Online Program
October 9th - November 6th 2021
Thursdays-Saturdays at 7:30pm
Sundays at 5:00pm
Running time 75 minutes (no intermission)
Please keep your mask on during the performance.
Audible audience responses are welcomed.
If you feel moved to make a sound, we welcome it.
Content Advisory:
Some patrons may find the content disturbing or upsetting.
CLICK HERE to learn more about the content of the show.
If you have further questions, please speak to our Front of House staff.
Sundays at 5:00pm
Running time 75 minutes (no intermission)
Please keep your mask on during the performance.
Audible audience responses are welcomed.
If you feel moved to make a sound, we welcome it.
Content Advisory:
Some patrons may find the content disturbing or upsetting.
CLICK HERE to learn more about the content of the show.
If you have further questions, please speak to our Front of House staff.
About Family
Family is a play about being born into a violent planet. After their father's funeral, half-siblings Alice, Linus, and David sit quietly in the house they grew up in. Soon, they begin to hear, smell, taste, and see very awful things.
Scroll to the bottom of the page for our Dramaturg, Pancho Savery's essay about Family.
Spoiler Alert (read after the show)
Scroll to the bottom of the page for our Dramaturg, Pancho Savery's essay about Family.
Spoiler Alert (read after the show)
Playwright: Celine Song
CELINE SONG's play ENDLINGS received its world premiere in 2019 at American Repertory Theater, and its New York premiere in Spring 2020 at New York Theatre Workshop. It was selected for the 2018 O'Neill National Playwrights Conference, and it was placed on the 2017 Kilroys list. Celine is a member of the Public Theater’s 2016-2017 Emerging Writers Group, Ars Nova’s 2014-2015 Play Group, and The Orchard Project's inaugural NYC Greenhouse 2018. She was a Playwrights Realm Writing Fellow from 2017-2018, a 2014 & 2016 Great Plains Theatre Conference Playwright, and she was a 2017 semifinalist for the P73 Playwriting Fellowship. Her play TOM & ELIZA was a semifinalist for the American Playwriting Foundation's 2016 Relentless Award. Celine has been awarded residencies, fellowships, and commissions from MTC/Sloan, Sundance, the Millay Colony for the arts, the MacDowell Colony, Yaddo, and the Edward F. Albee Foundation. She holds an M.F.A. from Columbia. Celine was a staff writer on Amazon's The WHEEL OF TIME Season 1 and is directing her feature film PAST LIVES for A24.
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Director & Set Designer: Samantha Van Der Merwe
Born in Johannesburg, South Africa, Samantha Van Der Merwe has lived in the United States for 25 years, and is the founding Artistic Director of Shaking the Tree Theatre in Portland, OR.
Founded in 2003, Shaking the Tree Theatre has become known for melding the boundaries of theatre and visual art by presenting thrilling and unconventional theatrical experiences. Samantha is a proud member of SDC (Stage Directors and Choreographers Society), and TCG (Theatre Communications Group). Recent directing projects include: REFUGE (Art Installation/Devised), BAKKHAI (Euripides/Anne Carson), Escaped Alone (Caryl Churchill), _____ the wolf (devised), SALT (devised), Macbeth (William Shakespeare), The Caucasian Chalk Circle (Bertolt Brecht), Come to the Table, Mike Pence (Devised), Miss Julie (August Strindberg, adapted by Craig Lucas), We're All Mad Here (Devised), Venus and Adonis (William Shakespeare), Head. Hands. Feet. (Devised & Edna O’Brien). |
Cast
Alice: Rebby Yuer Foster
Linus: Blake Stone
David: Kai Hynes
Linus: Blake Stone
David: Kai Hynes
Rebby Yuer Foster (they/them) is the Associate Artistic Director of Shaking the Tree Theatre. Recent pieces with Shaking the Tree include, 家人: A Self Portrait (director/editor), Refuge: Our Lady of Lunar Reflection (director/editor), The Edge (director/editor), 抜け首 (director/editor). Recent acting credits include A Christmas Carol (Seacoast Repertory Theatre), Once (Seacoast Repertory Theatre), We’ve Come to Believe (Humana Festival ‘19), A Christmas Carol (Actor’s Theatre of Louisville), Dracula (Actor’s Theatre of Louisville), & Xiaoyen (Actor’s Theatre of Louisville). Rebby is a former Acting Apprentice at the Actor’s Theatre of Louisville ‘18-19. They grew up in Seattle, Washington and received their B.A. in Theatre & English at the University of Portland ‘18. @rebbyyuer
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Blake Stone is proud to make his Shaking The Tree debut in this season’s production of Family. Blake lives in Portland, where he has worked with various theatre companies, such as Portland Center Stage, Chapel Theatre Collective, Staged!, and Artists Repertory Theatre. Some notable roles for Blake include Ram Sweeney in Heathers: the Musical, Mila in the World Premiere of Swimming While Drowning, Anthony in I and You, and Felix in Curve of Departure. In his free time, Blake enjoys hiking the beautiful scapes of the Pacific Northwest, and finding new adventures around every gorgeous corner. He also recently took up bug collecting and keeping in the past year which has become a very sincere passion. You can next find Blake in the upcoming new musical The Belongings which is set to premiere at Chapel Theatre this winter. Blake has always been pushed, and encouraged by his wonderful friends and family, and for that, would like to dedicate his performance as Linus to those great people. You know who you are. Enjoy the show!
