The Rez Sisters is a unique telling of the relationships between seven women. Each on of these indiviuals has their own personalities and skills that they contribute to the play. However, the character of Pelajia Patchnose was most appealing to me and I would like to play her onstage. I’m not really much of an actress, so I would naturally choose a rather simple character. She doesn’t really have a complicated personality, and her past is quite simple compared to the other women. Also, Palajia seems to be the most admirable out of the group. She has many good qualities that she uses to better herself and the people around her. Perhaps one of the characteristics that drew me to Pelajia is her ambition. She is not satisfied with what she is as she continously yearns for more. This is quite evident with the opening line “I wan to go to Toronto”. Pelajia wants to get out in the world and experience it. Even though she has been on the Reservation for her entire life, she wants more and is willing to give up all she has so she can achieve it. However, with her ambition, she has a driving passion. She is determined to do what she wants as she does not sit around and whine about travelling. Pelajia is a down to earth woman who knows what she wants and goes for it. Even when she is discouraged, Pelajia does not give up, but instead is fueled to prove herself. This is evident when the Reservation Chief disregards Pelajia’s complaint about their dirt roads. Even though her request is denied, she continues on, determined to get money to pave the road herself. Pelajia is also a natural born leader. When she is mad about the unpaved roads, she goes and complains about it. She makes her opinions known and strives to straighten out what she thinks is wrong. I believe that her hammer is a symbol of her leadership, as it is mentioned whenever she is fighting for her beliefs. Pelajia is very good at organizing people to work towards a common goal. She gets everyone together for their meetings and orders people around when it is nessesary. She finds a place for her meetings and tells everybody what they should do in order to contribute to the group. Without her efforts, there would have been no trip to Toronto for the Biggest Bingo in the World. Pelajia also seems to have a good grasp of conversation. She does not swear, even when she is fighting with the other girls. In fact, she tells others to stop swearing and quit fighting. Another good quality about the role of Pelajia is that she does not have too many long speeches like the character Emily. Her lines are short and to the point, often a welcome change from some of Emily’s speeches. All of these qualities make Pelajia a mature, hardworking and honest person. I would like to play her because she is the most commendable person in the play. That, and I do not believe I would be a good enough actress to pull off those characters who are rather eccentric.
