{"id":158340,"date":"2023-11-09T12:39:39","date_gmt":"2023-11-09T17:39:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/?p=158340"},"modified":"2026-05-08T14:06:48","modified_gmt":"2026-05-08T18:06:48","slug":"hilarious-but-provocative-the-thanksgiving-play-is-a-bates-play-that-has-to-be-done","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/2023\/11\/09\/hilarious-but-provocative-the-thanksgiving-play-is-a-bates-play-that-has-to-be-done\/","title":{"rendered":"Hilarious and provocative, ‘The Thanksgiving Play’ is a Bates production that ‘has to be done’"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Tim Dugan, associate professor of theater, has wanted to bring The Thanksgiving Play<\/em> to Bates since it was first produced off-Broadway in 2018.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But he knew that in order to produce Larissa FastHorse\u2019s satire, which is as hilarious as it is unsettling, the Bates production crew and cast would need help avoiding the very behavior that the play viciously lampoons: performative wokeness by white people who think they\u2019re celebrating a Native American perspective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Thanksgiving Play’s play-within-a-play gets going as the woke and clueless Caden (David Walker \u201924), Logan (Paige Magid \u201924), Alicia (Ruby Marden \u201927), and Jaxton (Adam Joseph Matos \u201926) set out to create a Thanksgiving pageant for schoolchildren that also celebrates Native American Heritage Month. Good intentions quickly create bad, but very funny results. (Phyllis Graber Jensen\/Bates College)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

So as Dugan set out to produce The Thanksgiving Play<\/em> at Bates this fall, he forged a partnership with two experts: John Bear Mitchell, a citizen of the Penobscot Nation<\/a> and program coordinator at the University of Maine\u2019s Wabanaki Center in Orono, and Bates Associate Professor of History Joe Hall, who teaches and researches<\/a> the history of the Wabanaki tribes: the Wolastoqey (or Maliseet), Mi’kmaq, Passamaquoddy, Penobscot, and Abenaki.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Performances of The Thanksgiving Play<\/em> take place on the Gannett Theater stage through Nov. 13<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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At first, says Mitchell, he was \u201ca little apprehensive\u201d about joining the Bates theater team. \u201cBut once I saw their commitment, I was completely sold. In fact, I thought, \u2018This has to be done. I need to work with these actors and the director. I need to help them. It was so worth it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the top-10 most-produced plays in the country this year, The Thanksgiving Play<\/em> delivers belly laughs, but is also intended to shock and disturb the audience. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s about four white actors, two of whom are teachers and all of whom consider themselves liberal, woke, and forward-thinking, and how they go about rehearsing a Thanksgiving pageant that celebrates Native American Heritage Month for elementary school students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The play within The Thanksgiving Play<\/em> spirals into chaos as artistic differences become physical between Caden (David Walker \u201924) and Jaxton (Adam Joseph Matos ’26). At left is Logan (Paige Magid ’24), director of the fraught Thanksgiving pageant, and at right is Alicia (Ruby Marden ’27), a Los Angeles\u2013based actor hired on the pretense of being Native American. (Phyllis Graber Jensen\/Bates College)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

While played for laughs, their efforts are clearly small-minded and offensive. \u201cMeant to \u2018lift up\u2019 the Native American point of view despite including no Native Americans,\u201d writes The New York Times<\/em> in its review, the play within the play \u201ctwists the [characters] into pretzels of performative wokeness so mortifying they induce a perma-cringe.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The practice of inviting cultural consultants is part of the new approach to theater taking place across the country, Dugan explains. With The Thanksgiving Play<\/em>, the goal of working with Mitchell and Hall is to avoid the pitfall of \u201cbecoming the play. I knew this was not my lived experience. I knew as part of the learning it would require a whole cultural competency to help us approach this carefully and thoughtfully. Throughout the process of working with John Bear, Joe, Wabanaki REACH, and doing research, I realized how much I don’t know.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Several times this fall, Mitchell, who has been a lecturer in Native American studies at the University of Maine for 23 years, drove more than three hours roundtrip from Orono to provide insight at rehearsals, as well as encouragement to the students. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Joined by Hall, who also served as the play’s dramaturge, Mitchell fielded questions from students in real time and responded to emails from students who wanted to dig deeper into FastHorse\u2019s message.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The trouble continues for Logan (Paige Magid), Jaxton (Adam Joseph Matos), and Alicia (Ruby Marden). Magid relishes playing Logan because “there are no throw-away lines” in the script. (Phyllis Graber Jensen\/Bates College)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Throughout, Mitchell took time to reassure students that it was OK to follow FastHorse\u2019s stage directions, regardless how disturbing they may be. He told them not to worry about how offensive their lines or actions on stage were, because that was the whole point, since the shocking stories that FastHorse weaves throughout her play are based on true events.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI don’t think my job or even the actors or Tim\u2019s is to make the audience feel comfortable about true history,\u201d Mitchell says. \u201cI don\u2019t teach history or consult on history to make people feel comfortable about true history.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To help the cast and production team get a basic understanding of Native culture, Dugan also scheduled a six-hour, two-day workshop with Wabanaki REACH, a Maine-based non-profit that teaches Wabanaki history and culture to promote restorative justice and restorative practices in Maine communities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Following the Nov. 8 dress rehearsal, Associate Professor of Theater Tim Dugan (top), director of The Thanksgiving Play, huddles with members of the creative team: Costume Shop Supervisor Carol Farrell, who worked on costume design and puppetry, and Senior Lecturer in Theater Kati Vecsey, who provided vocal direction. (Phyllis Graber Jensen\/Bates College)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The workshops, additional readings, and spontaneous discussions that erupted during rehearsals all helped focus the cast on delivering FastHorse\u2019s message.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because an audience who takes in The Thanksgiving Play<\/em> also might need help understanding and making sense of FastHorse\u2019s intent, Dugan put together an expanded play program that explains what the audience can expect, with insights from Hall and Mitchell.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a long-time consultant on film, television, and theater productions, Mitchell knows the effect satire can have. It can prompt an audience to reflect, examine, and consider their own morals and life views. The Thanksgiving Play<\/em>, he says, helps deliver this reaction in spades. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When students expressed concern at being offensive or showcasing violence from historical events, Mitchell encouraged them to show all of that \u2014 to take it as far as they could. And they listened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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In the play within The Thanksgiving Play, the Los Angeles-based actress Alicia (Ruby Marden) gets hired for the play because the director believes she is Native American \u2014 based on a headshot where she pretends to be. (Phyllis Graber Jensen\/Bates College)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTo hear from someone who is a specialist in Native American history is great, but to hear it from someone who has experience in the (misrepresentation of Indigenous people), that was extremely valuable,\u201d says Paige Magid \u201924 of Washington, D.C., who\u2019s doing her senior thesis for her theater major on acting techniques in the play. \u201cJohn Bear has specific experience working in theatre and film as a cultural consultant so he knows about media representation from that.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In one particular scene in the play, the amount of blood (albeit fake) that gushes onto the stage is grotesque, even haunting. When the play was shown on Broadway, some in the audience walked out during this violent scene. Students asked Mitchell if they should scale it back. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI told them, \u2018Do you want to temper history? This country was not built on love and peace. It was one of the largest mass extinctions in history and that\u2019s well documented. It should be a shock. If it\u2019s not a shock, then you censored history,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Jaxton (Adam Joseph Matos) is a mostly out-of-work actor trying to play the part of a Native American \u2014 without success or historical accuracy.<\/em> (Phyllis Graber Jensen\/Bates College)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

