The Stage

The play takes place at a coffee shop in 100 Mile House BC, sometime during the late afternoon in the early days of winter. The day is slightly overcast and small drops of rain are falling; however, the rain is not constant. The air outside is brisk, as people walking by are bundled up and looking cold. Some small local stores surround the coffee shop, including a pharmacy, a few clothing boutiques and a quaint bookstore. The main characters are sitting at a table, another is a passerby from outside the shop coming in for a coffee. The sounds of the roaster, and the espresso maker steaming milk around the corner is faint. The air inside is warm and thick, spreading a heavy scent of roasting coffee throughout the room. The lights are dim and the sky outside is darkening slowly. Colors that surrounded the set include deep tones of red and brown, with a contrast of white mugs scattered among the tables. People inside are relaxed, conversing, checking e-mails, picking up a snack or coffee, or simply reading the newspaper. The folks outside are more up-beat and busy, walking fast to get somewhere before closing, some are jogging, some walking with children.

 The Blocking

The Players

     Man A seemed to be between the age of 40–45. He was dressed quite professionally in a dark grey suit, a light blue dress shirt, white tie and was carrying a black leather briefcase. Man A is mostly bald and slightly overweight but looks as though he is successful. He entered the coffee shop normally: wasn’t in a rush and seemed calm. Man A went up to the till and ordered what appeared to be just a normal drip coffee in a normal mug, Man A also had a fancy black leather wallet and payed with  credit card. He then sat down at a high table with tall stools, which seemed sort-of awkward for him.

      Man B is very tall and slender with white short hair; this man looks to be around a very healthy age of 57-65. He is dressed like a rancher, jeans with a cowboy belt buckle, a brown button up shirt and an outdoorsy vest. Man B enters the coffee shop in a bit of a rush, as if he was late for something or someone. He has a wedding band and a gold hoop a piercing in his ear. This man walks up to the cashier and orders a fancy drink that the barista made on the espresso machine and that came with whip cream, and he pays with cash out of pocket. Man B went over to the high table and sat casually with Man A. The two men seemed to discuss some things that seemed casual, and some that looked to be more in-depth and serious.

     Woman A is tall and beautiful, she looks to be in her mid to late 50’s and is dressed quite casually, but her clothes are expensive and luxurious, she has a long beige coat that buttons up, and ties. She is wearing heavy black makeup on her eyes and carries a light red leather bag her appearance makes her seem to have great confidence and power. Woman A has light brown shoulder length hair that is straight, but messy from the wind outside. She looks sophisticated but as though she is unorganized or stressed, she stops quickly to say hello to man A and B on her way to order a coffee, and waved to them as she left.

 The Plot

Man A and B seem to have a routine to their meeting, there is some structure as man A could be from some sort of company that deals with farmers or ranchers. It looked as though Man A was informing man B of specific changes or guidelines to something because man B nodded his head quite often and man A had a piece of paper in his hand that he would occasionally show man B. Both men seemed to be comfortable around each other, as if they have known one another for quite some time. Man A may be man B’s lawyer or some form of professional advisor; however, it seems strange to meet a lawyer in a coffee shop. The two men defiantly did not look like they were just friends, their interaction was on more of a professional basis yet they seemed close. Woman A entered the coffee shop in somewhat of a dither, she looked stressed and preoccupied with her thoughts. When woman A was heading to the till to order, Man B said something to her probably “hello” or something along those lines. She looked delighted to see him. It didn’t seem like man A and woman A knew each other at all, but they did greet one another. It looked like man B and woman A knew each other very well at some point, and haven’t seen or heard from the other for quite a long time. Woman A and man B’s conversation didn’t last long at all, it was just a reminiscent greeting, she continued to go and order her coffee for takeout and left the shop. Woman A waved goodbye to the men on her way out and it appeared as though man B was the only one who noticed, he waved back.  When the meeting finished Man B was the first to gather his cell phone and keys and got up from the stool, Man A stood up as well and they shook hands. Man B proceeded to the door and left. Man A then reviewed the paper he had with him, and set it inside his briefcase before leaving the shop. It does seem like the men meet often, since they had a noticeable routine in their discussion and interaction. All three characters seemed to have totally different norms, one being a potential lawyer or business man, one a rancher or cowboy, and one a powerful and busy lady. Man B and woman A were a lot more social than man A, not only with interaction among one another but also with interaction among the shop staff while ordering. This coffee shop seems like the place to be in this town, there were many people flowing in and out, and many who knew one another; hence, the small town. The three characters seemed to have different social cultures, yet they were able to interact with one another on such a normal level.

The Finale  

     I am a female student, eighteen years old and I felt that this assignment was interesting. It did take a lot more extra effort to sit and watch people for close to 40 minutes than I thought it would, but it was well worth observing how these people interacted together. I was able to sit and enjoy a coffee in the shop while I watched these people and took notes. It was a relaxing experience and I didn’t feel overwhelmed or stressed. I didn’t think that the people I was watching were very interesting until afterwards, once I was able to analyze my notes a bit. I was able to learn about observing and how to be discreet along with, some different social tendencies among the characters.