this idea was always in the back of my mind. Originally, I also had plans to turn it into a pilot for a miniseries. 

The first iteration was written for AlterLabs with Alter Theatre in San Rafael, California in 2023. During their program, my challenge to myself was to write a show for two people with a unit set, because my previous work, Bingo Hall was a huge ensemble cast with scene changes every two minutes. I write A to Z, just like front to back and I started with Feem’s monologue. He originally had a Keres name. 

B: Oh that’s neat! Tell me more about how we landed on Feem Whim and Ba’Homa. 

D: They are the Tewa versions of mine and my brother’s Indian names. Because when I was thinking of names, I wanted something that is related to me and my relationship with my brother, but something that also speaks to the characters. “Rain Cloud” for the very positive upbeat idealist one. And something a little more action-y for the older brother, Ba’Homa, or “The Water is Hitting.”

B: While watching the show in Santa Fe and listening to you speak more about the piece, would you consider this piece autobiographical in some sense? At the core of the story is this beautiful relationship between the brothers and the acceptance and love. There is so much of queer culture that runs through and makes up the Pueblos, yet is constantly contradicted and pushed away by Catholicism. What was it like writing this queer story?

D: The relationship between the two brothers mirrors me and my brother. My older brother is two spirit and I have an older aunt that is lesbian, and we’ve had gay people in our lives this whole time so it wasn’t a big deal. It’s so funny that I went to seminary, because we weren’t actually that religious, and the catholicism which we did have was not very strict. When I came out, I had to deal with all the religious trauma that came along with attending seminary, so the idea of Feem working at the church while also being queer…You know what… I’ve actually never thought about this before! The thought of Feem working at the church being a little gay boy trying to live his best life, while the church and the Spanish frame-of-thought after the Spanish leave, pushing against him - was very personal and present in my life. I think this is something we see a lot. It feels like a perfect storm, how this story weaved its way into the historical context of the Pueblo Revolt. 

B: What was it like working with Santa Fe Playhouse and with director Tara Moses? 

D: I was supposed to put up my first play, Bingo Hall, there in 2020 and that fell through. A few years later, Maura Studi reached out and helped lead a full reading of the play in 2024. Tara and I both felt loved and supported to help us bring this show. When it came time to choose a director, Tara was also in the Alter Lab when I first wrote it. During the readings, she would read and she was like the OG Feem Whim. She’s a great collaborator and I just knew we’d have a great working relationship. She had a strong vision for the play. I’m always so excited to see what other people bring. In my mind, Pueblo Revolt is funny with a little bit of a more intense undercurrent. And when Tara and I came back in 2025 to stage it, she said that the show carried a much darker tone because we are living under fascism just like the brothers were. 

B: Well you certainly did that! 

Highlights from this performance included Ba’Homa’s powerful act two vision monologue, about a dream he had where he was shown a future filled with his people thriving. During it, the audience is shown great hope and it was a really special moment. Can you tell me more about your writing process and how this monologue was born? 

D: When it did come time to write it, I had been going on this journey with these brothers and the whole Revolt scene happens with the going back and forth, and how it brings us into modern day talking about drones and missiles. There was this sunken feeling of dread. And when I started writing it, Russia had just invaded Ukraine. I was writing in response to that, and while everything else was going to hell, I think I wrote a lot of the monologue for myself. And for people that watch it, there is this hope that is so important. As Natives, we always say, “We’re still here,” but Ba’Homa says, “We’re always here.” So it’s not just looking at the present, but looking towards the future. Every year this show passes, the subject matter gets more and more relevant, but with the relevancy and the dread of fascism and totalitarianism, we still need to keep the hope and the joy…The resiliency of hope and joy that can come and manifest in the face of all these difficulties. 

B: Can you tell us more about having Feem Whim come out as a Friar at the end of the show? At this point in the show, it was really hard to see Feem in this light. 

D: Partially, it’s just so tragic that he’s forced to go into this role after having him open the show with this comedic monologue. And since I am a history nerd, there was a precedent to have this show end with a celibate friar that can only speak Spanish and can no longer go by his birth name, only four years later. One of my favorite things is to make audiences fall in love with a character, and then just devastate them.

B: What’s next!? 

D: Pueblo Revolt will be heading to Alaska next spring with the Perseverance Theatre. I am also working on a two part epic. It’s also a comedy with some sadness underneath. There are two other plays that are specifically comedies and I need something that’s just for me, after working on Pueblo Revolt for the last five years! 

B: Can you give us a few sentences about why someone should go see Pueblo Revolt.

D: I would start with a question: Have you seen a Native play recently? Go see Pueblo Revolt -  it’s sad, BUT also VERY funny!

I cannot thank Dillon enough for sharing his time with me for this interview. He is truly leading the way and changing how we view theatre as a genre. I left Pueblo Revolt with such a sense of nostalgia for my upbringing on the reservation. I also sat next to some brilliant artists who were brought together in Santa Fe for the annual First Nations Performing Arts Convening. Pueblo Revolt is not only a profound piece of theatre, but one that is so relevant to today and I hope that you will get a chance to see it. 

Special thanks to Danielle Jagelski for organizing for all of us to get to be able to see this historic piece of theatre! Da’waa’e (thank you!) 

Bo Shimmin (Pueblo of Acoma) is a dynamic and versatile tenor whose captivating performances have earned him recognition on both national and international stages. Bo brings a unique blend of passion and technical mastery to his craft, consistently delivering compelling interpretations of a diverse repertoire. A two-time Fulbright scholar to Italy, Bo is dedicated to fostering the next generation of artists through educational outreach and mentorship, reflecting his commitment to the arts community. His current season includes his mainstage debut with Opera Montana, the Wheels of Harmony tour featuring indigenous composers, and upcoming engagements with both the University of Arizona Opera Theatre and Arizona Opera.