roughdraftREZ

ROUGH DRAFT for The Rez Sisters

First 8 questions on second page: The unique factor that caused the action to occur is the arrival of the news of the Biggest Bingo in the World and was the driving force throughout the play.

The major dramatic question was whether any of the women would win the five hundred thousand dollars from the Biggest Bingo in the World. None of them won the main prize but Philomena won six hundred dollars. Other questions that added to the play included will Marie-Adele recover from her cancer? Will Pelajia move to Toronto? Will Annie get into a relationship with Fritz? Unfortunately, Marie-Adele is killed by her cancer when the girls storm the stage after losing at Bingo. Pelajia still wants to move to Toronto but there is no definite answer. In the end, Annie becomes a backup singer for Fritz, but it is never clear if they are together. Other minor questions are whether Veronique got a new stove, which she did because she started to cook for Marie-Adele’s family; whether Philomena would get her new toilet, and she does with her Bingo money; and did Emily spend the night with Big Joey, which she did and got pregnant by him.

All of the characters, except Nanabush, are Native American (Canadian) women and all believe in the native religion which includes Nanabush. Pelajia Patchnose, who is always holding a hammer, wants to leave the reserve to go to Toronto and her husband and son have left the reserve in search of jobs. Her main opposing force is her lack of money. If she had money she could easily move or make her living situation better. The chief also does not listen to her when she wants money for the trip or when she suggests things to help the reserve. Philomena Moosetail, sister of Pelajia, is not married and is known for her “Kewpie-doll face” and femininity. When she was younger she fell in love with a married man and got pregnant but gave the baby up when her lover left with his wife. With the Bingo money she was going to find the child because she never knew its gender, but she only wins six hundred dollars and buys a toilet. Marie-Adele Starblanket is the half-sister of Pelajia and Philomena. She has fourteen children and is suffering from advanced cancer. Nanabush is her main opposing force because he is there to take her life, and she reveals that she is scared to die. Annie Cook, sister of Marie-Adele, walks, talks, and drives fast. She was in love with Marie-Adele’s husband first and had a child by him, but he choose her sister over her. She is also having an affair with a Jewish singer and becomes his back-up singer. Emily Dictionary is the rebel sister of Annie. She left the reserve at a young age and joined a gang called the Rez Sisters where she fell in love with the woman leader. She returned after her lover killed herself and started an affair with Big Joey, by whom she became pregnant. Veronique St. Pierre, sister-in-law to all above, was the town gossip who had to be in everyone’s business. She cannot have children but she adopted Zhaboonigan. Zhaboonigan, who is mentally disabled, is in her early twenties and both her parents died in a car accident. She was also raped with a screwdriver by two white men. Nanabush was the only male character and he was a spirit. He was dressed as a bird—seagull or nighthawk—and was the Bingo master. He did these things to taunt Marie-Adele because it was her time to die.

Pelajia Patchnose felt trapped by the reserve, but could never escape like she wanted. She expressed a desire to go to Toronto at the beginning and end of the play, but it was a battle between her and herself and society. She would have had to leave her family and the life she had always known. She could have gotten over this but society still would not have let her leave. She was living in a welfare house and her husband could not find a job close by indicating how poor the reserve was and how hard it was for a Native American to get work. Furthermore, Pelajia got into a lot of fights with the chief. She wanted him to pave the roads, and he refused. She wanted him to give her money so that they could go to the Biggest Bingo in the World and win the money to help improve the reserve, but again he refused. At the end, Annie says “Pelajia for chief!” indicating the continued fights between the two. Of course, it is unlikely for a woman to be chief, but not unheard of. She wanted to win the Bingo money so she also had a conflict with the Bingo Master, because he was not calling out the numbers that she had. Eventually, she and her sisters stormed the Bingo Master, but still did not win. At the end of the play, Pelajia Patchnose wass hammering on her roof when Nanabush landed on her roof without her knowing. Earlier in the play, seagulls were seen around Marie-Adele’s house and Nanabush was there dressed as a seagull. Pelajia thought she was young and wanted to live, but Nanabush is there to take her life.

