Az Eszterházy Károly Tanárképző Főiskola Tudományos Közleményei. 1998. [Vol. 5.] Eger Journal of American Studies. (Acta Academiae Paedagogicae Agriensis : Nova series ; Tom. 25)
Studies - Szabolcs Szilágyi: Verbal Versus Non-Verbal Aspects in The Rez Sisters and Dry Lips Oughta Move to Kapuskasing
hopeless, and ignorant, while in Dry Lips , although only Nanabush appears in different roles of women, most of the men's talk is about women who, this way, are just as much in the play' as if they were on stage and had lines as well. The other and perhaps a bit more ambiguous example for the subtlety of showing less is the setting at the beginning of The Rez, Sisters. It is the roof of Pelajia Patchnose's house which might in fact very well be indicative of the relationship of these women on the reserve to both civilization (or rather circumstances that these people were forced to live under) and the spiritual elevation towards the clarity and freedom of the sky (not surprisingly the role of Nanabush in The Rez. Sisters is mostly that of a bird). It is exactly the lack of being rooted —or perhaps the symbolic meaning of 'going beyond what is known' lies below and loses its significance —serves as nothing more but a springboard. Behind the English sentences, the civilised and educating sentences one can often hear a non-verbal sound: a never ending drum which can be the stomping of the feet of Nanabush reminding its people of their culture or just the blood rushing in one's ears louder at times when the sense of guilt (for non-natives) becomes harsher and the same moments more painful for native audiences. The mimicry in Highway's plays is not within the plays happening to the characters, but the simultaneity of emotions happening to the spectators of the performances. These moments are rarely caused by the verbal messages, but rather the more universal understanding of each other. The simplicity with which the playwright manages to treat the most annoying or most mournful moments of his plays prevents sentimentality. Setting, props, choice of language, spiritual elements, use of words instead of action: the masterful handling or at times lack of all these create the curious reserve of Wasaychigan Hills. Thus when one takes a peek into the lives of its characters, it is hard to get involved but hard to stay neutral. Highway does it in a way that his plays talk to all kinds of audiences, and not always wanting to apply the mind but often hoping to reach out to the soul without falling into the trap of melodrama. 95
