Indian Cowboy
Sometime around 2003, Jack Reuler, the Artistic Director of Mixed Blood Theatre, commissioned me to write a play. My original intention was to write a play about Sabu, the Hollywod child star of the 1930s. But I had a lot of trouble writing the script. I eventually realized that I was interested in Sabu’s story because he was an actor and an immigrant from India. Which was also my story. Once I made the shift to drawing upon my own experiences, the writing flowed effortlessly.
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Indian Cowboy
Indian Cowboy tells the adventures of a young man from India who comes to America looking to make a new life. Found as an infant by the side of the road by three Parsi brothers (Parsis are Zoroastrians who emigrated to India from Iran in the 10th century), his own heritage is uncertain. And though he travels around America and even back to India, no place really ever feels like home. This fictional tale, which traces the often humorous steps and missteps of one immigrant’s experience in America, is a universal story of an individual looking for a place in the world.
The video clip was recorded at Dreamland Arts in 2013 for archival purposes. This play is performed entirely by candlelight.
Indian Cowboy was commissioned by Jack Reuler and premiered at Mixed Blood Theater in 2006. It has been performed at Dreamland Arts, at Stages Repertory Theatre in Houston and at Asia Society in New York. The play has been published in Asian American Plays for a New Generation.
The original productions of Indian Cowboy at Mixed Blood Theater and at Asia Society were made possible by the generous support of The Jerome Foundation, the Oswald Family Foundation, and many individual donors. Thank you.
Indian Cowboy
Written and performed by Zaraawar Mistry
Created in collaboration with Kathleen Sullivan
Music composed and performed by Keith Lee