Haunting drama tells the story of native families

Navajo women recite the word "Chin-dee" to defend against visitors from the ghost world. The strength of the term reaches its zenith when four native women are brought together to send ghosts from the past back where they came from.

A special production, "The Frybread Queen," is a play delivered by the Montana Repertory Theater in conjunction with Native Voices at the Autry, an LA-based theatrical company that specializes in Native theater.

"The seed of the story is the death of someone very well loved by his family (who) kills himself," said Carolyn Dunn, the playwright for "The Frybread Queen."

The four characters in this story battle their own blame and guilt, trying to understand how Paul reached that final point, Dunn said, and if it could have been prevented.

Running deeply through the play are strains of Navajo mysticism and superstition. The ghosts of the deceased move about the set demanding the characters to confront their buried anger against each other.

"The Navajo have very specific rules and ceremonies that revolve around death," Dunn said.

Tiffany Meiwald, a University of Montana student majoring in creative writing and minoring in German and media arts, performs as Lily Santiago Burns.

Lily is the youngest of the characters and Paul's rebellious daughter. She is tall with long dark hair. She likes black and has a new-age goth look going on. For her, it's all black makeup and no lipstick, expressive dark jewelry, trench coats and gloves with holes in them.

"Lily hides behind her clothes and makeup," Meiwald said. "She's 17 years old, just learning how to be a woman, and beginning to grow into herself,"

As the character sorts her world out so too is actress Meiwald.

"I've never done a play before," Meiwald said.

Her professor in her acting for non-majors class approached her about a role in "The Frybread Queen."

"And tonight's my first opening," she said.

This play illustrates a story that everyone knows, Meiwald said: the limbo that teens are forced through before reaching adulthood, the loss felt after a death in the family, and the anger and confusion that suicide creates.

 "It's a very personal play," she said.

"The Frybread Queen" runs Sept. 17-26 with evening and matinee performances in the UM Masquer Theater. Tickets are available in the Box Office and online at montanarep.org.

hannah.ryan@umontana.edu