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Content Warning: This section discusses anti-Indigenous racism and the genocide of Indigenous Americans and features an episode of anti-Indigenous mock violence and suicide.
Scenes 1, 3, 5, and 7 stage Thanksgiving performances that are “sadly inspired by the internet, mostly current teachers’ Pinterest boards” (7). In other words, these are real performance ideas posted online by real teachers. Fasthorse suggests that the director play creatively with the staging and theatricality of these scenes, perhaps by using puppets, children, or multimedia. In Scene 1, the performers sing to the tune of “The Twelve Days of Christmas,” but the gifts are from “the Natives” and include stereotypical items such as “Native tomtoms,” “Native teepees,” “moccasins,” and “Native headdresses.” A note at the end offers the suggestion of dividing students into “Indian and Pilgrims, so the Indians can practice sharing” (9).
The even-numbered scenes are set in a high school drama classroom. Logan, a white woman, is the drama teacher. Jaxton, a white man, helps her set up a snack table. Both are hipsters in overpriced clothes designed to look vintage. Throughout the play, all the characters often settle into yoga poses; Caden’s are the least adept.
Jaxton surprises Logan with a gift for the first day of rehearsal. Logan is puzzled and unimpressed when she pulls out a mason jar, which Jaxton calls a water bottle, until Jaxton explains that the jar is recycled from broken glass found in housing projects. He calls the jar a metaphor for what they will do with shards of facts and racial stereotypes from history to create a beautiful and educational Thanksgiving play. Logan thanks Jaxton for helping her get this assignment. Jaxton puts non-vegan cheese on the table, admitting that he’s mostly vegan but likes dairy cheese on his crackers. Logan, who is entirely vegan, complains that she already finds “the holiday of death” to be difficult (11). Logan talks about all the grants they’ve gotten to devise and produce this play. Jaxton comments that referring to Thanksgiving as the holiday of death might get her fired and that parents will probably expect her to slaughter a turkey.
Logan is not thrilled with the idea, and Jaxton reminds her that there is a petition to fire her that was signed by 300 parents. She points out that negativity isn’t helpful, and Jaxton backs off. Logan adds that she has gotten an additional Native American Heritage Month Awareness Through Art grant that is paying to hire a professional actor. At first, Jaxton assumes that Logan is planning to hire him, but she clarifies that she has hired an actress from Los Angeles. Logan reminds Jaxton that he volunteers to take part in school plays, which doesn’t make him a professional. Jaxton chides Logan for equating LA with prestige, and Logan reveals that LA is a sore spot because she couldn’t make it there as an actor, which she presumes is because she wasn’t attractive enough. Logan notes that the actress she hired is beautiful. Jaxton reminds her that beauty is a social construct. Logan asserts that she hopes to mentor this actress and teach her that appearance is superficial. Jaxton praises her self-awareness, and they kiss. When the kiss ends, they “separate and perform a decoupling ritual, moving from affection to neutral” (13), a ritual that repeats throughout the play. Jaxton offers to throw out the non-vegan cheese, but Logan replies that she can handle it.
Caden enters and introduces himself. He is an elementary history teacher, although he asserts that his knowledge of American history is much more in-depth than the elementary level. It turns out that Caden is an avid fan of Logan and Jaxton’s school plays. He was particularly impressed with Logan’s production of Eugene O’Neill’s The Iceman Cometh, finding that she made the material more relatable to a teenage audience. Apparently, the production was shut down as inappropriate, and this fiasco resulted in the 300-parent petition for Logan to be fired. Caden is thrilled to be contributing to what will be a devised piece as a historical consultant. Alicia rushes in just as Logan starts to text her, and the two men ogle her briefly. Alicia is white “but has looks that would have been cast as ethnic in 1950s movies” (7). Alicia babbles excuses about Wi-Fi and buses to explain her lateness. Caden picks at her incorrect use of the word “literally.” Alicia looks for the director, having assumed that Logan was just the casting director at her audition, seemingly unaware that elementary school plays don’t use casting directors.