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Kai Hynes is a performing artist originally from San Jose, California, with a B.A. in English and Theatre from the University of Portland. Recent acting credits include Wolves Eat Elk (University of Portland), The Mermaid Hour (Milagro Theatre), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Livermore Shakespeare Festival), and The Caucasian Chalk Circle (Shaking the Tree Theatre). He made his directorial debut with Cock (University of Portland). He is currently enrolled in Portland Experimental Theatre Ensemble’s year-long training program, where he hopes to reshape and redirect his personal practice of theatre making.
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Creative Team
Lighting Designer: Anthony Arnista
Anthony Arnista is a lighting designer, actor, and photographer. He graduated with an M.F.A in Ensemble Based Physical Theater from Dell’arte International in 2013. He co-founded the company White Collar Crimes Theatre, which has created two original vaudeville inspired works that have toured the Canadian Fringe Festivals. He also works as a touring technician for both fringe festivals and touring companies taking him to places like: Alaska, Australia, Canada, Scotland and South Africa.
Sound Designer: Matt Wiens
Matt is a Portland-based composer and sound designer and is delighted to be collaborating again with Shaking the Tree Theatre. Recent work includes The Mineola Twins, Las Meninas (audio plays), The Baltimore Waltz, Well, and Let Me Down Easy with Profile Theater; Indecent with Artists Rep; Refuge (installation), The Bakkhai, and Escaped Alone with Shaking the Tree Theatre; MALA with CoHo Productions, and Barbecue with Portland Playhouse. Matt holds a BA in Theater from Goshen College and a Masters in Music Technology from NYU. You can hear his music at soundcloud.com/mattwiens.
Costume Designer: Anand Boucher- Colbert
Anand is a Portland based designer who focuses on fashion and garment creation. They are excited to be spearheading costume design for Family in collaboration with Shaking the Tree Theatre. Their project history includes endeavors such as making merchandise for local businesses and working for fashion companies like depop to create unique content to draw people into the fashion world. Anand has a background in visual arts, photography and design but fashion/styling is the creative path they follow these days. To see more of their work visit them on Instagram at @f.6x2
Technical Director & Set Design Collaborator: Victoria Hilton
Victoria is a local builder and designer with a big, crafty heart. When she is not at her new exciting job at Shaking the Tree Theater, she is in her final year pursuing her bachelor's degree in Architecture. Her recent positions include Master Carpenter and Scene Shop Supervisor for PCC Performing Arts Center and Mobile Museum Engineer for The City Repair Project. Victoria loves the excitement of the theater world and hopes to continue her passion of design build.
