Wood Bones

William S. Yellow Robe, Jr.’s Wood Bones, as heard in a staged reading by the Eagle Project on March 7^th, is intriguingly problematic. It’s about the spirit of a dying house who is bound to her burnt-out husk by the memory of a little girl who was molested inside. While a clearly fascinating concept and one with a lot of potential, Yellow Robe’s attempt to fuse Western dramaturgy and Native storytelling structure makes the play seem unfocused and unfinished. I would go one step further and submit that it is, in fact, unfocused and unfinished.

The central conflict is between the house, 121, and her awful memory of the little girl’s trauma. Yet Yellow Robe adds two other memories in dramatic action, and several “I remember” monologues on the part of 121. The monologues bear little discussion – either because of an underwhelming reading on the part of Madeline Sayet, or because “I remember” monologues are inherently undramatic, they took the wind right out of the play’s sails. The two enacted memories – one of a couple who moved in only to be evicted for being Indian, and another of the construction workers who caused a gas explosion – contribute nothing to the central conflict. As Yellow Robe said at the talk-back, “I could have written a play about each of these things – and I have.” Normally, I would immediately recommend cutting these extraneous episodes, but Yellow Robe’s intentions give me pause. He’s trying to fuse Western and Native dramaturgies, an endeavor I have a lot of professional sympathy with. However, Wood Bones makes me question the viability of such a project.

The Native dramaturgy appears in this play as the non-chronological structure and juxtaposition of thematically linked stories. It is superimposed on a Euro-American structured play, complete with its fourth wall and script. This two elements mix just like oil and water. Classic Native storytellers like Lame Billy of Weitspus and Skaay of Haida Gwaii who employed Native elements like those in Wood Bones with aplomb told their stories to an audience already familiar with them face to face and without a script. The audience’s intense association with the stories allowed the storytellers to combine them in unique ways without loosing the audience’s attention. The lack of a fourth wall or scripts also helped to keep the audience engaged. Bringing the fourth wall and scripts into Native dramaturgy lessens that engagement, and bringing the Native dramaturgy into a Western play muddles the storyline, which in turn lessens audience engagement.

Wood Bones is a play with a lot of potential, but will never be able to reach that potential until Yellow Robe really treats it for what it is: a structurally Western drama about healing from trauma. He has everything he needs to tell this story already: a great feel for Western dramaturgy, a compelling story about a young girl’s horror, and the seeds for great chemistry between 121 and Leroy. But as long as he superimposes elements foreign to this story on Wood Bones, it will never reach that potential.