Alicia asks for her script and is irked to learn that the play will be devised, meaning that everyone will contribute to creating the script. Alicia points out that she’s an actress, and she wonders if she could leave and return when there is a script for her. She doesn’t care about the “empowerment” that Logan says devising offers actors. However, Alicia becomes more interested when Logan explains that Alicia’s role will be central. Jaxton asserts that devising instead of using a text is cutting-edge theater—something Swedish actors have been doing for years. This leads to a side conversation about everyone’s love for IKEA until Logan steers them back on track. She turns to Caden for his research as a starting point, as “[g]ood drama is at its core truth” (16). Caden wants to begin thousands of years before the first Thanksgiving with early iterations of the Harvest Home Festival. Alicia is confused, commenting that she thought the play was about Thanksgiving. Alicia and Jaxton argue for a moment, but Logan reminds everyone that Alicia can speak her mind as an Indigenous American.
Jaxton questions Logan, who explains what she thought was obvious, which was that the Heritage Month Grant they received was to hire an Indigenous actor. Jaxton changes his tone and apologizes, complimenting, “I’ve always been drawn to your ways” (17). Confused, Alicia thinks he’s a fan and suggests he follow her new Instagram. Logan tells the others that the school board has certain expectations and requirements for the play. In particular, it needs to be about Thanksgiving. As a vegan, Logan will have to set her feelings aside about the holiday, but she will make certain that there is space for Indigenous rage, especially Alicia’s. Alicia agrees, perplexed. Jaxton suggests that they call the continent “Turtle Island” since “American” can be triggering. He defers to Alicia, who replies, “I like turtles” (18). They talk about coded language that has been imposed on Indigenous people, which Alicia finds confusing. Caden’s next suggestion is to stage a bonfire, with ancient Indigenous people celebrating on one side and ancient people from northern Europe celebrating on the other.
Logan reminds Caden that they only have a cast of three and that they can’t have fire onstage in an elementary school play. Since the play is only 45 minutes, Logan suggests that they start later in history. Alicia says that 45 minutes seems too long; when she worked at Disneyland as Jasmine’s third-string understudy, shows were only 20 minutes. Jaxton notes that Jasmine is a Middle Eastern character, but Alicia replies, “My look is super flexible” (19), and Jaxton doesn’t challenge her. Caden suggests that they start in Florida in 1565, when the Indigenous people ate fruit and had Catholic Mass with the Spanish. The mention of Florida brings Alicia back to Disney. Caden states that the next gathering that was recognizable as Thanksgiving happened in Texas after an expedition in which many died. Then several people drowned, after which the Indigenous people who lived there caught fish and held a feast. That story is also deemed inappropriate for children. Caden comments that it gets worse from there, moving on “to speculation that the entire Thanksgiving story is a fiction concocted to celebrate the victory of capitalism over communism” (21).
Jaxton suggests that they consult the Indigenous “perspective,” which Alicia now understands refers to her. Logan asks Alicia about her family’s traditions, and she talks about eating food and watching the game. Logan and Jaxton are fascinated until Alicia explains that she’s talking about the football game and not some Indigenous sport. They chide themselves for exoticizing Alicia instead of recognizing that she’s a modern woman who can watch football and eat turkey. Alicia mentions that her family did have one tradition that was specific to them. Logan and Jaxton are excited again, but Alicia tells them about a strange game in which they bowled with a frozen Butterball turkey. Trying not to vomit at the image of a raw, melting dead bird, Logan asks about Alicia’s family and who her people are. Puzzled, Alicia gives her parents’ last names.
Alicia adds that she goes by her middle name as an actor so that she reads as racially ambiguous and able to be cast in a variety of roles. Jaxton questions whether she doesn’t find this problematic, considering the history of redface. Alicia explains that she has six different headshots as different ethnicities, indicated by different accessories. After some confusion, Alicia clarifies that she’s white but reassures Logan that she’s there to act. She points out that Logan can’t fire her for her race. Horrified, Logan realizes that they are “four white people making a culturally sensitive First Thanksgiving play for Native American Heritage Month” (25). Remembering the grants that are on the line, and how her job is at stake, Logan starts to panic and calls for a five-minute break.