Set Design Assistant: Katarina Yo
Kat Yo is a driven and accomplished young designer, receiving her B.A. in Theater Design from the University of Portland in May 2021. Originally from California, she has worked with several theaters along the West Coast including Broadway Music Circus as the Assistant Puppet Designer and Lead Properties Artisan, the Sacramento Ballet as a lighting designer and stage manager, the California State Fair in conjunction with Stage 9’s “Discover the Dinosaurs” life-size animatronic exhibit, the El Dorado Musical Theater Company in California, The East West Players in L.A., as well as Mago Hunt Theater and the Blaire Studio at the University of Portland. She is interested in the intersection where storytelling meets environmentally conscious design and is committed to making art focused around social justice themes. To explore Kat’s work, visit Kat-Yo.com. Kat looks forward to using her creativity in bringing Family to life and hopes the audience gains a new perspective in watching Celine Song’s play unfold. Finally, Kat would like to thank her wonderful parents, her supportive friends, and the incredible group of artists and storytellers at Shaking the Tree Theater who have welcomed her with open arms.
Carpenter & Lighting Assistant: Spencer Fork
Spencer Fork is a recent graduate of the University of Oregon who majored in Theatre Arts with a focus in Lighting Design. Creating theatre has been an integral part of his life since high school, and he has grown passionate about how design can compliment storytelling. He is thrilled to be working with Shaking the Tree again as they reopen their space for live performances. Besides theatre, he also enjoys playing the piano and jamming with friends.
Carpenter: Bmo
Bmo's a small human doing their best and navigating through this chaotic world a day at a time. They're a freelance carpenter, very gay, and pretty charming.
Stage Manager: Laurel Wilde
Laurel (she/they) is a multi-faceted theatre geek, currently located in Portland, OR, and is thrilled to be working with Shaking the Tree for the first time. Originally from the Appalachian mountains of North Carolina, Laurel is the Communications Manager at CoHo Productions, writes marketing copy for Crave Theatre, and occasionally hangs lights or works front-of-house at Imago. When she’s not working behind the scenes, Laurel can be found in her kayak on the river, chasing waterfalls out by the gorge, or occasionally slinging pies in the side. A major shout out goes out to her kids, who patiently tolerate her theatre habit.
Assistant Stage Manager: Emily Hogan
Emily is a theatre artist located in Portland, OR, beyond excited to be working with Shaking the Tree once again. A transplant from Lompoc, CA, she attended the University of Portland, studying acting and dramaturgy. You may have seen Emily on the stage for Xmas Cuento Remix and Huinca at Milagro, and Made to Dance in Burning Buildings at Shaking the Tree. She has also been a dramaturg on numerous productions, including i defy you, stars (Do It For Mead), The Killing Fields (Orphic), and Jaffa Gate (Northwest Theatre Workshop). Emily is a middle child and a double Sagittarius.
Dramaturg: Pancho Savery
Pancho Savery is Professor of English, Humanities, American Studies, and Comparative Race and Ethnicity Studies at Reed College, where he teaches courses on modern and contemporary drama, African-American literature, American literature and culture, and American Indian fiction. He has published essays on Ralph Ellison, Saunders Redding, James Baldwin, Adrienne Rich, Robert Creeley, Ezra Pound, Samuel Beckett, Paula Vogel, Tennessee Williams, Sarah Ruhl, Brandon Jacobs-Jenkins, Mike Lew, Lucas Hnath, Euripides, and others. He serves on the Board of Directors of Artists Repertory Theatre (chair), Boom Arts (chair), Coho Repertory Theatre, Corrib Theatre, Original Practice Shakespeare (co-chair), P.E.T.E. (chair), PHAME (immediate past chair), Portland Playhouse, The Red Door Project, Shaking the Tree Theatre, Third Rail Repertory Theatre, and Our Children Oregon. He has worked as dramaturg at Artists
Repertory Theatre, Clackamas Repertory Theatre, Corrib Theatre, Portland Center Stage, Profile Theatre, Shaking the Tree Theatre, and Third Rail Repertory Theatre. Additionally, he is Literary Dramaturg at Artists Repertory Theatre, Literary Manager at Corrib, and Third Rail, and Artistic Associate at Shaking the Tree. He is a member of the Mercury and DNA:Oxygen theatre companies, and is a member of The Modern Language Association, LMDA, TCG, and the Jazz Journalists Association.
Fight/Intimacy Director: Heath Hyun Houghton
Heath is a Korean American adoptee who grew up in rural Michigan on the unceded lands of the Odawa and Odawa Anishinabewaki nations and is currently based on the stolen lands of the Tribes of the Confederated Grand Ronde, in the area now known as Portland, OR. He is an actor, writer and director. He is a graduate of Goddard College’s MFA in Creative Writing with a focus on Playwriting and earned a BA in Theatre Performance from Humboldt State University. He also studied Korean dance and performance styles in Jinju, South Korea with USD Modern Dance.