The climax of the play is at the Biggest Bingo in the World when they are all anxiously awaiting the next number, but the number called is not the one they wanted, so all of them storm the stage attacking the Bingo Machine. After they run off stage, Marie-Adele is left waltzing with the Bingo Master, who turns into the nighthawk version of Nanabush and takes her life. After her funeral, all the women’s stories either come to some resolve or they end up in the same place they started, thus wrapping up the play.

Corinne Bicknese: This is what I have so far!! I hope it's ok that I'm adding it here! Last 8 Questions on the First Page: Script Analysis for the //Rez Sisters// Tomson Highway’s //The Rez Sisters// was written in 1989. The action of the play takes place in late summer of 1986 on the Wasaychigan Hill Indian Reserve on Manitoulin Island, Ontario. The “Rez Sisters” are a group of women joined by sisterhood, marriage, and reservation life. The script of the play follows the lives and relationships of the women, presenting several significant themes: the mistreatment of women, the battle of love and hate, the meaning of family, and the cyclical nature of life. In //The Rez Sisters//, Highway details a harsh yet moving story of a group of women who play in a bingo tournament with the intent of winning prize money, but instead discovering that the true prize does not come in the form of cash; it is composed of the love and companionship that must be discovered on the winding, rocky trail of life. The complex, intertwining nature of family relationships in Highway’s //The Rez Sisters// is essential to the development of the characters and the dramatic action of the plot. The women on the reservation are all related; Pelajia and Philomena are sisters, and Marie-Adele, Annie, and Emily are half-sisters to the first two girls. Veronique is the sister-in-law of all the other girls and Zhaboonigan is her mentally handicapped daughter. Therefore, the women are all connected by blood and proximity within the small, confining Indian Reservation. By the end of the play, it is apparent that the “Rez sisters” all harbor a love for each other; however, they often disagree and even fight each other. Pelajia and Philomena seem to get along; they tease each other but do not mean the harsh words. Emily, on the other hand, often sparks fights with the other girls, calling them names and accusing them of being less than perfect. Veronique and Emily especially tend to disagree more than agree. For example, Emily sparks the anger of her sister-in-law by insulting the slow-minded Zhaboonigan. Veronique immediately becomes incredibly defensive of her daughter, sparking a physical fight amongst all the women. Nevertheless, at the end of the play, Zhaboonigan and Emily reconcile, leaving the audience with an image of an awkward but secretly warm embrace as the curtains close. Another factor that seems to have brought the sisters together was the death of Marie-Adele and the joint mission to raise enough money for the “BIGGEST BINGO IN THE WORLD.” Even during the fight stimulated by Veronique and Emily, the angry women come to their senses as soon as Marie-Adele doubles over in the pain that often results from her cancer-ridden body. This phenomenon demonstrates that even though the sisters often fight with each other, their shared situation and bond of sisterhood bring with them a deep-rooted love for each other that even their arguments cannot completely erase. For example, as the sisters drive down to the Bingo Tournament, Emily reveals a surprising soft side when she tells the dramatic tale of the tragic car crash that brought about the death of a special friend. Emily’s revelation is only one example of the multitude of trying events that shaped the Rez sisters into hardened women toughened by the trials of a demeaning life on an Indian Reservation in Canada. The realistic nature of //The Rez Sisters// should likewise be taken into account when analyzing the script of the play. Many aspects of the story are incredibly realistic; for instance, the very-real, incredibly horrifying story that Zhaboonigan tells the seagull Nanabush shocks the audience into the reality of a world in which women are not always treated with respect. Additionally, Emily’s story of the death of her friend, and the various references to whorehouses and sexual relationships with Indian men likewise add to the reality of the play. Nevertheless, there are simultaneously unrealistic elements in Highway’s play. For example, the presence of Nanabush, a man dressed as a seagull, adds an element of superstition and divine beliefs into the plot. In the Indian culture, Nanabush is an influential spirit who serves as both a trickster character and a cultural hero. Zhaboonigan is often observed talking to the seagull; it is to him that she reveals the horrendous occurrence of her brutal rape. Furthermore, Nanabush functions as a deliverer of death and a bringer of life. When cancer finally claims the life of Marie-Adele, Nanabush appears as a black bird, bringing her eternal rest. However, by the end of the play, he is once more white and playful, symbolizing the new lives that the women plan as they sit on the roof once more. The seagull functions to exhibit the cyclical nature of the lives of the Indian women; hardship may come knocking, but eventually circumstances will come full circle and bring happiness and satisfaction once more. Another significant aspect of the script that must be taken into consideration is the sequence of dramatic events that take place throughout the plot. The play opens with Pelajia and Philomena talking about the joy of a casual game of Bingo. Annie Cook then arrives, as full of energy as ever, and disrupts the peaceful, laid-back scene on the roof. The action then shifts to Veronique, who breaks the stasis by planting the idea of the Biggest Bingo Tournament into the heads of her fellows. Immediately, the women explode into a frenzy of fighting and fretting about how they will be able to attend such an epic event away from the prison-like Indian Reservation. After a dramatic scuffle involving punching, shoving, and merciless name-calling, the women finally agree to separately raise a set amount of money. Finally, after hours of mindless working, the women are able to acquire a car and make the drive to Toronto. The quiet monotony of the highway sparks self-revelations and bonding time; this is when Emily reveals the missing part of herself where her dead friend once occupied. Lastly, the women make it to the Bingo Tournament after many hours of driving. The excitement of the competition results in the death of Marie-Adele and the sad conclusion that after all their hardwork, the Rez Sisters were still unable to win the jackpot.

