Meet the teen directing a play about missing and murdered Indigenous women

Isabella Madrigal has written, directed and starred in a play on missing and murdered Indigenous women, won scholarships and awards for her work, including a national Girl Scout award, and spoken at the United Nations.

Her age? Seventeen.

Madrigal, a Cahuilla Band of Indians tribal member, said her play, "Menil and Her Heart," was inspired by ancient Cahuilla stories. It follows two sisters — played by Madrigal and her real life sister, Sophia Madrigal — one of whom goes missing.

Since bringing the play to the Dorothy Ramon Learning Center in Banning early this year, the cast has performed at the University of Redlands and Sherman Indian High School in Riverside. Upcoming performances will take place Nov. 17 at California State University, San Bernardino's Palm Desert campus and Nov. 22 at the California Genocide Conference in San Diego.

Madrigal, who is a junior at the Orange County School of the Arts, spoke with The Desert Sun before a dress rehearsal for the play in August. Here's what she had to say.

Author's note: This interview was lightly edited and condensed for clarity and brevity.

Q: What inspired you to write this play?

A: I think this project was really born out of the lack of Native representation in the arts. It's something that I notice when I'm trying to find roles. Something that I really honed in on for this project was that if there is a lack of Native actors, it's because there's a lack of Indigenous storytellers. This lack of representation goes beyond just not seeing a Native face in the media. That's certainly part of the issue, but it's not the entire thing because our defining stories are also missing from the national narrative. So after I came to that realization, I decided to write this play and I realized I needed to accomplish two things. The first was that it had to be an authentically Indigenous story, but the second was that it had to be told by Native actors. That way it was going to be able to encompass a larger community. From there I started researching and most of the stories I got were from Francisco Patencio's "Stories and Legends of the Palm Springs Indians," which has a lot of Cahuilla stories. As you will see them in the play is of course my interpretation. The way that I interwove these stories together, they're all telling one continuous narrative alongside this snapshot of contemporary Native life. What really struck me about these stories was that you can find a lot of wisdom that is really applicable to today and to the future. The second part was of course finding people to be in it, making it a community thing, a family thing. It's all non-professional actors. That's not the most important thing about it. It's that we're sharing stories that these people can identify with, that's their story. I think that's the way you get authentic storytelling.

Q: Why did you want to write about missing and murdered Indigenous women?

A: Part of this process for me has been understanding that issue. A lot of our cast members know about this, have dealt with this. Bringing it to a larger audience is part of the healing process. It's also part of the awareness raising process. Before I began this journey I didn't know that 84% of Native women will experience violence in their lifetimes or that they disappear and are murdered at rates 10 times greater than the national average. It's not something you hear much about in Southern California but I saw that there is a movement for these women.

Q: How did you develop the two main characters?

A: I play the character of Nesune. This story follows her perspective throughout a lot of it. Menil is her sister, who my sister plays, the moon maiden. There's some significant things about her that are interwoven in the play. She was a missing woman too. She experienced violence by a masculine force, so she became the moon. That was one of the (Cahuilla) stories. She also is the one who gave the arts to the Cahuilla people. So I thought it was fitting that the character, Menil, is a singer-songwriter. We have a lot of music, which I think is super important. We do have contemporary Native artists showcasing some of their work but also some things like the bird songs. So again, it's kind of the old with the new. "Nesune" means heart, so Menil and her heart, Menil and her sister. It really is the story of the two sisters.

Q: You collaborated with Native American playwrights on this, right? What was that like?

A: I definitely have to thank Diana Burbano. She's not a Native playwright, but she's a Latina playwright and she does a lot of work in her own community producing theater that is reflective of that. She helped me put on my first reading of the play. That is of course really helpful when you hear it. The Native playwright I collaborated with was Kimberly Guerrero. I sent my play to her and she read it over.

Q: Does your family have a background in theater and the arts?

A: My father was one of the very few young people who brought back the Cahuilla bird songs. He spent decades learning these songs because they were going to be gone forever. For him, cultural revitalization has always been really key to his own identity. So that of course has been a big influence on my life. I grew up with the bird songs, dancing. Neither of my parents have a background in theater but me and my sister obviously do love it. My mom (who plays the mother in the play) discovered her love for it later in life. She's a psychologist.

Q: Is there a particular message that you want to send with the play or is it more about raising awareness?

A: The first step is awareness but it's also about the strength of identity. It's something that has been so valuable for me because it explores the many ways in which, especially young women, can become lost. My character, Nesune, ends up journeying into this alternate realm, this star world. She has to decide whether she's going to stay in the star world or return home. Her decision is alluding to the other way we lose our Native women. The idea is it is important to return and there's still something to fight for. It's all about the Native American experience. There's so much suffering and trauma but it's not going to be healed in these conventional methods. It's going to take a different sort of medicine. For me, the stories have really been the medicine.

Q: I am so impressed by you. I can't believe you're 17! What are your future ambitions?

A: College is right around the corner for me. I know that acting is a huge part of my life. I think that's been really helpful for me as I branch into writing. You get to understand certain things as an actor that can lead into this idea of playwriting and creating compelling stories. That's something that I would like to be a part of. I'm trying to get this play to the best it can be and I know I'm going to keep writing, and I'm thinking about starting other projects. I also am really interested in medicine, so for college, pre-med is what I'm thinking, but also writing and acting are super important. I think I'll keep them all, hopefully. There are certainly ways you can do that.

If you go:

What: Production of "Menil and Her Heart"

Where: California State University, San Bernardino's Palm Desert campus, 37500 Cook St., Palm Desert

When: Nov 17, 2-5 p.m.

Information: Open to the public

Tickets: Free admission

Parking: Parking fees may apply. Check pdc.csusb.edu/theater-events for updates or call (760) 341-2883

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