David Walker \u201924 of Canton, Mass., who plays one of the four white characters, spent more time preparing for this production than on past plays at Bates. The reward? Now he\u2019s looking forward to seeing the effect the play has on those who attend.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe way FastHorse describes it, there is a comedy within the satire, so for every bit of sugar, there is medicine to go with it. If people are thinking about this play when they leave the theater, then I think we\u2019ve done our job,\u201d says Walker, a double major in theater and economics who plays the role of Caden, an elementary school history teacher. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Magid plays the role of Logan, a high school drama teacher trying to hold onto her job, while Adam Joseph Matos \u201926 of Springfield, N.J., is cast as Jaxton, a mostly out-of-work actor. Ruby Marden \u201927 of Sidney, Maine, plays the role of Alicia, a bold, frank Los Angeles actor. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While it is very hard to deliver lines that are so offensive, says Magid, it\u2019s in service to staying true to FastHorse\u2019s mission, which she says is delivered in every single line in the play. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA lot of people who come to see it will see themselves in it, especially in the Bates community, which is predominately white and liberal. A lot of people want to be woke and do good work without any evidence of being helpful,\u201d says Magid. \u201cI want people to see the offensive thing happening and recognize what\u2019s wrong and modify their own behavior.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Caden (David Walker) is an elementary school history teacher being directed by Logan (Paige Magid). \u201cIf people are thinking about this play when they leave the theater, then I think we\u2019ve done our jobs,” says Walker (Phyllis Graber Jensen\/Bates College) <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Hall says whether the audience walks away with a clear understanding of FastHorse\u2019s messages about the misrepresentation of Indigenous culture in the U.S. is hard to predict. But it\u2019s also hard to miss that Bates is part of an education system that FastHorse\u2019s play is mocking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I think Bates producing this play is great, not because everyone will walk out of the play with a perfect understanding of contemporary Native issues. I hope non-Native people get some sense of the powerful stereotypes that silence so many Native voices,” says Hall. “I also think this play is an exciting opportunity for Bates to think about how it wants to be a place where Native people have a voice, and also provide an education about Native people that is responsible to those voices.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

To help Bates student actors navigate the fast-moving satire The Thanksgiving Play, director Tim Dugan reached out to Native American experts on campus and in Maine to join the creative team. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":148,"featured_media":158353,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_hide_ai_chatbot":false,"_ai_chatbot_style":"","associated_faculty":[],"_Page_Specific_Css":"","_bates_restrict_mod":false,"_table_of_contents_display":false,"_table_of_contents_location":"","_table_of_contents_disableSticky":false,"_is_featured":false,"footnotes":"","_bates_seo_meta_description":"","_bates_seo_block_robots":false,"_bates_seo_sharing_image_id":0,"_bates_seo_sharing_image_twitter_id":0,"_bates_seo_share_title":"","_bates_seo_canonical_overwrite":"","_bates_seo_twitter_template":""},"categories":[11010,166,224],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-158340","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arts","category-humanities-history","category-society-culture"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/158340","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/148"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=158340"}],"version-history":[{"count":45,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/158340\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":172989,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/158340\/revisions\/172989"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/158353"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=158340"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=158340"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=158340"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}