Front of House Manager: Bridge Donnelly
Bridge (they/them/theirs) is elated to welcome you to Shaking the Tree Theatre as your Front of House Manager. This place has provided love, reflection, and community support for Bridge, and they hope that you, too, can experience something magical here at StT. Bridge is a local artist who spends the bulk of their time with their cat Goldberry, tending to their houseplants and garden, and making art. They recently joined StT as Development Associate and Patron Relationships Manager, and cannot wait to see what the coming seasons have in store. Enjoy this incredible show!
Poster Graphic Design: Ella Higgins
Anthony Arnista is a lighting designer, actor, and photographer. He graduated with an M.F.A in Ensemble Based Physical Theater from Dell’arte International in 2013. He co-founded the company White Collar Crimes Theatre, which has created two original vaudeville inspired works that have toured the Canadian Fringe Festivals. He also works as a touring technician for both fringe festivals and touring companies taking him to places like: Alaska, Australia, Canada, Scotland and South Africa.
Sound Designer: Matt Wiens
Matt is a Portland-based composer and sound designer and is delighted to be collaborating again with Shaking the Tree Theatre. Recent work includes The Mineola Twins, Las Meninas (audio plays), The Baltimore Waltz, Well, and Let Me Down Easy with Profile Theater; Indecent with Artists Rep; Refuge (installation), The Bakkhai, and Escaped Alone with Shaking the Tree Theatre; MALA with CoHo Productions, and Barbecue with Portland Playhouse. Matt holds a BA in Theater from Goshen College and a Masters in Music Technology from NYU. You can hear his music at soundcloud.com/mattwiens.
Costume Designer: Anand Boucher- Colbert
Anand is a Portland based designer who focuses on fashion and garment creation. They are excited to be spearheading costume design for Family in collaboration with Shaking the Tree Theatre. Their project history includes endeavors such as making merchandise for local businesses and working for fashion companies like depop to create unique content to draw people into the fashion world. Anand has a background in visual arts, photography and design but fashion/styling is the creative path they follow these days. To see more of their work visit them on Instagram at @f.6x2
Technical Director & Set Design Collaborator: Victoria Hilton
Victoria is a local builder and designer with a big, crafty heart. When she is not at her new exciting job at Shaking the Tree Theater, she is in her final year pursuing her bachelor's degree in Architecture. Her recent positions include Master Carpenter and Scene Shop Supervisor for PCC Performing Arts Center and Mobile Museum Engineer for The City Repair Project. Victoria loves the excitement of the theater world and hopes to continue her passion of design build.
Set Design Assistant: Katarina Yo
Kat Yo is a driven and accomplished young designer, receiving her B.A. in Theater Design from the University of Portland in May 2021. Originally from California, she has worked with several theaters along the West Coast including Broadway Music Circus as the Assistant Puppet Designer and Lead Properties Artisan, the Sacramento Ballet as a lighting designer and stage manager, the California State Fair in conjunction with Stage 9’s “Discover the Dinosaurs” life-size animatronic exhibit, the El Dorado Musical Theater Company in California, The East West Players in L.A., as well as Mago Hunt Theater and the Blaire Studio at the University of Portland. She is interested in the intersection where storytelling meets environmentally conscious design and is committed to making art focused around social justice themes. To explore Kat’s work, visit Kat-Yo.com. Kat looks forward to using her creativity in bringing Family to life and hopes the audience gains a new perspective in watching Celine Song’s play unfold. Finally, Kat would like to thank her wonderful parents, her supportive friends, and the incredible group of artists and storytellers at Shaking the Tree Theater who have welcomed her with open arms.
Carpenter & Lighting Assistant: Spencer Fork
Spencer Fork is a recent graduate of the University of Oregon who majored in Theatre Arts with a focus in Lighting Design. Creating theatre has been an integral part of his life since high school, and he has grown passionate about how design can compliment storytelling. He is thrilled to be working with Shaking the Tree again as they reopen their space for live performances. Besides theatre, he also enjoys playing the piano and jamming with friends.
Carpenter: Bmo
Bmo's a small human doing their best and navigating through this chaotic world a day at a time. They're a freelance carpenter, very gay, and pretty charming.