The performers may or may not be dressed as turkeys. They sing or recite a song in which four turkeys are standing in a row talking about how Thanksgiving is getting close. Meanwhile, “two little Indians [are] foolin’ with a gun” (27). One of the “Indians” shoots the other and hangs himself when he is alone. Then a farmer chases the turkeys with a gun, shooting and killing all of them. A note from a teacher suggests, “For fun, try having students sing ‘Injun’ instead of ‘Indian.’ My students loved it” (27).
During the break, Caden and Alicia eat snacks and chat. Caden offers his number to Alicia in case she wants his help acclimating to the town. Alicia demurs. Elsewhere onstage, Jaxton joins Logan, who is trying to puzzle out this new conundrum. He informs her that the language of the Heritage Month grant doesn’t specifically require her to use the money to hire an Indigenous person. Jaxton tries to reassure her, but he also comments that he knew Alicia wasn’t Indigenous. Logan argues that Jaxton believed it, and Jaxton replies, “I could tell something was off. She’s not centered enough” (29). He suggests that they add an Indigenous actor, but Logan admits that none auditioned, and she doesn’t know how to find one; Jaxton doesn’t know any Indigenous people either, though he does know a white man who built a traditional sweat lodge. They can’t just have Alicia play Indigenous and call it colorblind casting because being colorblind regarding race is no longer considered sensitive. They know that it isn’t okay for them, as white people, to speak for Indigenous people. Jaxton and Logan decide that they can only speak for white people, so they will have to work around that. They call everyone back from the break.
After Logan explains their conclusions, Caden questions, “So there won’t be any Native Americans in a Thanksgiving play for Native American Month?,” and Jaxton answers, “It’s the right thing to do” (31). Concerned about the size of her part, Alicia reminds them that she is (maybe) part Spanish, but Logan reassures her that her Gender Equity in History grant calls for a female lead. Caden voices his full support for the idea, offering to defend Logan before the school board if necessary. Logan decides that they should start with an improv of the traditional first Thanksgiving story despite Caden’s interjection about its historical inauthenticity. They improv as Pilgrims preparing a meal, but they are stuck when they realize that they really need Indigenous people for the scene to make sense. Alicia suggests that she could dream that she’s Indigenous American, which Logan and Jaxton note is still redface, but they wonder if it might be okay because it would be “meta.” Alicia asks why they get to make all the decisions, and Logan explains, “As enlightened white allies, Jaxton and I have put a lot of thought into these issues” (35). Caden mentions that he is Italian, which leads to a debate about Columbus and whether he ought to have his own holiday.
Alicia explains that in her dream idea, she could play her Indigenous American self speaking to her Pilgrim self in monologues, but Caden comments that monologues definitely put children to sleep. Jaxton voices what he just learned from Google about the conflicts between the Pilgrims and Indigenous people, and Caden offers a post-battle scene that he has already written with only white characters. Logan is dubious, but Jaxton starts an improv. Alicia jumps in as his character’s wife, and Logan interrupts to suggest that she could be a sibling or a friend. Alicia comments, “Oh, you’re a couple. I did not get that” (36). Changing the subject, Logan decides that they will split into two pairs to divide and conquer. Logan will work with Alicia on the dream idea, and Jaxton and Caden will work on the battle idea. Logan worries that dividing along gender lines might be problematic, especially in stereotyping the men by sending them to work on the war aspect, but she and Jaxton decide that it’s appropriate to the time period. When the women are alone, Logan starts trying to mentor Alicia. She states that she doesn’t blame Alicia for the casting mix-up, but Alicia isn’t concerned. Logan attempts to explain to Alicia that valuing herself based on her physical beauty is a lie. Alicia asks, “You don’t think I’m beautiful?” (37). Logan amends that, of course, Alicia is very beautiful according to society’s standards, but she has learned to see her own beauty as coming from within. Alicia agrees that Logan is beautiful, explaining that Logan just hides her physical beauty—she just needs some makeup and hair styling.
