Geneseo Theater Department wraps up their production of The Thanksgiving Play
The Geneseo Theater and Dance Department came back from Thanksgiving break to perform their production of Larissa FastHorse’s The Thanksgiving Play. The production, directed by Adjunct Theatre Instructor Jaime Arena, ran from Nov. 30 to Dec. 4 in Brodie’s Blackbox Theater, with a total of five shows performed over the course of five days.
In this satirical show, Logan (played by senior Hannarose Manning), a failed-actress-turned-drama-teacher, desperately attempts to put together and direct a perfect school production to honor both Native American Heritage Month and the holiday of Thanksgiving. She enlists the help of Jaxton (senior Jordan St. Andre/senior Tea Hensler), a yoga enthusiast/actor/fellow Woke White Person, to navigate the complexities of writing an appropriate script. The two are joined by an ever-aspiring playwright/elementary school teacher Caden (freshman Matt Laio) and LA actress Alicia (freshman Alexis Blatz) as cast members alongside Jaxton.
As the quirky characters come together in an effort to generate an original script, it proves to be much harder than they thought, not only due to the clashing natures of their personalities and shocking truths of their personal lives, but because they slowly come to realize that their “woke” ideas of what should be included in the play are perhaps not the best way to honor Indigenous people. Through a lens of satirical comedy, the characters become avenues for the audience to consider what is at stake if we continue to celebrate Thanksgiving, and how we might amplify the voices of Native people who have been systematically silenced throughout history.
In watching this production, it was clear that the actors worked carefully with one another and their director to create a dialogue both within and beyond their scripts. Their comedic timing hit in a way that made it an enjoyable experience for the audience, while their dramatic timing in the more serious tones of the play facilitated a space in which one could consider how the problematic roots of the past continue to perpetuate harm and stereotypes in the present. The actors truly took on their characters and showcased the process of the characters coming to terms with their privilege.
Between scenes, the production also featured a filmed cast of a teacher (transfer student Megan Rumore) who sang along with two students (sophomore Joanna DeJesus and exchange student Alejandro Reguera Garcia) to wildly problematic children’s Thanksgiving songs. This enhanced the satirical nature of the play and gave way to consideration of how we continue to construct false narratives throughout children’s media. In turn, as the characters on stage are forced to write a script for a play that will be viewed primarily by school children, there is an underlying tension that builds throughout the course of the show.
As with any satirical piece, the moments of laughter in the theater were coupled with lingering thoughts of how we, as individuals and as a society, can and must do better. When the lights went down and the audience was left with the actors taking a deep breath, pausing in the silence, it was clear that the actors brought their characters to life and truly transformed the stage to send a message: we must work against systemic erasure by amplifying the voices of those who have been silenced for far too long.