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In playwright Drew Hayden Taylor's short work, ...But Can You Throw a Tomahawk?, two actors of Native American ancestry are auditioning for unspecified roles. Despite the actors' wide range, the casting agent makes painfully clear that his predetermined image for both parts conform to historical stereotypes of Native Americans being the nomadic warriors depicted in Hollywood westerns. But while one actor protests such caricature-like typecasting, the other all-too readily acquiesces to the casting agent's inane vision. It's a funny, revealing parody that demonstrates just how pervasively biased stereotypes spread. As such, …But Can You Throw a Tomahawk? works as an ideal opening to Red Ink, the new showcase of contemporary Native American short plays now running at Mixed Blood Theatre.
The notable goal of Red Ink is to counteract those prevailing distortions that reduce the Native American experience to either antiquated Old West mythos or poorly informed notions of life on a reservation. Each of the seven short plays that comprise Red Ink was penned by a Native American playwright from vastly differing backgrounds, providing for authentic and diverse perspectives. Taken collectively, these short works by Tomson Highway, Darren Renville, Arigon Starr, Yvette Nolan, Rhiana Yazzie, Drew Hayden Taylor, and Diane Glancy seamlessly shift between drama and comedy, capturing the complexity of modern Native American culture with a style befitting a contemporary Pow-Wow.
Each of the talented cast members - consisting of Arigon Starr, Juanita Blackhawk, Cochise Anderson, Ernest Briggs, George Keller, and Clementine Bordeaux - are tasked with performing a tremendously diverse array of roles throughout the evening. Aside from a couple of verbal flubs (which will likely be smoothed out prior to the official opening) each performer convincingly embodies the material, whether recreating an unnerving encounter with a racist police officer in Yvette Nolan's tense The Starlight Tours or questioning the motives of oddly soulful slot-machines in Arigon Starr's surrealistic Spirit Lake Casino.
Native American Idol, also penned by Arigon Starr as a parody of the popular television program, features two contestants of questionable talent and dubious ancestry performing ridiculously over-the-top odes to cultural clichés. Hilariously portraying the two contestants are George Keller and Ernest Briggs. Veering from absurdly solemn posturing to tone deaf caterwauling, Keller is matched only by Brigg's ridiculous pairing of inane crooning and robotic dancing. Questions of tribal identification have seldom been so convulsively funny.
Considering his comedic deftness, Ernest Briggs’ solo turn in Darren Renville’s harrowing monologue, My Continual Decline, comes as a revelation. A first-person account of an attempted suicide and the lingering emotional aftermath, My Continual Decline is a startlingly candid depiction of despair. As movingly portrayed by Briggs, it’s a heartbreaking piece of work that won’t soon be forgotten.
Another standout work is Tomson Highway’s Charlotte and Manfred. Depicting the strain between a successful author and the family he’s sought to leave behind, the play achieves a universal appeal without giving up its Native American centric foundation. Of course, it helps that superb portrayals by Juanita Blackhawk and Cochise Anderson capture the estranged dynamic between the two characters.
Yvette Nolan’s Toronto Rex, Drew Hayden Taylor’s Mixed Cocktails, Rhiana Yazzie’s Antiques Sideshow, and Diane Glancy’s The Buffalo each further draw upon additional aspects of Native American heritage. Some characters disregard heritage with shameful ease while others hold heritage in a never loosening grip. And while not all of the four plays connect with equal effectiveness, each establishes a distinctive perspective that remains consistently thought-provoking.
Further emphasizing the fusion of contemporary life with historical culture is a costume design by Amber Brown and Clementine Bordeaux that pairs modern fashions with traditional styles. Likewise, the musical direction by Mixashawn Rozie, performed by Glenn Blacksmith and John Oakgrove, uses a rhythmic core of percussive drum and vocal chants to interweave such seemingly incompatible instrumental touches as a saxophone. The results are thrillingly original and musically invigorating.
Sarah Rasmussen’s fluid direction keeps that pace movingly smoothly, even while the sets are broken down and rearranged between plays. The 90 minute in-the-round performance contains no intermission, furthering the illusion of a Pow-Wow in progress.
By daring to present the lives of contemporary Native Americans without resorting to historical trappings, Red Ink vividly draws upon the rich complexity and myriad diversity of the world around us. Red Ink insists that Native American voices are a vital part of our cultural dialogue. As demonstrated by this heartfelt production, recognition of such voices is long overdue.
Red Ink runs through May 10th.
For more info: Mixed Blood Theatre
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