Reading O’Neill Creatively: Perspectives and Offerings

What an opportunity out of the blue by editor Alex Pettit and the Eugene O’Neill Review. Suddenly realizing my friend, poet and doctor to our Anishinaabe language—Margaret Noodin—is to blame.It brought me back to my National Theatre School of Canada days in 1992, as the first Indigenous woman to graduate—hey, that’s all I got!I remember my class called “Melodrama” led by director Peter Wilde in my second year at theater school. We had a bunch of play scenes to choose from and mine was from Mourning Becomes Electra. I didn’t know what Mr. Wilde had in store for us, but he and I connected and melodrama became not so much an overacting exploration but instead an overacting exploration based in character truth and physicality. I loved the exercise and watching my classmates’ final delivery of our selected scenes was very entertaining.I remember making my exit as Lavinia in the scene at the end of act 3 from The Haunted, leaping and waving my hands in true melodramatic fashion at the imaginary portraits on the wall. Being six feet tall with raised arms and a small platform in our studio would have been a sight of heightened proportion given the melodrama I was directed to convey:It made me feel powerful, not ridiculous. It brought laughter and applause from my classmates. It brought compliments from Peter; he felt there was a truth to my delivery. I have many fond memories of my classmates and teachers while there.Fast forward to the year 2014 and now I address Mourning Becomes Electra in a whole new light with an experience more recent. I had a playwriting commission from U-Milwaukee—Noodin again—remember her? She invited me to write a play about Electa Quinney. It was held on the Potawatami reservation just on the edge of the city in a beautiful state-of-the-art studio and theater space inside their brand-new school.I am of the Three Fires People, that is the Potawatami (the Firekeepers), the Ojibwe (the Ceremony keepers), and the Odawa (the Traders). This alliance was struck in the 1800s because our landbase and language were interchangeable and the roles strengthened our resilience to continue to thrive in our traditional Great Lakes territory forever. Remember this was an atrocious time period in the United States when killing Indians was sanctioned by the government all in an attempt to eradicate “the Indian problem.”It was at this time the first Indigenous school teacher, Electa Quinney, made her mark on the education of her people. Born around 1807 and raised in Stockbridge in New York State, she was Mohican or Muheakantuck, also the river name they lived beside for thousands of years. Muheakantuck translates to “people of the waters that are never still.” This eastern tribe then was forced to relocate to west of the Mississippi, settling in Michigan Territory in 1828. She was an extraordinary teacher who persevered in uncertain times of upheaval, loss, and remarriage. I titled the new play Morning Becomes Electa because her passion for education got her up every day to be at the front of the classroom and effect change for her people. I did a play on the title, thank you Mr. O’Neill, although no one in the room really noticed—and certainly no one questioned it.As a playwright I admire Eugene O’Neill. His plays are easy to read, always entertaining, and have clearly defined characters. I have not had the opportunity to see a production, but if ever there was a chance, I’d get my ticket. I don’t know another playwright who can set up a scene with such expansive detail before a line is uttered. It makes me think how much it informs any set, prop, or costume designer as it sure beats a Greek myth playwright who only puts “Zeus enters.”So here I come full circle and actually write something about Eugene O’Neill and his play Mourning Become Electra and relate it to my own lived theater experience. Here goes . . .First we start with The Homecoming or, in theater speak, “the set-up,” where family returns home, the patriarch, soon, from the Civil War. Our homelands too awaited their loved ones’ return home given the number of Indigenous men who fought in this war. My great-great-great grandfather J. B. Assiginack fought for the British in the War of 1812. He became a decorated soldier; some of his duties were as an Odawa interpreter to fellow comrades as well as achieving heroic feats on the battlefield. I believe your anthem recognizes “the dawn’s early light” after our side burned down the White House.The Homecoming could be relatable as Indigenous children returning from residential school. While the characters are all adults in Mourning Becomes Electra, it is their stilted behavior that makes me think how generational trauma has made them this way. The rampant sexual abuse and predatory behavior Indigenous children suffered while attending some of these institutions were all led by the churches. Adultery—perhaps lack of effective parenting—living in an alternate reality—all made me see why these characters are so extreme and manipulative in the play. Christine loves her father, Orin loves his mother, both in unhealthy ways since neither was a perfect role model—knowing parents are fallible and human, unlike gods and goddesses of Greek myth. We know this play is an adaptation of two of them. Sadly, the sickness of incest is a sickness that permeates reservation people still today. Many move off the reserve to leave this behind. But we know flight does not resolve the fight. We have our own myth that is all about high stakes, life or death, Superbeings, legendary characters—a total magic realism I’ve created in many of my plays. What leads our core belief system is known as the Law of Orders, whereby our myths and the legendary characters that exist within them are for teaching, for reminding us we live in gratitude of this good life. Humans are last in the order and count on everything created before them for their survival. Indigenous people live in a worldview that is diametrically opposite to dominant society, who have shown that controlling and over-pillaging the land and its original people does nothing for our collective future as a human race.The killing of the father by the mother in a crime of passion, in this case poisoning him for love of other, is classic. As dramatic as this is, I think of the women’s prison population in North America, which has a high Indigenous representation that stems from this dysfunction. Most Indigenous women who kill their mates do it as a last resort to protect their children. They are not fully themselves given that substances consumed trigger their rage and the final acting out of their anger results in drastic consequences. But here nobody goes to jail. So what is justice? It is still an elusive construct to many Indigenous people throughout history.The Hunted comes next. Which to me not only parallels the rising line of tension but also magnifies the obsession and lengths of people’s passions to deal with hard truths they must face. Tables turn as Christine’s darling son, Orin, kills her lover and in turn she commits suicide. Hunting in our traditional belief system is a give-and-take. We live in the Law of Orders, whereby the deer being hunted is actually a gift from the Creator. As such, tobacco is offered over the animal’s body, acknowledging its sacrifice. But here we have no such generosity shown. Orin has absolute hatred for Brant to annihilate him so he can replace him in his mother’s desires. Twisted reasoning, not very well thought through, is a denial. Justification may be a quick-fix mindset in the immediate but truly it leads to the turmoil an audience witnesses in the final part of the trilogy.The Haunted for me becomes living with the consequences of all your actions. In our culture, to have any success at this, one would seek self-help through ceremony. At our core we want redemption—it makes for a fully rounded character. A banishment from community would have occurred for a length of time first. To come back is to make oneself as whole as possible again: the sweat lodge, the shaking tent, our healing arts with medicine people administering certain barks and plant medicines to deal with trauma, anxiety, addictions, remorse, retribution, to promote forgiveness and possibly self-love. Here none of these scenarios seem remotely possible. is a that is to the Indigenous population people. It to deal with his At the end the is to To be a for the of her is What a to by the of early in and with and a in the he the of to dramatic the the the very with the we to his as a Here was the to his gift for the and of life as Here was a in which to a new dramatic to and for all his and of me the He held a to the of his father and the of the melodramatic with its and the of that are or they in so in and all the or the of these two and the The Great This of an with his in which he his his and his on a of the and of character The play or on At the that on the and the of it that with the to the and a and our to the To the play is to with its The to The Great is to a with the The Great its in with their by with characters. The play its the of their their of one and their of it from scenes of realism scenes of and it characters to themselves as they or their the play and but also the of both and not only to the but to to the of character through At the the play in which on before us to be people and that not us, what could be more At the very of to of the melodramatic to of a of the for the it may that of with its from one to the other, is not the of The Great it is the of The Great The characters all to the and are ever by the of their own by their of one by the of the they by the that them The of and woman with their own be they on achieving or is by forced the of if it is that is to the and the of this of arts in which every and or on and the very space becomes something they are not in some time they are To with in order to the tension that which is and that which is is to the of how can one to do the of the of the of the the and from What a of But one these as of The of beautiful and are not to be as and the extraordinary if its is if the can be truly can we to the whole play on all that a theater of on the the of the and the true the themselves may the experience. to their to a I to extraordinary and the Theatre known for his and to our and a of his to with are with and and it is up to the to a and be by a is not so as it may it is to many who only their roles when they on costume and from his his had no of the character. But the I was the and made me feel the of he I to know and by the time I on the he was fully A in this is a character one and the that as a the by which the how they and how the truly as of the who play them. In this a so must be to speak, to to with the and in of are of the for the director of a has to a of to or and to only a of when there are or in the to fully to the of and one may well up with a of that has no in so be the but the characters of and is it as all their must be the as some are through of the the must be as as they are and they must be they are them. the of the is nothing but a for the but a and one that the an is a of about an is a the of one seek in a and The Great to life through an of from one and one of to another with the and of the or I’d be to the which the and of the to the The is the of a in the final as to be so fully consumed by the that a full is the to the the to have their own and to them the as early as possible. At the one the in the play to be and to the of their characters. the created too before the have the characters and before the play is known to the the be on the play and the to a second that never the in the the to their and by the in the them to to the we can a and of the that is and true to the to make the and to be with and and there is a tension them. the at the of the the from one to the can be to the do and characters relate to the The part in every play is given its and the characters always play a to In we to that audience but we play to its and of their is to the experience. The Great a whole new in the and for and to of a role such But they the and here is where an of O’Neill as an to the by his informs the of The Great the of the play is the of its core the more to the play from its to and to its in the in both the and the of the is an by a or face. this is the of The Great the through the of the title, through name the through its with and The Great with But what is in of the of the by a of of and by a of about of the the well see that the of life is that it is too small for at still we with a for and all the while we in of our a our that we are of the but to the is our only that of We feel to be so we know to be so it that this very could be the of the is a of and in this play of characters who their own the is as in to in some The Great does so and it to while the of The of as by this of is by and we still for a an it is the of the became the first to the for In his in was of the O’Neill, he then O’Neill had for and had never to be by any but it the truth as I know feel and the where they they Mourning Becomes Electra, on This play set in the immediate of the Civil is a of At its Mourning Becomes Electra the of a who loves and a who loves and and parents who return for were still to Mourning an play that as one of was on in and in the a from the a from by Great two in in and the in directed by in a called play in the The and The to with only the first act of The Haunted A in at well over and a making Mourning an play to with Mourning I would first the that could be an to any production, and clearly the length of the play must be to through that much plays are nothing if not there is a of to to Mourning would have to be and The an Homecoming with the first act of The Haunted, which made for an as a first play in the The Homecoming after just as the play and it the throughout as The puts the time of Homecoming at an with for The Hunted and The To this on would have to the characters that in as the Greek This and would play to an or they would the to just This makes all plays in one O’Neill would have every War is actually to the and Orin are returning from “the but there is no to the Civil War. the Civil War was a for the War in the it could be any and Peter as but the play to the an to O’Neill that “the the period the Civil War these are the for what is really a with no true to that period at or could be New in the play is more to the but that too can be in any or the the to about while could to an of if the room to in Mourning is the I believe theater don’t being a of in his and still had traditional theater in his and plays from were in his by some a Mourning is in melodrama with its and characters and its of the as in the of it is these extraordinary and that can make it a to read, through a of over was the first O’Neill play I as a and it a in my because of I love the and the of but now as a playwright I see its and its in It that the of is that the he to as and in some is what I would first and the melodrama and the how I would do Becomes Electra in the of a in a and are year or the to just the of the but them. the of Mourning the two or more people or The have all that and all within one who the love of two men and for are men and Orin, by both his mother and his and the who both Christine and does he love I a Mourning as a of and on the and of have some of can be as is not as as it may on as being or could be as this production, we are not the of as or in a more to can be about the about the The of could actually more to the of and would never the of the and would it with all the it through a of Mourning is It was to be and in and but not with to the Greek of the or the or the of the Mourning is a of a of that and on and to the of that would be be a But the collective and of our that people are for and has over the Mourning is light it as it were be one of in new and more O’Neill in his a and love of for theater of a I didn’t know this play it was in the to then lover of the of Theatre in in I was in when he of with the The final His is a of the human of my What is I’ve been this since I was a in my who you down with their of and and and They can for get in the of their and if why they more with their if you their what it would be to everything that your every of your life from your and that I this while on the New York watching the who a of and A and with the they A on the the I didn’t or this not so to do that with In a as a lack of or or We to our before they leave our What we really think and what we are very and don’t have They to and what really and and and their in I’ve always been in The and we do with We on We what is really when something . . . could in and your and is to have an to her from a What do we do with the them and to the of was in and with to the in many where would be to have an in in of women’s The of a life. We as a the of good and is and throughout the play. I want to I want to see where and from the extreme she from throughout the play. her to not as in the play. I want the her to us to and from the we see As the of the on on I want to watching the play to What is it about that these men What is actually her and what is At what in the play is she with the men and where does she with and woman at the of the Three men around Three in their way. their and and and and The when he of The at we on that in we back at these men and at how much since not so with has the to feel As we continue to how dominant the and the of of women’s is, a father to have with a he as a could get a I’d love to make of and for her an the women so feel about being the of not being The and do we these men and I love O’Neill for this and not the is a prison for and for his lack of experience with to to his and so in his of the from which he So by his mother’s as a a woman is she must a is he must the in this play where these and and and This is where I want to my This is where I want to after my I them to these with from to to with human time for that is to the and beautiful a doctor I feel it is my to you that . . . just through a period in a life and of you and to What is a when no as and do we so a woman of being when she rage or and and of the the of the space and are and A in before every line of can feel to I’d of them. I’d the choose your own would the and set and one or two from for a and the with a in the a so I’d love of and on the back for act set on the of the I want to all these in a space or a space with I would on to the of I want on these a home of as a at the of the play. I want to What it to as a at At years. To a of time your audience their or start to their on and for the the audience to up and move two of the I want the audience to themselves in when they return from the A I want this to be a experience for the and the play in the I want to a to the of As our own of time has been so through the time up as you The days and years. with and This for a play years. This To play with the of it feel a all of so to and the of the would the time I to some of the from a Eugene O’Neill in order to the I know you don’t a theater to The or for a just through a of where I was by the being out of to and around the a We all have the of a so I that I an audience to with me for or the or feel in your because you didn’t get to before the don’t I you at the and a with more with an and be to This play Eugene O’Neill you to on the me you his

Fetched live from OpenAlex and de-inverted. Abstracts are not stored in this database: the inverted indexes are 8.6 GB of the frame’s 9.3 GB of text, and the host has 13 GB free.