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TUESDAY, AUGUST 10, 1971
SUMMER NEBRASKAN
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S?v Gaines As f.lacbefh Dominates
U Repertory Theatre Production
By Howard B. Norland
NU Professor of English
A tormented soul stalks the
stage at Howell Theatre in the
third production of the
Nebraska Summer Repertory
Company. Macbeth, which
opened Friday night, promises
to be an unforgettable portrait
of a man who looked into his
heart and found a blackness
that overwhelmed him. Steve
Gaines in the title role plays
the Scottish usurper with verve
and at times a brilliance that
upstages Lady Macbeth and his
chief adversaries, Macduff and
Malcolm. The play is conceived
from the beginning as the
personal tragedy of Macbeth
against which all the other
characters are cast in merely
supporting roles.
To establish the humanness
of the action, the witches in
their initial scene are presented
as battle-ground scavengers, old
women who have become birds
of prey, not instruments of
fate or the devil. The
elimination of the other
worldly quality is maintained
by omitting the references to
the strange and unnatural
happenings that accompany
the murder of Duncan, such as
the horses eating each other
and a mousing owl killing a
falcon. The specter of Banquo
at the banquet and the
apparitions in Macbeth's
second meeting with the
witches appear to be, like the
dagger, only in the mind of
Macbeth.
One may object to director
Robert Hall's interpretation of
the tragedy as a reduction of
Shakespeare's cosmic drama to
the strictly human realm, but
Hall's view is imaginatively
developed and basically
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consistent. The stark-and
dark -stage as well as the drab
medieval costumes focus the
attention on the characters and
heighten the internal drama of
Macbeth himself. However, a
more varied use of lighting to
reflect the emotional qualities
would more effectively create
the desired atmosphere than
the mood slides which too
often prove distracting and at
times disconcerting. The
ritualization of the action by
slow-motion movement
enhances the surrealistic
quality of the production and
calls attention to the violence
without evoking fear of
physical danger to the actors (a
common problem in
Shakespearean productions),
but the technique demands a
synchronization of movement
that was occasionally lacking at
the final dress rehearsal.
Perhaps reserving this device
for the moments that
particularly express Macbeth's
perspective and mental state
would be more appropriate to
the production scheme
adopted.
Since the play is conceived
as the personal tragedy of
Macbeth, stripped of political
and cosmic implications,
greater demands are made on
the actor playing Macbeth, but
Steve Gaines usually measures
up. His booming voice and
sensitive portrayal of the
tormented soul create both a
sense of greatness and
sympathy. However, it appears
rather indecorous for him to
assume the position of a
crap-shnoter on the apron of
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the stage. Lady Macbeth,
played by Margaret
Hawthorne, seems almost
insignificant. Her lack of
strength from the beginning
strains the credibility of the
scene in which she convinces
Macbeth to pursue the
assassination of Duncan after
he has talked himself out of it.
Miss Hawthorne has apparently
allowed the sleep-walking
scene, which she performs very
well, to dominate her
interpretation of the character.,
Perhaps Lady Macbeth is
played down intentionally to
emphasize the responsibility of
Macbeth alone for the evil he
embraces, but the result is an
imbalance in the dramatic
conflict in the first half of the
play.
The roles ot Banquo and
Macduff are ably played by
Mitchell Tebo and William
Szymanski respectively, but
they are so overshadowed by
Macbeth that the audience may
lose sight of their significance
as foils. Most disappointingare
Steve Bradford as Ross and
James Bartz as Malcolm. Ross'
function as a choric
commentator is impaired
because Mr. Bradford does not
at times appear to understand
the lines he delivers. Malcolm
also has difficulty rendering
the sense of Shakespeare's
poetry, and substitutes volume
for a depth of understanding, a
trap that several of the minor
character's fall into.
Pre-opening jitters marred a
few scenes in the final dress
rehearsal, and a few of the
actors occasionally lost the
Generous Dan E!c!ds
Conlinuod from page 1
overcrowilod. l ow iin'omosare
slrainod. II is dilTicull lor I ho
Indhin supporting Iwo liimilios
to got aid, said a spokesman for
the Lincoln Indian Center.
The non-Indian may regard
the Indian sharing as "a good
Indian being dragged down by
his shiftless relatives." But Mrs.
Barbara Schneider, a Rosebud
Sioux who lives in Lincoln,
says Indians still believe in
earing lor their own. "We've
had one relative or anouther
living with us for years. When
one leaves, another moves in,"
she said.
(ienerosity is an important
part of the Plains Indian culture.
