Act I
Scene 1
Behind the set, flute or autoharp music, beginning
softly like a gentle breeze on the man-tall Prairie grass
(supposed to give the sound "Tisha! Tisha!" according to
Ole Rolvaag, who attended the same school as Alfred Stadem and later rose to of GIANTS IN THE EARTH fame) but soon is lively
enough to
dance by. It turns slow and melancholy, as if remembering
the mighty ones that formerly roamed the Prairie, then by
degrees becomes joyful and rich, concluding in notes of
trumpet like triumph or celebration, while repeating a few
tender themes of the melancholy period as it dies away.
The audience, while entertained by the beauty and
intricacy of the flute's rendering, is closely related,
warm and affectionate recognition at the crude and
rudimentary set (soon to be described). Also, senses are
being richly rewarded by the scent of hay and other good
barn smells (this can be provided by having some hay bales
on hand to scatter between the rows of seats). A few cats,
roaming around and getting petted, wouldn't hurt either.
No romantic dream, the set is painted, cut out of paper, or
presented as actual items, such as: A sink and
counter top that have seen years of heavy duty cooking and
cleaning. A wood stove with a water reserve or reservoir (or "cove," for
heating water), and a woodbox. A small "two seater" table
with red checkered oilcloth and two chairs. It receives
almost constant heavy duty use, so it should look used.
Some bowls, big and small, and eating utensils. A broom
and dustpan. Some dish towels made from flour sacks. Two
wires or ropes (more as needed) run above the set, so that
curtains of army blankets erected and easily taken down.
Nothing "modern" except for a small old-fashioned radio and
some opened letters stuffed behind it should be seen.
Beyond the kitchen scene is a bit of low wooden fencing,
just the corner of it projecting toward the audience.
Cows, sheep, and horses have rubbed it almost to pieces
through the years, and it has their hairs still stuck on
it. Off to the side is a painted barn and silo as a
backdrop. "Plain View Farm" is neatly lettered in white across
the entire side of the red barn.
The narrator
appears at center right of the set, where she can stand (or
sit down when she is not speaking). She is young and
pretty, stylish in the 1920's or 1930's fashion;
her clothes are definitely "store-bought" from the Big
City, which makes her a great contrast to the set. Who is she? She is
none other than a "modern" representative of the daughter of the King of Tyre in Psalm 45 who "will come with a gift; the rich
among the people will seek your favor," to
do homage to the yet more royal daughter of Zion!
The original Alfred
Stadem, a son of the Pilgrims and Puritans in some of his
tastes, would not have approved of her, of course, and her
sophisticated "big city" neckline and makeup and jewelry; but, then,
she (representing the outside "Gentile World" surrounding this bit of Zion called Plain View Farm is about to do him a great tribute which only an
"outsider" can properly give.
The modern audience need not
feel uncomfortable, as she is perfectly scriptural, mentioned in the Psalms as one who will perform this honor to the "Daughter of Zion, Jerusalem." When she appears on stage,
he never sees her, nor will any other working members of
the cast.
The opening music has just died away as
the Narrator gracefully and elegantly takes her position.
She stands at a podium, with a folder containing her
remarks. The podium, other than the Narrator, is probably
the most elaborate item on the set and, like the Narrator,
comes from the "outside" World. It is fronted by two
panels, carved like two doors, and holding the figures of
two medieval, winged angels, standing together and facing
outwards. The pair of angelic heralds are portrayed as
handsome and unsmiling youth in long, graceful robes. The
first angel raises an ancient stringed instrument and his
other hand holds the playing sticks. The second has in
hand a book from which he is evidently reading or
proclaiming, possibly for a long time to the children of
men (see Explanation at the end of Text).
Enter the
old woman, dressed as a housewife and mother, her hair
mostly white but with patches of faint red, who comes out
on the stage and stands in the kitchen. The old woman,
Mama Stadem, moves slowly but deliberately. She picks up a
bowl and leaves the kitchen and pauses, throwing out corn
to some wooden chickens and geese set about. Emptying the
last kernel on the ground, she moves to the fence corner
and leans on it, looking out beyond into the distance. She
wipes her eyes as if she needs to see better. She shows no
alarm when an Indian man, his woman, and child come up and
stand, waiting. They wear Indian face masks, so they
cannot be real, hut she doesn't notice. She goes
unhurriedly back to the kitchen and returns with a parcel
of food wrapped in a piece of flour sack. They take it and
go, without a word. Mama Stadem remains, gazing toward the
world beyond.