Alicia teaches Logan how to flip her hair, and Logan forgets her principles for a moment, pleased. Logan remembers herself and explains that she gave up on LA and acting to teach and direct, showing off her mind instead of her face; she says that Alicia doesn’t have to view sex and beauty as commodities. Alicia tells Logan that she broke up with her ex for cutting her from his talent agency, as she wasn’t going to have sex with him if she wasn’t getting something good in return. Logan becomes flustered with the conversation. Alicia asserts that she isn’t smart—she has been tested—and that she just wants to act. She doesn’t want to write or devise. Logan marvels at her simplicity and asks Alicia to teach her how to be content. Alicia explains that she just does her job as an actor and then does nothing. She plays on her phone or stares at the ceiling. Logan tries, but she can’t turn off her brain. Alicia shrugs that Logan is probably too intelligent. Logan calls Alicia wise, adding, “You’re sure you’re not Native American?” (41). With new respect, Logan tells Alicia that she doesn’t have to help with the writing. The two men enter in search of period weapons, but Logan doesn’t have any.
The Thanksgiving Play is written as one act to be presented without an intermission, but this does not mean it lacks dramatic structure. The first half of the play establishes the characters’ central problem, which is that they are tasked with devising a culturally sensitive Thanksgiving play for children. Logan has invited Caden as the voice of historical accuracy and Alicia as the (presumed) Indigenous voice to authorize their telling. However, beneath their veneer of racial sensitivity, the characters’ motivations are largely self-serving. Logan, for example, badly needs to get back in the good graces of the school board and Parent Teacher Association after her inappropriate choice to stage The Iceman Cometh—Eugene O’Neill’s four-hour play about people drinking and facing their own mortality—with high school actors. Her blatant goal of ingratiating herself merely exaggerates what Fasthorse implies is the function of all Performative Wokeness and White Privilege/Guilt: to advance the power and social clout of white people. That Logan’s plan to combine historical fact with the seal of approval from a token Indigenous American actor could in theory shore up her position is likewise damning, pointing to a parallel institutional disregard for Indigenous people in favor of appropriation of the purported Indigenous experience. It is telling that the grant Logan received did not go to an Indigenous creator, nor even specify that any Indigenous people be involved in the project.
The characters’ attitudes toward Indigeneity reveal another dimension of this appropriation—one related to Stereotypes and Constructions of Indigeneity. Each of the characters has an oversimplified view of Indigeneity and what it would mean to have an Indigenous voice in their project, but many of their remarks suggest stereotypes of Indigenous Americans. For example, Logan and Jaxton subscribe to the common stereotype of the exoticized noble savage, seeing nativeness as something that provides one with access to higher consciousness—a trait that Logan and Jaxton see in Alicia to humorous effect. They are thus disappointed when Alicia reveals her family’s Thanksgiving rituals are no different than their own. Though they belatedly recognize that they ought not to romanticize her ethnicity (a satirical moment in and of itself, as it reveals their concern with performing wokeness “correctly”), they immediately lapse back into stereotypes when it seems Alicia will divulge some “authentic” Indigenous tradition.
Logan believes that she and Jaxton have reached such a high level of cultural literacy and sensitivity that they can dictate production choices even after they discover that there are only white people in the room. Both she and Jaxton implicitly look down on the other two characters, whose understandings of Indigenous identity, though still stereotyped, are less exoticized. To Caden, Indigenous Americans are purely a piece of the historical record. For Alicia, Indigeneity is physical and easy to define through blood and appearance. She sees no issue with playing an Indigenous character as a white person because the truth onstage is simply what the audience sees and believes. In actuality, none of them knows any Indigenous people or even how to find one. This disconnect, the play implies, is one of the reasons that Indigeneity is so poorly understood by the white-dominated education system and the majority of white America.
The performances in the odd-numbered scenes function in part to demonstrate just how poor that understanding is. The skit in Scene 3, for example, draws inspiration from the racist nursery rhyme “Ten Little Indians” (which once featured in minstrel shows, with “Indians” replaced with the n-word). Ostensibly, these scenes reveal the history of Thanksgiving pageants that Logan is up against. However, as the play progresses, it becomes increasingly clear that Logan and the others are merely the latest iteration in this racist tradition.
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