Particularly among the
Omahas, the generous man
holds high status, said liarl
Oyer, executive editor of the
Lincoln Star who for many
years worked with the Omahas
as a volunteer. The Omaha
definition of generosity, he
said, goes beyond charily,
which is considered obligation,
(living should be spontaneous,
without expectation of reward,
the Omahas believe.
Membership in a traditional
Omaha secret society was
based on the custom of giving,
Dyer said. A candidate was
required to have given 100
major gifts-such as horses or a
tipi and cooking utensils. On
occasions such as pow-wows,
food, clothing, cash and
traditional Indian dancing
shawls are example of gifts
given publicly, with great
ceremony.
Gift-giving event
Like the pow-wow, the
handgame is an Indian social
event which is an opportunity
for gift -giving. Handgames take
place at east once a week in the
Lincoln Indian community.
After the handgame is a feast
as elaborate as the host family
can afford. The feast is
displayed, then participants,
who have brought their own
sense ol the characters they
were playing, but as they
become more secure in their
rolls, they will no doubt
improve. Perhaps this will also
make the play less a one-man
show and more a balanced
dramatic conflict. Regardless
of the minor imperfections, the
play is imaginatively staged and
exciting. The over-lapping of
scenes insures continuity and
creates a fast pace. In slightly
less than two hours playing
time we witness the agonizing
struggle of a man who gives up
his very self for that bitch
goddess, worldly success,
which though set in the distant
past is performed with the
haunting quality of the modern
nightmare. This production
was wisely chosen for the
outstale tour because it
ultimately proves more
relevant-and more
d isconcerting-than "the
impossible dream" of Don
Quixote or the pretentious
topicality of Joseph Heller. It
has the potential to become
the finest production in
summer repertory history at
the University of Nebraska, but
that will happen only if Lady
Macbeth and other major
characters emerge from the
shadow of Steve Gaines'
Macbeth. Only then will the
tormented soul stalking the
stage become the tragic
everyman that Shakespeare
created and that Rober Hall so
imaginatively aspires to revive.
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eating utensils, are served until
all the food has been portioned
equally. If a portion seems too
large, it nevertheless is
accepted and saved to take
home.
It is another indication of
Indian generosity, says Roger
Weisch, that everyone is
Welcomed at the handgame
feast, even if he has not
contributed food in years.
Some aspects of the
gift-giving custom are curious
to non-Indians. Gifts may be
given on credit, and it is not
improper to ask for change
from a gift of cash. It is not
uncommon for an Indian to
borrow money for gift-giving.
Dyer recalls a summer
pow-wow at Macy when an
jndian friend borrowed $50
from a bank to buy gifts.
On occasions of great
importance, an Omaha may
give away all he has. Dyer said,
lie remembers attending a
funeral for a respected tribal
elder. During ceremonies which
lasted more than an hour, the
widow gave away food, shirts,
lengths of fabric, dancing
shawls and cash to show her
appreciation to her husband's
mourners. Afterwards she was
forced to sell her land to pay
for the funeral.
As the customs of sharing
and gift-giving cause financial
problems for the Indian, so do
his traditional attitudes toward
time, saving and work. If the
tradition-minded Indian takes a
job, he often is handicapped by
his idea of time. "The Indian
has a wider latitude of
lateness," Roger Weisch said.
"He feels that being late
doesn't matter as long as he
gels the job done,"
Indians themselves joke
about "Indian time." Their
social events start when
everybody gets there, and no
one is uneasy about a couple
hours' delay. The Christmas
handgame in Lincoln was
about two hours behind
schedule, Dyer said.
Another cultural influence
on the economic plight of the
Indian is his attitude toward
saving, Dyer believes. "The
Indian tends to live for today,
and let tomorrow take care of
itself."
Among tradition-minded
Indians it is not considered to
be a man's job to work and
provide for his family. In the
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old days it was the woman who
gathered food, and the man
was the ceremonial head of his
family, the warrior and hunter.
Although the modern
Indian man is adopting the
breadwinner role, the warrior is
not gone from Indian society.
The armed forces veteran has
the prestige once held by the
tribal warrior, and many
customs have been altered to
honor him.
There are special dances in
which only veterans may
participate. Only a veteran may
buy a feather for the headband
(worn as part of the dancing
regalia) of a young female
relative, such as a niece. If a
piece of regalia should fall
during a dance, it is left in
place until the dance is
finished. At that time, only a
veteran may return the object
to its owner. Handgames are
often given in honor of
returning Indian GIs and
funerals for those killed in
action are conducted with
great ceremony.
