07.16 – Housing In Campus  – Afternoon

Play name: Two girls (trying to) use their laptops

The Stage: There are two couches next to the walls positioned in 90º to one another. There is a short wood table in the middle of them. There are two plants behind the couches. Next to the plants, there are to machines: one for drinks and another for snacks.

Blocking:

The players: Person A – There is a black woman on her twenties sat on one of the couches. There is a grey and purple backpack over a black jacket right next to her. She has her hair in a bun and is wearing a Burgundy sweater with ethnical print, a burgundy scarf and jeans. There is a laptop from HP on her lap and an eraser on the table right in front of her.

Person B – On the other couch, there is a black woman on her twenties. There is a yellow backpack and some sheets next to her. She is wearing a black shirt filled with white stars, jeans, a plaid jacket and grey sports shoes. She also has a laptop from HP on her lap, but it is a different model.

Person C – A tall black man who appears to be between 20 and 30 years. He is wearing the black Resident Advisor uniform.

Person D – A black man on his early twenties. He is wearing a black snapback, a black hoodie and jeans.

Person E – A medium black man on his twenties wearing brown bomber jackets and black pants.

The plot:  Both Person A and Person B are sat on the couches talking. Person B pulls chips out of her bag and starts eating them. Person A starts typing on the laptop. They both laugh at something.

Person C walks in. He says “hi, ladies” out loud. He then stars chatting with Person B, while Person A grabs a binder out of her bag and starts typing on the laptop and alternately looking at one page of the binder. Person B seems to be bothered by Person C, as she shows through her unpleasant face expression. She talks to him while starring at the laptop. She eventually cracks a smile, but he is talking way more than she is. She grabs a pen inside her bag for no apparent reason and keeps listening to him while holding it. He seems to be explaining something to her now, since she stops talking and starts simply waving in an interested way. She puts the laptop that was on her lap on the table. Person A is still typing in the laptop while looking at the binder, as now she turns the page. Person C says goodbye and moves next to the door, but doesn’t leave. He keeps talking to Person B. Person B stares at her nails. He now leaves.

Right after Person C leaves, Person D shows up. He fist bumps them. The three of them talk and smile for a few second. Then, Person D leaves.

Person B takes the laptop from the table and puts it back on her lap again. They start talking again. Person A is talking way more than Lou. They now look focused on the laptop. Person A stands up and grabs a charger inside her bag. She plugs it into her computer and a power socket. Person B helps her. Person A then sits down. They both stare at the respective laptops, but do not type. Lou touches Tess twice and comments about something. They both laugh and keep starring at the laptops. Person B shakes her legs impatiently. Person A then shows her laptop screen to Person B. Person A places it in the table and Lou starts using it. They both stare at the screen. Person A gets the laptop back to her lap.

Person E comes in. He greets them. Person A pulls some chips out of her bag and offers him some. He refuses it. He then gets his wallet inside his pocket. He takes a card and inserts it in the drink machine. He appears to be having trouble with it, so Person A helps him. He then gets a Monster and gives Person A a Canada Dry. The three of them talks for a while, then he goes back to the machine and grabs Lou a Nestea. She puts it in her bag. Tess puts her drink on the table. He sits down next to Person A. Person B and him talk for a while, while Person A looks at the laptop. He leaves. They keep focused on the computer.

Going through the chapter five of Sociology – My Compass for a New World, by Brym, Roberts, Strohchein and Lie, I found some information that can be related to the situation which Person B and Person C had a very uncomfortable conversation, at least for Person B. According to the book, conversations are usually a competition for attention. When the attention is not balanced enough, the conversation becomes one-sided and monopolized, and the person that does not speak much feels neglected. That would explain why Person B appeared to be very uncomfortable while speaking to Person C: she wouldn’t barely say a word, while he kept talking and talking. The book also points out that that situation can be explained by the background of the participants in the conversation. In this case, despite Person C was a person with the same ethnic background as Person B, he is a not only a man while she is a woman, but he is also her Resident Advisor. Female status is usually associated with less power than male power. However, in this case, it was more than that: he is in a position of authority over her, since she has to follow her Resident Advisor instructions, and being mean to him could bring her bad consequences. The book explains that people with more power tend to be the focus of conversations, as a form of domination.