State Hospital‘s Hidden Histories Unveiled in New Play, “There’s Something I Must Tell You”
A new theatrical production, “There’s Something I Must Tell You,” is shedding light on the often-secretive histories of families and the challenging experiences of individuals institutionalized in the late 1800s. The play, inspired by the doctoral research of playwright coudle-King, centers on Claire (Ashley Fredrickson), a student researching her great-great-grandmother’s past. Her quest for information leads her to Bengta (Mary Aalgaard),a nurse at the state hospital.
The narrative delves into the profound secrecy that can shroud family histories, as exemplified by the mystery surrounding Claire’s ancestor. “Nobody knows what happened to (their) great-great-grandma,” Coudle-King stated. “They just know that there were whispers that she went to Jamestown.”
As the play unfolds, Claire finds herself confined within the hospital overnight. During this time, she encounters the spectral presences of former patients. These characters represent a spectrum of mental health struggles and life traumas, including Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), the psychological toll of emigration (with patients hailing from up to 18 diffrent countries), the isolation inherent in prairie life, paranoid delusions, schizophrenia, and the severe limitations faced by women lacking civil rights during that era.
Coudle-King’s research uncovered poignant evidence of marital coercion, citing a case where a husband committed his wife for depression, later divorced her, and left her institutionalized without any means of release. Further examination revealed letters penned by concerned family members, appealing to North Dakota’s U.S. senators for intervention on behalf of their hospitalized relatives.
The historical records from the late 1800s proved to be remarkably sparse. Coudle-King noted that entries typically included basic identifying details such as name, eye and hair color, age, and country of origin for non-U.S. born individuals. “There very rarely were any diagnoses, very rarely was there much about what the treatments were,” she explained.”The log books would say ‘Aug. 1, 1886 – no change. Aug. 20, 1887 – no change.’ It was very sketchy for the most part. So that’s where my imagination had to come in.”