Narrator (speaking for Mama Stadem
shakes her head slowly at this point) "Ven first I come
here to dis countree, oh my! De mange people! Detall
buildings! De noise! Da smoke! De Indians! Norway too vass
like heaven! Only der vass nutting to eat! My, how quick
the people walk here! In New York, I think, vi--my sister Tina and me-got off de ship
altogether with the mange people who almost run us over!
Dey would not let us go to my bruder Andrew vaiting for us
someplace, but vi had to vait a long time altogether in big
rooms ver dey all slept or sat on de beds. Den dey call our
names. Vi go as fast as these good Norwegian legs can,
climb the stairs out of breath, answer all the questions
from the man. If you don't walk fast enough, or maybe you
look sick, dey send you back! All the way back, feeding the
fish! I vass eighteen--in between dear Tina and Andrew. God
is so good! Vi were let in the countree and vu set off
without any English. Oh ja, I forget. Andrew vass den at
the seminary. So jist vi two girls took the train to
Dakota. Long. It vass a long, long vay to Dakota. Dat's all
I remember about it."
Narrator: "Bergit worked as a
maid in several Dakota homes and learned American ways of
cooking and cleaning. But she kept her ways too! She worked
hard and even learned a little English to get by. But, best
of all, she caught the eye of a young, good-looking
Norwegian-American farmer, Alfred Stadem, and the glances
they exchanged changed everything- everything that had not
been transformed by the great move to America."
Still shaking her head at old memories, the old woman
returns to the kitchen, a blanket is drawn up and the scene
is over.
Scene 2.
Mama Stadem, as a young matron,
is in the kitchen. Her wedding dress hangs on a peg on the
wall. Children, all girls, are tugging at her apron as she
tries to sweep the floor. She pauses to rest, as she is
heavily pregnant again. the Chorus comes in around her,
singing "Pillsbury Best" -- a name emblazoned
in red and blue on the bottoms of the smallest and
youngest.
The Chorus finishes the song, and Mama
Stadem stands apart, a hand on her bulging midriff as she
contemplates the movements of life within, her eyes closed,
her lips moving in a silent prayer. The Chorus sings, "Oh
God, Let it be a Boy!"
Narrator: "The ways of
Providence, particularly with women, are mysterious. God
turned a deaf ear yet again to Mama Stadem's prayer to save
face with her talkative neighbors. Little Pearl, Bernice,
Myrtle, Cora, and Alida were followed by Estelle - all
"Pillsbury's Best" - but not quite what she requested so
urgently with an eye on the neighbors."
Scene 3
Narrator: "The family of Alfred and Bergit Stadem would
move from one Dakota property to another until it settled
on the land that was to be their very own Plain View Farm.
The hundred or so acres that composed the home and crop
land were located four miles north and one mile west of
Bryant, South Dakota. With a buffalo mound maybe two stones throw
from the yard and enough elevation for Alfred to see three
counties, Plain View Farm held special promise and a
certain distinction among the other farms -- at least Alfred
thought so. After giving the farm its name, he set out to a
plant a forest of trees and lilacs round the house and
yard, fashion grand entrance gates with cement and
many-colored stones, dig fascinating and lovely fish pools,
and do everything else he could think of to make it a
little paradise on earth for his wife and growing family.
In their eyes at least, he succeeded beyond their dreams of
what a paradise might be -- even if he never quite got
running water to go with all the running children."
Children run about the kitchen and the "yard" barefoot as
they play various games. The Chorus sings "Barefoot -- Song
of Spring."
As the children settle down to play
quieter games or draw pictures with sticks in the dirt, the
Chorus sings "Farm Life." Mama Stadem interrupts the
playing children to give one a broom, another a pail to
feed the chickens, another a dish pan for water for the
flower bed. A school bell sounds in the distance. The girls
all hurry to get their books and lunches and march off to
school between the audience, Mama Stadem looking after them
at the fence corner.
As each young bather finishes, she (almost always she) come
out dressed in Sunday Best, a Bible in hand and stands
"at attention" in the yard. Finally, Mama and Papa come
forth, Bibles in hand. They sit down together as in a
wagon, with Papa shaking the reins for the imaginary
"horses." The Chorus sings "Sunday Service."
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