1ParsonsSierra ParsonsTHEA 160Prof. Michael ChemersMay 1st, 2014

A Review of Nina Raines Tribes at Berkeley Rep: Communication, Understanding, and Belonging

Driving to Berkeley Rep Theatre from Santa Cruz in the pouring rain and sitting in resulting traffic on the I-880 gave me ample time to mull over a question that is frequently asked of me as an academic and a theatre artist: Why theatre, why now? Although the answer is signified to me daily, and I can feel it in my core, it is increasingly difficult to verbalize what exactly the signifier is. I wondered if this production of Tribes by Nina Raine, directed by Johnathan Moscone would give me some vocabulary to express not only why this particular play is being produced now, but perhaps why I continue to regard theatre as the greatest of all art forms. I arrived at the theatre and picked up my ticket. The lobby was packed, and I noticed most of the audience was much older than me. They looked tired, exhausted from traveling in the rain and from their own experiences, and I wondered where the young artists and students my age were; where were the excited, hungry, passionate theatre goers that I expected to see? Where was my tribe?When I took my seat, I read an article and interview in the program that Nina Raine gave for The Royal Court Theatre and the Steppenwolf Theatre Company, respectively. Raine first had the idea to write Tribes after viewing a documentary about a pregnant deaf couple, who hoped their baby would be deaf, too. Raine was initially shocked by this notion, but realized that this was what countless parents feel, deaf or otherwise. They take pride and pleasure in knowing they have managed to pass down certain qualities to their childrenincluding genetic traits, morals, beliefs, and language. A family is a tribe: one that constantly fights, but is deeply loyal all the same. The documentary Nina saw was a catalyst; she began noticing tribes everywhere around her. She was fascinated by them, repulsed by some, envious of others. She began to think how certain signifiers, customs, hierarchies and familial behaviors could be signified as irrational or ridiculous to an outside member (Why I Wrote Tribes). Thus began her descent into Tribes, an exploration of what it means to communicate, understand and ultimately belong. Intrinsically linked to semiotics and the act of communication, Tribes is a play about a young man, Billy, who was born deaf into a hearing family. His family includes his father Christopher, his mother Beth, older sister Ruth, and older brother Dan. They are incredibly eccentric, unquestionably politically incorrect, and raised Billy without learning sign language. With seemingly no way out of this suffocating family unit, Billy has adapted to his familys unconventional ways. However, theyve never returned the favorthey refuse to learn sign. Billy then meets Sylvia, a young woman, who was born hearing into a deaf family. She is slowly becoming deaf, and it is through their relationship that Billy discovers his voice through becoming silent, and begins to understand what it means to be understood. As the lights dimmed, and the audience took their seats, I was thrust into the cacophonous world of Billy and his family. Although the premier of Tribes at The Royal Court Theatre in London was performed on a bare stage with only a table and a tree to signify the garden, the mise-en scene at Berkeley Rep was fuller, which mirrored Billys identity with his tribe. To describe the mise-en-scene, Ill refer to the stage directions of the script itself: Black. In the black, the hum of an orchestra tuning up. A few strings at first, then more and more instruments, until the whole orchestra is alive. Just as the noise builds to its climax:Lights up on a dinner table and family dinner in progress. Noise. There is a piano in the room. Two chaotic and noisy conversations mid-flow between Daniel and Beth, and Ruth and Christopher. Billy sits eating alone in silence. (Tribes, 7)When analyzing this through the lens of semiotics, the signifying sound of the orchestra, the cluttered stage space of the familys home, joined with the loud, vulgar conversations of the family, juxtaposed with Billys silence, signifies how Billy fits into his environment. Billys silence is unmistakable: noise surrounds him, and he is left to adapt and observe while his family carries on, too busy to be bothered. Throughout the play I was constantly aware of signifiers and the signified. Because the play is performed in British English, American Sign Language and includes the use of projected subtitles, I was always aware of the act of communication and language: Christopher is attempting to learn Chinese, Ruth is a wannabe opera singer, Dan develops a stutter and has a hard time communicating speech and feeling, and Beth is trying to translate it allbut none of them can be bothered to learn sign language for Billy. Sylvia is the only one who attempts to communicate with him, even though they disagree about certain aspects of the Deaf community. The act of communication didnt stop at language and word, however. One particular moment that stood out to me was when Billy tears out his hearing aids after an explosive argument with his family. Suddenly the jarring noise of the argument is cut with a loud underwater humwhat a deaf person might hearand the family is left mouthing passionately, albeit silently, at Billy. On top of this underwater hum, is a projection of a swirling bright blue light, similar to what being submerged in water might look like. Using Peirces Model of Semiotics to understand the relationship of the characters on stage, the object becomes the soundscape and projection, the sign is the feeling of being underwater and the interpretan is Billy no longer being able to understand what his family is saying, and that he has disassociated his identity from his family tribe (Reinelt, 19). He feels he no longer belongs. Billy attempts to follow the signs to learn to find his way in a world where everyone needs to be heard.Tribes is currently being performed all over the world, and its apparent that the central question of the play, the primary way we inherit, create, and re-create our identities, speaks to the masses (Taccone). This staging attempted to unify every element of production, in order to further that central message. Every element of the play was unified. The action, directing, and design were all linked to show how communication and identity influence overall belonging. Tribes is ultimately about the uncertainty and fluidity of belonging and identity. We never really know who we are because we are always changing.Perhaps this was the answer I was looking for all along, that this play, and the theatre in general, provides an enigmatic space to look at our selves through the experience of others. And more surprisingly to see ourselves through characters whose experience may be immensely different from our own. We dont see our literal selves, but instead are unexpectedly looking at an echo of ourselves. We may not have the same experience but we can still identify with that experience. Tribes was a well executed, hugely successful attempt to explore this sense of empathy, a spark to help the audience understand who we are, how we communicate, and whom we might belong to. I was emotionally and intellectually engaged with Tribes throughout the entire performance; I was riveted: I laughed, I cried, I understood. Throughout the two-hour performance, myself, the audience, and the actors on stage became a tribe, dialectically and semiotically linked through the experience of performance. Suddenly, I knew who I was, how I communicate, and how I belong. That is, of course, until the next play I see asks these questions all over again.

Works CitedRaine, Nina. "Nina Raine: Why I Wrote Tribes." Berkeley Rep Magazine 2013-2014 Issue 6: 20. Print. Raine, Nina. Tribes. New York: Dramatist's Play Service, 2013. Print.Reinelt, Janelle G., and Joseph R. Roach, eds. Critical Theory and Performance. Revised and Enlarged ed. Ann Arbor (Mich.): U of Michigan, 2007. Print.Taccone, Tony. Prologue from the Artistic Director. Berkeley Rep Magazine 2013-2014 Issue 6: 5. Print.