Chris Muthig I'm just going to keep the posting going here. I also have three cited sources at the bottom of mine that I used as outside criticisms. I didn't have 8 straight questions, and I'm not sure where mine fell. So I'm no help there.

In addition to the end of the bingo game as the climax, a high point of the play is Marie-Adele coming face to face with Nanabush in his black feathers for the first time while everyone is fixing the flat tire on the van. At this moment, Marie-Adele realizes that the bird denotes the end of someone’s that and that the someone is her. She has a breakdown, is soothed by her friends and returns to the car, but she has seen Nanabush already and knows that her time will be up very soon. The theatrical moments in the play really begin with the women fighting in the store. In this scene the feelings of each woman for the other comes out, but more importantly at the end of the fight the information about the WORLD’S BIGGEST BINGO is confirmed, and all of the women decide to go together. This sets the women’s plans in motion to try to ask the chief for the money they need to go and then to them having to make the money themselves. Once they have the money, the next theatrical moment would be nearly the entire scene while the women are in the car. Driving to the bingo game, the dialogue between the women teaches the audience details about their past. The realism of // The Rez Sisters // is what makes the text so strong, and the women discussing their pasts with each, or even to themselves out loud, leads the audience through the events that have created their lives. Meanwhile, the forward motion of the car symbolizes the move the women are making to move past the powers that have held them back in the past. Finally, the climax of the bingo game makes for the last theatrical moment in the play, especially Marie-Adele waltzing with Nanabush and being carried away into death. The most important theatrical moment would of course be the car ride. The play is based in the minds of the women more than in the reality of the world around them, and for this reason the dialogue makes up most of the forward motion of the play. Rather than needing events to occur to move the play forward, the audience just has to learn more about the women and how they got to be in this specific place. The scene in the van teaches the audience all of this information. In the end, Marie-Adele has passed away at the bingo game, and on the Indian reserve, nothing has changed drastically. Philomena won a $600 bingo while in Toronto and bought the bathroom she always dreamed of, but it has not created a lasting change in her life, which shows the lack of change in the Indian reserve even more drastically. Emily Dictionary is pregnant with Joey’s baby, and she is also taking care of Zhaboonigan. Emily has become a seemingly more loving person from this new living situation. Annie Cook is now a backup singer for Fritz, and is that much closer to the love of her life. Veronique is cooking for and taking care of the 14 Starblanket children, and because of this she has gotten the oven she wanted. Finally, Pelajia is on her roof, just as she was in the beginning, only now Nanabush is dancing around Pelajia. The themes of // The Rez Sisters // are themes commonly seen throughout his productions. As a Cree Indian himself, Highway’s plays focus on the native culture and beliefs as well as the issues faced by the Cree people. One of the recurring thoughts in the play is the women’s thoughts on white society. Some of the women seem to the see the white society as more powerful than them in many ways. This can be seen by the way the women talk about white society and people. Pelajia constantly hopes to move away from the Indian reserve to Toronto, representing white society by simply being some place besides the reserve, to be with her family. Annie Cook looks up to and is in love with Fritz, a Jewish singer that she has worked with in the past, seeing him as a more respectable man than the Indian men on the reserve. Her daughter