THURSDAY 15TH NOVEMBER - LESSON

In todays lesson we aimed to set the atmosphere of different locations in the play. We did this by laying with our eyes shut in a space of the room and when indicated each saying a different phrase, word or sound at the same time gradually growing and then declining.  Our first atmosphere was 'at the refuge' here there was a lot of shouting taking place and knocking on the door as well as children panicking about where they have place their belongings. This taught me of how the refugees must be feeling and the environment they are in whilst dealing with that. The refuge came across as if you had 30 brothers and sisters all of which you disliked and had to share everything with. it taught me how different our life is to theres and how being able to watch TV whenever i want is something that i hugely take for granted.

We also created the atmosphere of the market, somewhere largely used throughout the play. The sounds were once again very loud and probably very intimidating to a 14 year old child. There was once again a lot of shouting but there was also an aspect of  fun. The sound of laughter seemed alien but somehow fit perfectly. You can understand why Ara and Kojo would want to spend their time there because of its fun adventurous side. It also feels like you could be anywhere in the world which probably makes them feel very at home and safe. However because there are so many people and so much rushing at a market you can understand how Kojo would have gotten away with stabbing the man and then blending into the crowd. This atmosphere helped me with understanding why they would choose to spent their time there and also the intimidation that could have led to Kojo stabbing the man.

Another exercise we did was 'a day in the life' i was put as Ara and over a short time period we acted out a sped up day as them. I decided to base mine before Ara had met Kojo and when she was living at the refuge without him. I visioned her as a sensitive character helping some of the younger refugees by kindly offering them her food when they didn't get any. It was obvious to me that if she needed to she could stand up for herself but underneath that was a kind 14 year old girl who just wanted to live as a child. I imagined her trying to communicate with the others and make friends, but the language barrier didn't allow her. The experience was very helpful in learning more about her as we don't get much information on her background in the play.