Girl OF Fire

LaDonna BlueEye's first play, Girl of Fire will premier in Ireland during the month of June. This solo performance memoir illuminates a life born with imposed boundaries and inherited trauma finding a way beyond those historic constraints. The play is currently in rehearsal under the direction of Katie Beck, Artistic Director of Gum-Dip Theatre.

Touring Company for Girl of Fire, Ireland 2026

LaDonna BlueEye (Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma)

Kaylanah Strange Owl (Northern Cheyenne)

Katie Beck

Mary Beora O’Connor

Creative Team

Script/Original Material - LaDonna BlueEye

Director - Katie Beck

Scenic Design – Cast Iron Productions

Lighting and Sound Designer – Eugene Rogers

Costume, Dance, Music Consultant– Kaylanah Strange Owl

Projection Design – Eugene Rogers and Cory Sheldon

Graphic Design USA – Chuck Ayers

Graphic Design Ireland – Aisling Cunningham

The Girl of Fire Ireland Tour has been shaped around the the annual Doolough Famine Walk in Louisburgh, County Mayo on Saturday, June 13, 2026. Afri invited LaDonna BlueEye to be one of the leaders of this moving journey of solidarity, remembrance and action commemorating the Doolough Tragedy of 1849.

Hundreds of desperate starving people walked ten miles through hail and wind, only to be denied any assistance at the destination. Forced to return with no relief, estimates vary on the number of adults and children who perished on the way back to Louisburgh. The route is designated as one of the National Famine Roads.

This annual event highlighting one single moment of preventable tragedy within “An Gorta Mor” (The Great Hunger), incorporates parallel policies of historic starvation and modern-day injustice, calling for action to address human rights violations globally.

The Choctaw Nation was one of five tribes forced from their original homelands in the southeastern United States to Indian Territory, which is now Oklahoma. While still displaced, the Choctaw people heard about the starvation in Ireland. In 1847, the tribe held a meeting, collected donations from tribal members and sent the contribution to the people of Ireland. LaDonna joins a long list of esteemed leaders, including Archbishop Desmond Tutu, The Dalai Lama, the President of Ireland Catherine Connolly, and former Chief Hollis Roberts, Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma.

LaDonna BlueEye

Artist and activist LaDonna BlueEye (she/her) incorporates her lineage and lived experience to create work that crosses traditional boundaries. In the ways of the warrior, BlueEye served in the U.S. Army as a paratrooper with the 82nd Airborne Division at the end of the Cold War. She earned a PH.D in Public and Community Health. An enrolled member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, BlueEye now actively reclaims and reincorporates the language into her life and art. LaDonna holds a responsibility to ensure the language of her ancestors lives on for future generations.

Kaylanah Strange Owl

Bio Coming Soon!

Katie Beck

Katie is the Founding and current Co-Artistic Director of Akron, Ohio’s Gum-Dip Theatre. Since launching the company in 2016, Katie has produced or directed 115 performances, with an emphasis on the mission of highlighting underrepresented voices. Her work with new scripts and community based original works is a hallmark of her artistry. Some of her highlights as a playwright are DrunKatie, Obnoxiously Unconstitutional, Rebranding the City: A humanizing Tour of Akron, Into the Mold, and A Town for Us. Her unique contribution to the Akron cultural life have been recognized in many awards and grants, including an artistic residency with Akron Soul Train and three Knight Foundation Arts Challenge Awards.

Mary Beora O’Connor

For thirty years Mary maintained a solo architectural practice in New York City with a primary speciality focused on live performance venues. Peace Corps volunteer service shifted her towards a ‘practice of presence’, community-based design process, building on the principle that everyone deserves good design.

Her first book Free Rose Light – Stories around South Street was published by University of Akron Press. Her completed architectural projects can be found on every continent except Australia (project in the planning stage), South America and Antarctica. Mary is tremendously grateful for LaDonna’s trust in bringing Girl of Fire to the world.

AFRI

Bio Coming Soon!

Rubber City Theatre

Rubber City Theatre is a dynamic professional theater company based in Akron, Ohio, dedicated to reimagining the classics and elevating contemporary voices through a lens of accessibility and innovation. Since its founding, the company has distinguished itself by stripping away the "pomp and circumstance" often associated with high art, focusing instead on

the raw, transformative power of storytelling to connect a diverse community. By operating under a Small Professional Theatre (SPT) agreement with the Actors' Equity Association, they bridge the gap between local talent and professional standards, ensuring that the "Rubber City" remains a vibrant hub for high-quality, thought-provoking performance.

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