is also married to a Frenchman, who she talks about frequently, even though she has never met him. Contrasting to this power of the white society, the native culture of the Cree people is an important theme as well. Nanabush embodies this culture. He is the native trickster and also the deity over this reserve. He symbolizes all of the native culture and also the cultures power above that of white society. Even if white society seems to be a goal for some of them, Nanabush still follows them, even to Toronto. At the end of the play, Pelajia, who didn’t not get enough money to leave the reserve or built the roads she wanted to for the reserve, is in the same place she was as she started, except this time with Nanabush dancing on the roof near her. This shows both Pelajia’s physical and spiritual connection to the Cree Indians. This is the most important theme of // The Rez Sisters //. The Cree culture is a part of the people forever. Highway sees this as a good thing, and while the women are all still on the reserve at the end of the play, with little change, the end of the play is optimistic all the same. The support the sisters eventually showed for each other and the little things that changed in their lives, along with the writing style of Highway, gives the audience a feeling that the women are best off on the reserve, looked over by Nanabush, and that the future is looking bright for each of them as Cree women. Tomson Highway was born December 5, 1951. He is a Cree playwright from Brochet, Manitoba. He has written three plays about the natives of Canada as well as a novel about his brother’s death of AIDS. Cree is Highway’s first language and many of his plays include this language and an empahsis on Cree culture. Highway is the author for the first opera written in Cree. He also holds several degrees in the arts along with honorary degrees from various universities in Canada. Highway is a member of the Order of Canada and in 2000 a weekly news magazine voted him one of the 100 most important people in Canadian history. Reading criticisms and other writings, more knowledge can be found on the pivotal character of Nanabush. Nanabush is to be seen as similar to Chris in the Christian religion. Highway is quote seeing one major difference between the Christian religion and the Cree religion and that is that the Cree see life in a circular fashion, a “self-rejuvenating force... Human existence isn’t a struggle for redemption to the Trickster. It’s a fun, joyous celebration.” This also leads the Cree people to have to interpret Nanabush’s actions at all times, because his feelings change constantly. This gives a glimpse at how Nanabush should act within the play. He is in fact a deity, but he doesn’t seem to act that way. His actions are playful, like a child. Even in his black feathers, Nanabush isn’t there to destroy life, but to bring the cycle of life around again. He should be daunting only from the point of view of Marie-Adele, but to him it is still fun almost. Highway is also quoted saying that Nanabush’s job is to “ teach us about the nature and the meaning of existence on the planet earth  ...” It is also important to note, that while Highway describes Nanabush as a man in this play, in other plays by Tomson and in Cree tradition, Nanabush is never set to a gender and is seen as both a man and a woman depending on the story. Many writers also point out the importance of the number seven throughout the text. The number seven is important to the present day First Nations for several reasons and the play on number is interesting, however, this seems to have very little to do with the stage production of the play.

Literary Criticisms: Grimm, Zak. "Gender and Mythological Criticism in Native American Literature, Page 4 of 7."//Associated Content from Yahoo! - Associatedcontent.com//. Web. 28 Feb. 2011. . New, W. H. // Native Writers and Canadian Writing //. Vancouver: UBC, 1990. Ebook Casas, Maria C. "Pattern Numbers, Numerical Symbols, and Political Aesthetics in The Rez Sisters." Web. 26 Feb. 2011. .