Hugh Danforth

We thought it would be nice for an elder and artist to interview an another elder and artist so we asked Lisa Mayo (Kuna/Rappahannack), community elder and co-founder/member of Spiderwoman Theater to do an interview with Hugh Danforth (Oneida). She finally caught up with Hugh after two weeks of playing telephone tag in three states. He currently lives on the Oneida Nation in Wisconsin, where is a member of the Turtle Clan. Lisa who has known Hugh as a Native person who is an actor. She wanted us to know "he is one of the nicest, most generous people I've met in a long time. He is also talented and handsome-this is what he wants you to know about him."

L.M. You retired in 1994. What kind of work were you involved with?
H.D. I retired after 24 years with the University of Wisconsin at Madison. I was an electronics technician in high energy physics. The front line of science, very interesting and exacting work. But, I did have a dream of my retirement. I thought when the great day of retirement came I would have four things; 1) a house on the rez, 2) a big easy chair, 3) a television set 4) a grandfather clock.
L.M. Do you have those four things now?
H.D. Oh yes. I have them, but I have very little time to use them because I've become involved in theater.
L.M. I remember in 1996 when I first met you in New York City. You told me then that you were in New York on a scholarship to study acting at the Lee Strasberg Institute. Would you tell me how you won that scholarship?
H.D. You see, in 1995 the Oneida Nation became involved with a production company that was interested in producing a documentary film together with the Nation. The film was to document the involvement of the Oneida Nation with George Washington's troops at Valley Forge during the American Revolutionary War. The Oneidas brought in 600 bushels of corn and other food to help feed Washington's army when they were in danger of starving to death in that crucial winter campaign.
I was very interested in this project as were many others. But none of us were professional actors. We needed training, so the Oneida Nation contacted Anna Strasberg of the Lee Strasberg Institute, a professional acting school in New York City. Anna Strasberg agreed to come to Oneida to audition the people who were interested in studying with her. She selected sixty people. There were two separate classes of thirty people each. We worked on technique non-stop for ten days.
L.M. What did you do as an audition piece for Anna Strasberg?
H.D. I auditioned with my daughter Michelle. We told a traditional Oneida story, The Iceman and the Messenger in Spring Time. Anna selected us both for the workshop. But the best part of the story came at the end of the ten days when Anna Strasberg selected me for a one-year scholarship at the Strasberg Institute in New York City.
L.M. So after one year you returned home to Oneida, Wisconsin. Will you tell me about he projects you are involved in now?
H.D. We have a very active program in acting and play writing at Oneida now, which I started. We call ourselves "Duck Creek Community Theater." Currently we are developing an original script we call Life on the Rez. In addition to our Oneida Theater I am teaching acting at other reservations. I just returned two days ago from a two week residency at Leech Lake Tribal College, Cass Lake, Minnesota. They invited me to help them develop a script for two groups, adults and teens. Their goal is a production of a play for their community that has a strong alcohol abuse theme. I really enjoyed every minute of the residency, giving acting technique exercises and helping them further develop their script.
I thought that I would have a quiet retirement (in my house on the rez, sitting in my easy chair watching television, hearing the chimes of my grandfather clock in the background) but I've become an actor instead. I feel very much alive and interested in life. I look forward to what each new day will bring.
L.M. We need new challenges and new projects every year. Hope to see you in New York City or meet on the road soon.