Stage Manager: Laurel Wilde
Laurel (she/they) is a multi-faceted theatre geek, currently located in Portland, OR, and is thrilled to be working with Shaking the Tree for the first time. Originally from the Appalachian mountains of North Carolina, Laurel is the Communications Manager at CoHo Productions, writes marketing copy for Crave Theatre, and occasionally hangs lights or works front-of-house at Imago. When she’s not working behind the scenes, Laurel can be found in her kayak on the river, chasing waterfalls out by the gorge, or occasionally slinging pies in the side. A major shout out goes out to her kids, who patiently tolerate her theatre habit.
Assistant Stage Manager: Emily Hogan
Emily is a theatre artist located in Portland, OR, beyond excited to be working with Shaking the Tree once again. A transplant from Lompoc, CA, she attended the University of Portland, studying acting and dramaturgy. You may have seen Emily on the stage for Xmas Cuento Remix and Huinca at Milagro, and Made to Dance in Burning Buildings at Shaking the Tree. She has also been a dramaturg on numerous productions, including i defy you, stars (Do It For Mead), The Killing Fields (Orphic), and Jaffa Gate (Northwest Theatre Workshop). Emily is a middle child and a double Sagittarius.
Dramaturg: Pancho Savery
Pancho Savery is Professor of English, Humanities, American Studies, and Comparative Race and Ethnicity Studies at Reed College, where he teaches courses on modern and contemporary drama, African-American literature, American literature and culture, and American Indian fiction. He has published essays on Ralph Ellison, Saunders Redding, James Baldwin, Adrienne Rich, Robert Creeley, Ezra Pound, Samuel Beckett, Paula Vogel, Tennessee Williams, Sarah Ruhl, Brandon Jacobs-Jenkins, Mike Lew, Lucas Hnath, Euripides, and others. He serves on the Board of Directors of Artists Repertory Theatre (chair), Boom Arts (chair), Coho Repertory Theatre, Corrib Theatre, Original Practice Shakespeare (co-chair), P.E.T.E. (chair), PHAME (immediate past chair), Portland Playhouse, The Red Door Project, Shaking the Tree Theatre, Third Rail Repertory Theatre, and Our Children Oregon. He has worked as dramaturg at Artists
Repertory Theatre, Clackamas Repertory Theatre, Corrib Theatre, Portland Center Stage, Profile Theatre, Shaking the Tree Theatre, and Third Rail Repertory Theatre. Additionally, he is Literary Dramaturg at Artists Repertory Theatre, Literary Manager at Corrib, and Third Rail, and Artistic Associate at Shaking the Tree. He is a member of the Mercury and DNA:Oxygen theatre companies, and is a member of The Modern Language Association, LMDA, TCG, and the Jazz Journalists Association.
Fight/Intimacy Director: Heath Hyun Houghton
Heath is a Korean American adoptee who grew up in rural Michigan on the unceded lands of the Odawa and Odawa Anishinabewaki nations and is currently based on the stolen lands of the Tribes of the Confederated Grand Ronde, in the area now known as Portland, OR. He is an actor, writer and director. He is a graduate of Goddard College’s MFA in Creative Writing with a focus on Playwriting and earned a BA in Theatre Performance from Humboldt State University. He also studied Korean dance and performance styles in Jinju, South Korea with USD Modern Dance.
Front of House Manager: Bridge Donnelly
Bridge (they/them/theirs) is elated to welcome you to Shaking the Tree Theatre as your Front of House Manager. This place has provided love, reflection, and community support for Bridge, and they hope that you, too, can experience something magical here at StT. Bridge is a local artist who spends the bulk of their time with their cat Goldberry, tending to their houseplants and garden, and making art. They recently joined StT as Development Associate and Patron Relationships Manager, and cannot wait to see what the coming seasons have in store. Enjoy this incredible show!
Poster Graphic Design: Ella Higgins
“There is Something Really Wrong with This House, Isn’t There?”: Celine Song’s Family
by Pancho Savery (Dramaturg)
Imagine a surrealist world created by Salvador Dali, add a taste of the absurd world of Alice in Wonderland, thread through this the myth of Bluebeard, and top it off with a picture of a totally dysfunctional family filled with violence, incest, and isolation, and you get a beginning picture of Celine Song’s Family.
