Seeking the Living Story: A Comparison of SongCatcher and molly has her say :: Essays Papers

Seeking the Living Story A coincidence of SongCatcher and molly has her say Drama is a medium of truth-telling about the undetected substance of our lives. Challenging accepted Western stories of power, of truth, of morality and of self, essential American playwrights Marcie R. Renton and Margaret Brubauc develop dialogue that spans physical and spiritual accreditedms, both on and turned the stage. Within Rentons SongCatcher and Brubaucs molly has her say, spiritual character and multi belongingsal space are blended in mod day settings, employment Native American peoples to defy Western history books and seek Native roots. Using real historical data, these playwrights craft the power of drama into an inspirational conversation of true Native American identity. In the intimate human relationship between performer and audience, there is power to challenge the stories we believe, both what we go about ourselves, and our world. Onstage interactions and essays with the supernatur al defy audiences to deny of the possibility of its instauration and more generally the possibility for existence of things we cannot know fully. As characters struggle with preconceived notions of reality and interfering spirit characters, so audiences must freeze out assumptions of history and engage in the cultural conflict of Native Americans traffic with spirit forces on stage. Supernatural character mollie Ockett is a type of the past story grad student Molly Marie longs to deny in her personal history (Bruchac 320), just as the spirit of Francess Denmore is a figure of Western pomposity Jack desperately wants to trust in as he learns his history, learn some things about who he really is (Renton 22). These symbolic characters and recent day casts are a means of engaging in great themes of cultural rights and the meaning of heritage. Shared space and physical proximity of characters proves the tie-in between history, heritage and modern day life. Renton builds a dream d imension in her play, allowing the reality of spirits to coexist in both real and imagined time. Bruchacs play is more of a relationship between cardinal spirits and one woman, and needs no dream element. Molly Marie and Molly Ockett co-exists in real time, as does Old Mali, ever present and wholly invisible, though only Molly Marie is living today. Each space is multi-dimensional and intuitive of time, as supernatural characters interact freely with modern characters through share objects like doors, cigarette lighters, coffee cups. As spiritual characters go into modern characters space, touching physical props, the ethical questions of identity severally drama poses transcend time to modern minds and hearts.