Indians show great respect
for the American flag. At the
summer pow-wow in Macy,
there is a formal flag-raising
every morning conducted by
veterans, who often are
members of the American
Legion. Traditional warrior
songs are sung, as well as the
Flag Song, the Omaha National
Anthem made (Omaha songs
are never written) in honor of
tribal members who served in
World War I, Dyer said.
Symbol of homeland
Roger Weisch says that he at
first was puzzled by the Indian
patriotism toward a
government which had
betrayed them so often. "Then
I asked someone, and I was
told that to the Indian the flag
is an important symbol of his
homeland."
The sentiment was
expressed by Clarence White,
an Omaha who is a member of
the Macy School Board and an
Army veteran. "This is our
country and we're going to
protect it the best way we
know how," White said, even
as he criticized the Vietnam
War.
Another Omaha institution
which is a blend of Indian
tradition and white man's
influence is the Native
American Church, which uses
Indian ritual in Christian
worship. Since the ritual
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Among Plains lodlons
includes the sacramental use of
peyote, a dried cactus bud
containing mescaline, the
church has been criticized by
traditional Christian
denominations.
The Native American
Church has many followers
among the Omaha and
Winnebago tribes, but it is not
as common among the Sioux
tribes of the Dakotas, where
strict tradionalists regard it as a
recent, somewhat artificial
development in Plains culture.
(It was introduced in the
Nebraska tribes in about 1911
by southern tribes.)
Because of these criticisms
members of the Native
American Church are reluctant
to discuss it. But in 1962, Dyer
not only was invited to an
all-night prayer meeting, but
permitted to describe the ritual
in a scries of articles for the
Lincoln Star.
Prayer services are held in a
tipi when the weather permits.
Participants kneel or sit in a
circle throughout the night,
singing prayer songs in the
Omaha language. Prayer
cigarettes are passed during the
night, in keeping with the
tradition that smoke helps
carry the prayers upward.
According to Dyer,
"Particpants in the all-night
ceremonies. .'. commonly eat
four of the peyote buttons
ritually, and may take more by
preference during the night."
Sacred articles used in the
service include eagle feathers
and an eagle bone whistle, a
gourd rattle, a staff
symbolizing Christ, cedar
burned for everlasting life, fire,
water, and food for celebrating
communion at the morning
conclusion of the prayer
service.
Dyer described the
ceremony as having "... a
reverence and a solemnity
equalling or surpassing any
other church service, and with
a kind of informality based on
the fact that the actions are
individual. . ."
In Macy, a school board of
Indian parents working with
curriculum coordinator Mrs.
Loretta Mickel of Lincoln and
School Supt. Simon Orta, has
instigated the teaching of
Indian traditions in the
elementary school. Dancing,
crafts, tribal myths, and the
Omaha language are taught by
members of the tribe.
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At the University of
Nebraska, Indian students have
formed an organization to
promote their culture. They
study tribal myths and legends
in their spare time and have
asked the University to allow
them to fullfill the foreign
language requirement by
studying tribal languages.
Indians in Lincoln and
Omaha maintain traditional
social activities such as the
weekly handgames. Indian
centers in both cities provide a
base for social action and
cultural activity. In Lincoln the
Little Warriors Club, the
Lincoln Indian Club and the
Gourd Society, a dancing
society of the Omaha tribe,
help to keep the Indian way
alive.
Summer pow-wows, which
are days of dancing, ceremony
and reunion, have always been
important to the widely
scattered Plains Indians, but to
younger Indians today they are
a time of renewal, a time to
reaffirm their "Indian-ness".
Some change desirable
Malhew Sheridan, a young
Omaha who is community
organizer for the Lincoln
Indian Center, said, "The
Indian will have to adopt some
of the white man's ways to get
along in his world, but we will
keep our identity."
He sees that some changes
in attitude are desirable,
however. "The extreme
dependency on relatives is not
good. The young Indian should
learn to stand on his own two
feet."
Sheridan also says that the
position of elders as leaders of
the community is changing as
the younger members of the
tribe seek a mor: active voice
in improving the conditions of
the Indian.
Weisch has a suggestion for
the white man's side of the
cultural adjustment: "It is
arrogant to assume that our
culture is superior in all
aspects. Non-Indians need to
be better educated to
understand the Indians.
Perhaps the most impressive
aspect of the Indian way,
Weisch says is the Indians'
forgiveness of the white man.
"They have every reason to
despise us, but white people
are always welcome. We
constantly violate their tribal
etiquette, yet they are
unwilling to embarass us."
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