In 1991, the British literary journal Granta published a special issue on the family. The full title of the issue was The Family: They Fuck You Up, and Song is writing from this perspective. In this family, a white father has sired three children with three different women, who come from different racial backgrounds, and each carries her own burden. One is an eight foot three astronaut, the second has a body completely covered in hair, and the third is the father’s sister with whom he has engaged in a twenty-year long incestuous relationship. The children of these relationships find themselves in the only house they have ever lived in (built by the father, an architect) on the day of their father’s funeral. In their oversized shoes on the raked surreal stage, they use their five senses to reminisce and discover the truth of their origins, using language that says, but doesn’t always mean. Consider, for example, the phrase “Your father was a good man,” or the simple word ”baby.” How many different ways can they be said, and how many meanings do they contain or hide?
In 1697 in Paris, Charles Perrault published the folktale “Bluebeard,” the story of a wealthy
man who marries and then murders one wife after another, hanging the corpses in an
underground chamber. In the original, the last wife discovers the chamber, and she and her
siblings kill Bluebeard. Song’s tale is slightly darker. Two of the siblings come together against the
third; but in the end, the third sibling finds the courage to resist in the play’s final words.
Song’s play, although absurd and at times incredibly funny (see the Abbott and Costello or
Vladimir and Estragon-like dialogue about the hairy mother, or Linus’s endless repetitive stage
directions for his unmade film, or the battle of the flowers, or Alice’s revelations about her
personal hygiene, or David’s dissertation on the word “monster,” or David’s failed attempts to
die when ordered to do so by Linus, or his failure to move when he says he will), provides an
interesting commentary on white patriarchy. The father, an architect, has built the house of
white patriarchy in which he has trapped his wives and children, and punished his wives for
whatever transgressions he has decided they are guilty of. How difficult is it to grow up in such
a house? Is one doomed to repeat the sins of the past, or is resistance possible; and if so, what
form should it take?
The play provides two contradictory answers. On the one hand, Linus, in being violent
towards both Alice and David, continues the violence of his father, even making David apologize
for provoking him. Worse yet, Linus and Alice conceive a child together, continuing the
incestuous pattern of the father and his sister, Alice’s mother. Alice even says, “I have to
become our father’s new wife” (66). So not only are they continuing the pattern, but they have
actually become their parents. This would seem to answer the question in the negative.
Children cannot get out from under the negative influence of their parents. But then there are
several complications. The first is David’s dissertation on the meaning of the word “monster.”
According to him, the Greeks and Romans believed that monsters are sent to the people by the
gods as warnings to change their evil ways (the sphinx in Sophocles’s Oedipus Rex being a prime example). As David says, “monsters are divine lessons” (39). From that perspective, Song argues that while the siblings may be mostly evil, they are evil with a purpose. We don’t want to be like them. And if we are engaged in activities similar to theirs, we need to cease.
Not only does Song point out the problem, but she also provides a solution, albeit a violent
one. The important conclusion is that the house of murderous white patriarchy can be
destroyed, but it must be destroyed utterly and completely. Interestingly, it is the Face who
provides the solution; that second face, inherited from her mother, that Alice has on the back
of her head. As representative of Alice’s dead mother, she speaks for all the women who have
lived in the house. As Alice says, “My mother was raped, David’s mother was beaten, Linus’s
mother was strangled, and our father is not quite human” (42). The house of patriarchy is evil
and must come down; our future survival depends on it.
In his History of the Peloponnesian War between Athens and Sparta, the Greek historian
Thucydides says that he is writing so that future generations can learn the lessons and mistakes
of the past and not repeat them. In undertaking this task for this purpose, Thucydides obviously
is coming from a positive perspective and believes that his words can bring about change. On
the other hand, he also says that “human nature being what it is,” events “will at some time or
other and in much the same ways, be repeated in the future” (I: 22). Celine Song is challenging
us to use all of our senses to uncover the hidden truth. What we do in response to that truth is
up to each one of us.
