Brianne Taylor’s Keeper of the Plains bucks the prairie’s historic ‘sea of red’ at KC Fringe

Prepping for the new production. // Photo Courtesy of Brianne Taylor

Growing up in rural America where women’s voices are too often quieted—especially in traditionally masculine spaces—Brianne Taylor has forged a career centered on amplifying those femme voices.

At the KC Fringe Festival, Taylor will perform Keeper of the Plains, a solo show depicting the life span of a woman in her various roles in life as a daughter, sister, lover, mother, but primarily as a caretaker.

“I think it’s a very conservative mindset of finding our roles, finding our identity within those roles, and then sticking to those lanes,” Taylor says. “And so, by bringing these stories forward, I see myself rebelling or bucking in that way.”

Through her performance, Taylor will question the masculine, conservative dominance of the region—what she calls a “sea of red”—while the progression of the show reveals the carefully crafted matriarchy, or the “Keeper”.

A Kansas native raised on an Angus cattle farm outside of El Dorado, Taylor has traced a unique and resonantly artistic path that has led her from the open plains of the Midwest to the stages of Los Angeles, and now back home, where she continues her work as an artist, educator, and storyteller.

Photo Courtesy of Brianne Taylor

Returning to Kansas has added a layer of complexity to Taylor’s work. As a self-described liberal voice in a conservative landscape, she sees her art as an act of subtle defiance against the place that raised her.

“A lot of this is about this mystery that’s enshrouded within marriage and within having children and what to expect, and all the work that is done below the surface, and because it’s done below the surface, it’s not oftentimes acknowledged by others,” Taylor says.

“By bucking some of those structures that are put in place, I’m unearthing some of these issues with these glamorized parts of life that are supposed to be so rewarding by looking at some of the challenges of them.”

Her performance incorporates vocal and physical storytelling, from mimed motion to prairie soundscapes. Taylor, Assistant Professor of Voice and Speech at UMKC, even uses cattle calls to explore vocal extremes, blending her childhood memory with pedagogical technique.

“That was one of the places I remember growing up where I could be free to make a large noise,” Taylor says.

Thematically, Keeper of the Plains is both intimate and universal in nature. Audiences at its LA debut in 2023—and another performance in 2024 at the Southeastern Theatre Conference in Alabama–found unexpected personal connections with it.

“They were talking about how this was a beautiful piece that made folks question a bit more of what our gender identities and roles are,” Taylor says. “Similar story, different background, maybe not agricultural, but this idea of women being silenced or taking on a more silent, physical role in order to make room for the men’s voices.”

Ahead of its KC debut, Taylor is hopeful that her show’s exposure will provide her with valuable feedback on what resonates with audiences and what is missing. She also dreams Keeper of the Plains will grow into a three-person show.

Taylor pictures one woman exploring the historical context of indigenous culture and wisdom, while two daughters navigate their path in very different ways, despite the same upbringing.

Through Keeper of the Plains, Taylor invites KC to reflect on the hidden labor of women, the pressure of inherited silence, and the power of voice.

Taylor will perform five times during the KC Fringe Festival in July. Adult tickets are $15, and child tickets are $8, and they can be purchased on the website.