The stage:

The play takes place at a popular breakfast restaurant called Cora’s in Kamloops, British Columbia around 11:00 am in November. The atmosphere is very bright and cheery with large windows for the sun to beam against the bright yellow painted walls. The kitchen area was covered with fruit and colorful tile, adding a very lively and fun feel to the atmosphere. In the background, there are people chattering and children giggling while coloring their kid’s menus; the restaurant jam packed as it was a busy Saturday morning at Cora’s. The air is filled with the smell of freshly made pancakes and syrup, followed by the smell of freshly brewed coffee being poured to the table next to me where the main characters sit patiently awaiting their food.

The Blocking:

The players:

Man A:

 This man appears to be a father around 40 years old. He sat down on one side of the booth while the two kids sat across from him. He has little to no wrinkles, and dark brown hair cut short followed by some stubble covering the lower part of his face. He is dressed in a plaid long sleeve shirt, tucked into a pair of light wash jeans. He wears Nike runners, black glasses set high on his nose, and does not appear to be wearing a wedding ring.  He seems a little flustered, or stressed. He was communicating with both children in an upbeat way and was making sure to include the both of them in whatever he may be talking about. When the waiter came, he made the kids order their own food, and followed by ordering for himself.

Child A: 

This boy looked to be around 6 years old. He has dark brown hair like his father, and bright blue eyes. He wears dark blue jeans with a striped collared shirt, topped off with some fancy light up shoes that he seemed  to show off very well. He was perceived as a typical boy- touching everything, yelling across the booth and goofing around while drawing on his kids menu. He was constantly asking his father that sat across from him if he could order everything and anything which was most often followed by a “no”. The boy was pulling on his little sisters hair who sat beside him, and tickling her on and off when ever he seemed to get bored. When the waiter came over, he suddenly went quiet, and politely ordered his banana chocolate chip pancakes which was followed by a “please” and “thank you”. While waiting for his food, he continued to drive his father crazy and slurp up his orange juice until his pancakes arrived.

Child B: 

This little girl looks about 3 years old. Like her father and older brother, her hair is dark and looks as though she might’ve dressed herself and done her own hair- or the dad! She has a long sleeve polka dot shirt on with striped pants, and her hair tied up in some unique ball of frizz. A complete opposite from her brother, she is very laid back. As soon as she saw the crayons, she reached for the kids menu and started colouring, quiet as can be. The dad reached over the table to help her look through the kids menu, and she named and pointed to a few of the things she wanted. Dad ordered her a drink, and she clapped her hands over and over again when her apple juice arrived, sipping it in sync with her brother. When the waiter approached, she patiently waited her turn and told the waiter in a gentle manner that she wanted the strawberry french toast with whipping cream.

Plot:

The father looked as though he could be a single parent, as he looked stressed and flustered and was also not wearing a ring of any sort. He was very patient with his kids though, asking his son to sit down in a kind manner as well as taking the time to laugh with them and join in on the colouring. The man seemed to be on his phone a lot throughout breakfast, and it looked as though he was checking his email or communicating with someone important- possibly having to do with work. The kids seemed like they were on a comfortable level with their father, and were constantly wanting to engage in conversation with him and crawling under the table to sit next to him. Based on the manners the children had, it looks like they picked up on them from their environment growing up and the cheerful interactions that were made with the father and kids shows that the dad was a positive influence on his children. I also gathered a sense of independence from the children from each of them ordering for themselves in a confident yet well mannered way. As the food arrived, “thank you’s” were given and the father told his children to set a napkin on their laps, the three of them began to eat and carry on frequent conversation while indulging in the delicious pancakes and french toast. To me it looked as though the father had taken them out many times before in public. This shows that the children are exposed to a variety of people and environments, and have gained skills in learning how to act in such a way when in public. The father seemed very proud of his kids when the waiter smiled to the kids and arrived with the bill. Overall, I could not detect any aggressive or negative behaviour from either of the family members, and the smiles and behaviour radiating from the children showed me that they could very well possibly be from a well rounded and positive environment full of nourishment and care.

The Finale:

I enjoyed this assignment for many reasons. First off, I would not have expected to have near as much fulfillment and enjoyment from this project as I experienced. My “players” were a great delight to watch interact right in front of me and I got to take part in a few giggles while watching them interact with one another. I was surprised to gather so much information from this family of three, just by observing. All of the facts I obtained from this family started to tie together as I carefully took note of their actions and body languages- I felt like I knew them in a whole new dimension just from carefully observing from the table across!