This story is part of a partnership between Bethel University’s journalism program and ICT.
Kathryn Kovalenko and Samantha Wurm
Special to ICT
Blues from the 1950s echoes from the speakers. The theater is packed. The front row is reserved for the elders.
“Welcome to the First Nation sensation, Creator’s favorite musical, Bear Grease!”
Applause fills the black box of Gremlin Theatre in St. Paul, Minnesota.
The all-Native cast of “Bear Grease” – a Native twist on the classic musical, Grease – steps out on the dimly lit stage. Sandy, Danny and Rizzo – or “Rezzo” in this cast. And the “beauty school dropout” Frenchie, played by Monique Candelaria. Neon pink highlights run through her hair and contrast with her black All-Star Converse.
The path to the stage hasn’t been easy for Candelaria, but for her, it’s not just a hobby. It’s necessary. A medicine. A sacred space.
“This is something I’ve used as a security blanket for certain traumas that I’ve gone through in my life,” Candelaria said.
On Mar. 6, New Native Theater hosted an acting workshop at Little Earth’s Residents Association in Minneapolis. As Yoshi, a terrier chihuahua mix greeted guests who found a seat in a metal chair in the gymnasium, the cast members of “Bear Grease” shared their journeys in theatre as Native people.
Words about hope, healing, and community echoed around the gymnasium as “Bear Grease” actors shared their experiences with abuse, addiction and chronic illness.
Theatre created a space for personal healing for each cast member, along with community growth and cultural preservation.
“The healing came in the cast I was with,” Melody McArthur, who plays Sandy, said. “Bear Grease forced me to go out into the world. Everything crumbled, but it allowed something more beautiful to form.”
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Growing up in New Mexico as a Mescalero Apache descendent, Candelaria learned about the healing power of song and dance from an early age. When she experienced years of sexual abuse in her home, the arts became one of her only outlets.
The therapist handed 10-year-old Candelaria a doll.
“Can you show me where he touched you?”
After three years, Candelaria told her mom about the abuse that took place five days a week while her mom worked night shifts. And now this therapist was asking her questions, making her relive every moment.
Candelaria handed the doll back.
“That’s where he touched me. The whole doll.”
The therapist warned Candelaria’s mom that as a result of the abuse, she might act out in promiscuity. So her mother protected her from things that could lead to promiscuous behavior – no martial arts, makeup, or talking on the phone. During school, she faked a smile as her friends asked her about her first kiss. But on weekends, the arts provided a space for her to process and heal from her trauma through singing at weddings and funerals.
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If it weren’t for a flat tire on Candelaria’s car in Jan. 2023, she wouldn’t have found herself hanging out at Jean Cocteau Cinema in Santa Fe at a wrap party with the cast of “Bear Grease.”
The flat tire slipped Candelaria’s mind as she began to dance and have a good time, but soon, a 4 foot 11 inch “fierce Native woman” with silver hair came up to her.
“I heard you can sing,” the woman said.
“Yeah,” Candelaria said.
“But can you really sing? Follow me.” The woman whipped her hair around and walked out of the party.
The woman – Georgina Lightning – mother of Crystle Lightning, the creator of “Bear Grease” had Candelaria audition on the spot. Soon, Candelaria was on a plane, flying to Edmonton, Canada, to prepare for her new role in “Bear Grease”.
As she settled into her AirBnB with other cast members between 3- to 5-hour rehearsals, Candelaria found herself making dinner with the cast every night and watching films – “Howl’s Moving Castle,” “Ponyo” and “Spirited Away” – with Raven Bright, a cast member of Navajo and Anglo descent from New Mexico.
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New Native Theatre, a nonprofit in the Twin Cities, partnered with the creators of “Bear Grease” to bring the classic show to Minnesota stages.
According to Senior Artistic Producer Charli Fool Bear, the nonprofit hopes to have their own building in the next 5-10 years, which would make it the first Native American theater company to own a brick-and-mortar building in the United States.
Genevieve Lane is the artistic producer for New Native Theatre in the Twin Cities.
“This has been an intergenerational relay like everything Native people have attempted to do,” Lane said. “It’s a lot of pressure- but you’re also not doing it by yourself. It’s almost like your intergenerational ancestors are there.”
As a Heyoka empath, Candelaria has always understood this. Her art is often inspired by the messages from her ancestors that she receives in dreams.
“[Theatre] is also a form of communication to something other than what’s on this physical plane,” Candelaria said.
Before the “Bear Grease” cast stepped on stage at Gremlin Theatre, Charli Fool Bear took the microphone. She led the audience in a moment of silence for the grief, violence and trauma that Native people have experienced. A few minutes later, applause roared as the women of the cast of “Bear Grease” stepped out on stage and sang “Be My Baby” by The Ronettes.
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The show started.
Danny Zuko and Sandy Olsson met – but at a powwow.
Danny didn’t just dance to “Greased Lighting,” but played the powwow drum along with it.
In the middle of the show, Tammy Rae, playing Rezzo, sang “Stand by Me” in Cree.
“We went from survival just two short generations ago to plays,” Lane said. “That’s phenomenal.”
As Candelaria stood on stage in her poodle skirt and Converse, she looked at her fellow cast members. The elders sitting in the front row. The Aunties in the back taking a selfie.
Her energy was on the stage. A genuine smile. Warmth in her heart. Giving back to her community.
Kathryn Kovalenko and Samantha Wurm are students at Bethel University in Minnesota.