In 1991, the British literary journal Granta published a special issue on the family. The full title of the issue was The Family: They Fuck You Up, and Song is writing from this perspective. In this family, a white father has sired three children with three different women, who come from different racial backgrounds, and each carries her own burden. One is an eight foot three astronaut, the second has a body completely covered in hair, and the third is the father’s sister with whom he has engaged in a twenty-year long incestuous relationship. The children of these relationships find themselves in the only house they have ever lived in (built by the father, an architect) on the day of their father’s funeral. In their oversized shoes on the raked surreal stage, they use their five senses to reminisce and discover the truth of their origins, using language that says, but doesn’t always mean. Consider, for example, the phrase “Your father was a good man,” or the simple word ”baby.” How many different ways can they be said, and how many meanings do they contain or hide?
In 1697 in Paris, Charles Perrault published the folktale “Bluebeard,” the story of a wealthy
man who marries and then murders one wife after another, hanging the corpses in an
underground chamber. In the original, the last wife discovers the chamber, and she and her
siblings kill Bluebeard. Song’s tale is slightly darker. Two of the siblings come together against the
third; but in the end, the third sibling finds the courage to resist in the play’s final words.
Song’s play, although absurd and at times incredibly funny (see the Abbott and Costello or
Vladimir and Estragon-like dialogue about the hairy mother, or Linus’s endless repetitive stage
directions for his unmade film, or the battle of the flowers, or Alice’s revelations about her
personal hygiene, or David’s dissertation on the word “monster,” or David’s failed attempts to
die when ordered to do so by Linus, or his failure to move when he says he will), provides an
interesting commentary on white patriarchy. The father, an architect, has built the house of
white patriarchy in which he has trapped his wives and children, and punished his wives for
whatever transgressions he has decided they are guilty of. How difficult is it to grow up in such
a house? Is one doomed to repeat the sins of the past, or is resistance possible; and if so, what
form should it take?
The play provides two contradictory answers. On the one hand, Linus, in being violent
towards both Alice and David, continues the violence of his father, even making David apologize
for provoking him. Worse yet, Linus and Alice conceive a child together, continuing the
incestuous pattern of the father and his sister, Alice’s mother. Alice even says, “I have to
become our father’s new wife” (66). So not only are they continuing the pattern, but they have
actually become their parents. This would seem to answer the question in the negative.
Children cannot get out from under the negative influence of their parents. But then there are
several complications. The first is David’s dissertation on the meaning of the word “monster.”
According to him, the Greeks and Romans believed that monsters are sent to the people by the
gods as warnings to change their evil ways (the sphinx in Sophocles’s Oedipus Rex being a prime example). As David says, “monsters are divine lessons” (39). From that perspective, Song argues that while the siblings may be mostly evil, they are evil with a purpose. We don’t want to be like them. And if we are engaged in activities similar to theirs, we need to cease.
Not only does Song point out the problem, but she also provides a solution, albeit a violent
one. The important conclusion is that the house of murderous white patriarchy can be
destroyed, but it must be destroyed utterly and completely. Interestingly, it is the Face who
provides the solution; that second face, inherited from her mother, that Alice has on the back
of her head. As representative of Alice’s dead mother, she speaks for all the women who have
lived in the house. As Alice says, “My mother was raped, David’s mother was beaten, Linus’s
mother was strangled, and our father is not quite human” (42). The house of patriarchy is evil
and must come down; our future survival depends on it.
In his History of the Peloponnesian War between Athens and Sparta, the Greek historian
Thucydides says that he is writing so that future generations can learn the lessons and mistakes
of the past and not repeat them. In undertaking this task for this purpose, Thucydides obviously
is coming from a positive perspective and believes that his words can bring about change. On
the other hand, he also says that “human nature being what it is,” events “will at some time or
other and in much the same ways, be repeated in the future” (I: 22). Celine Song is challenging
us to use all of our senses to uncover the hidden truth. What we do in response to that truth is
up to each one of us.
FAMILY is generously supported by our major donors; Ronni Lacroute, Jessie Jonas & Ellyn Bye.
We'd also like to thank the foundations listed below, members of Shaking the Tree's Board, as well as many other individual supporters. To support this show, or any other programs in our season, please visit our DONATE page.
We'd also like to thank the foundations listed below, members of Shaking the Tree's Board, as well as many other individual supporters. To support this show, or any other programs in our season, please visit our DONATE page.
Please take a moment to remember who's land Shaking the Tree sits on and read our LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT.