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Avik, an angry and lost young Inupiaq woman who was adopted at birth and raised in the white culture of Eastern Oregon, travels to Northwest Arctic Alaska on a journey to find her birth mother, her people and her sense of personal identity. She finds Elizabeth Savok who initially denies she is Avik’s mother. Avik, determined to learn the ways of her birth people, forces Elizabeth to bring her along as she faces the kill-or-be-killed world of the sea ice.
On the ice, Elizabeth finally reveals to Avik that her father was a rapist and murderer. Caught between two families, Avik confronts the danger of the ice, defines her place in the community of her birth, and begins to create her own future.
These are some of the unsettling scenes that will reverberate through your head after seeing “The Man, the Woman and the Indian” at the Changing Scene. In these three surreal one-act dramas, playwright Rodney Vance demonstrates a rare gift for both lucid language and resonant imagery.
The first, “Nothing Here,” is a teaser about a mysterious man who invites himself to dinner at a couple’s apartment. Between comic scenes of misunderstanding, Vance juxtaposes short, spooky vignettes that foreshadow events and illuminate the characters’ imaginations. By the time the playlet reaches its violent conclusion, the audience isn’t sure where reality leaves off and nightmares begin.
Just as spooky and even more comic is “Mother Goose Goes to Church,” which shuttles between murky netherworld and a bawdy café. By the time Vance brings the two worlds together, he’s told a fascinating story about a man who witnesses his own death and winds up mating a witch.
The third play, “Ludlow,” also veers between dreams and reality, but this time around Vance tells a fairly linear story. Set in the Mojave Desert, the play focuses on the clash of wills between a mystical old woman and her practical-minded daughter. Their disagreement evolves into a battle for the soul of a young girl and leads toward an unexpectedly powerful conclusion.
Vance is one of the few playwrights around who can deal with mystical subjects without seeming pretentious or off-the-wall. He has a sophisticated sense of humor that keeps the proceedings accessible and down to earth.
The three plays have been beautifully realized under Sara Wright’s direction. Joseph Cashman created the versatile set and suggestive lighting, and Ron Metzger composed the eerie, evocative music. The excellent cast includes James Mills as the old man, Judith Jerome as the witch, Ted Stroud as the aggressive stranger, Hard de Rose as the mysterious little girl, and Paula Lindemann as the various women. Their joint efforts have created a unique and riveting evening of theater.
A witch reciting nursery rhymes as she deals tarot cards. An old man fighting with a transvestite. And an Indian medicine man who dances around a dying woman.
These are some of the unsettling scenes that will reverberate through your head after seeing “The Man, the Woman and the Indian” at the Changing Scene. In these three surreal one-act dramas, playwright Rodney Vance demonstrates a rare gift for both lucid language and resonant imagery.
The first, “Nothing Here,” is a teaser about a mysterious man who invites himself to dinner at a couple’s apartment. Between comic scenes of misunderstanding, Vance juxtaposes short, spooky vignettes that foreshadow events and illuminate the characters’ imaginations. By the time the playlet reaches its violent conclusion, the audience isn’t sure where reality leaves off and nightmares begin.
Just as spooky and even more comic is “Mother Goose Goes to Church,” which shuttles between murky netherworld and a bawdy café. By the time Vance brings the two worlds together, he’s told a fascinating story about a man who witnesses his own death and winds up mating a witch.
The third play, “Ludlow,” also veers between dreams and reality, but this time around Vance tells a fairly linear story. Set in the Mojave Desert, the play focuses on the clash of wills between a mystical old woman and her practical-minded daughter. Their disagreement evolves into a battle for the soul of a young girl and leads toward an unexpectedly powerful conclusion.
Vance is one of the few playwrights around who can deal with mystical subjects without seeming pretentious or off-the-wall. He has a sophisticated sense of humor that keeps the proceedings accessible and down to earth.
The three plays have been beautifully realized under Sara Wright’s direction. Joseph Cashman created the versatile set and suggestive lighting, and Ron Metzger composed the eerie, evocative music. The excellent cast includes James Mills as the old man, Judith Jerome as the witch, Ted Stroud as the aggressive stranger, Hard de Rose as the mysterious little girl, and Paula Lindemann as the various women. Their joint efforts have created a unique and riveting evening of theater.