The Stage
November 2016. 12:37 pm.
In downtown Kamloops, I’m sitting in a cafe that sells foods, drinks, artwork, clothing, and other assorted goods.
The weather outside is briskly cold, the kind of cold that makes your muscles tense as you walk outside. The sky is abundant with clouds, but the sun shines through a break in the clouds every few minutes. In the cafe, there are sounds of loud and lively conversation. I hear an oven timer ding every couple of minutes, and a stereo plays an upbeat alternative soundtrack. The door is constantly opening and closing, allowing the sounds of traffic to flood into the cafe every other moment. In the air, the most prominent scent is coffee. As well, there are light aromas of food (grilled sandwiches and soups). There is a faint musk in the atmosphere, perhaps emanating from the aged furniture. In front of me, the smell of a freshly brewed mocha is added to the air. The lighting in the room is very natural. Large windows at the front of the cafe allow sunlight to enter, and warm light bulbs contribute to the relaxed lighting. Accent lighting shines on works of vibrant art hung along the walls.The colour scheme throughout the cafe is very earthy. The furniture is mostly mismatched hues of brown or white. The walls are different shades of red and purple. The artwork hung on the walls contributes a certain busyness to the room. There are several large plants placed in corners, adding a natural green liveliness to the atmosphere.
The Blocking
Players
Entire Cast –
The entire cast is approximately 17 people. There are ten constant customers; some are seated in pairs, a few are sitting alone. There is a constant flow of new people entering the cafe every five to ten minutes to order something to go. There are four baristas/employees working behind the production counter. The entire cast is a very diverse arrangement of people. There are several different obvious racial origins: Japanese, Mexican, and Australian. Approximate ages of the cast range from 17-68. As well, many different clothing styles are represented. The cast is either engaged in conversation or pondering things on their cellular phones throughout my entire observation. Each person seems invested in their own interactions, while simultaneously considering the full amount of people that are in the presence of each other within the cafe.
Main Characters –
There are three main characters: Person A, Person B, and Person C.
Person A is an older gentleman. I won’t reveal many details about his appearance but I must insist on saying that he has very expressive age lines across his face, and when he puts on his glasses it shifts his appearance tremendously. He is obviously Caucasian, and perhaps lower-middle class. The most practical guess I can make of his occupation is a retired school teacher.
Person B is a young woman. She has a very fair skin tone, perhaps descending from Irish ancestry but obviously brought up in Canada. She seems to belong to the middle class, a presumption I make based on her outfit and very sleek black leather boots. Some behavioral quirks I notice about Person B is her tendency to tap her foot and constantly twirl her hair. Person B also makes very vivacious hand gestures, and has very energetic facial expressions. Person B is also very – for lack of a better term – hipster.
Person C is another young woman, probably the same age as Person B. Her ethnicity is also Caucasian, and she begs the assumption of being in the middle class. In her behavior, I notice the tendency to rest her chin on her hand, and she has very expressive eyebrows.
(both Person B and Person C make comments about “courses” and “programs”, giving me the assumption that they are current university students)
The Plot
Person A sits alone, and is always contemplating something on his cell phone. Person A adds a certain kind of frozen aura to the atmosphere, and he is obviously keen on minding his own business. His behavior is very mellow as he sits alone. When he stands up to get a refill of his drink, he looks around the room at the people who he had not noticed fill the room. Each of his gestures seem very inconveniently strained, and he experiences obvious discomfort as his knees shake while he stands from the low chair. His glasses add a smartness to his personality, and he interacts with the baristas with a slow energy. His eyes are always angled downwards, and he seemed tentative to have too long of a conversation with the barista. Person A’s interaction with the barista is the only interaction that I witness him make during my observation. He has been sitting on the sofa by the window since before I started my observation, and was still sitting there while I left the cafe. His overall behavior was very introverted. He seems shy but not insecure in himself, he’s got a very “I’ll just do me” kind of atmosphere. He seems like a kind of guy that has a lot of time on his hands, and I noticed he did not have a ring on his left hand. Person A has a slightly peculiar outfit on as well, and the constant furrow in his brows give me the impression of disapproval as he glances around the room. As I take another glance up around the room – trying to remain casually inconspicuous – I make a second of eye contact with Person A. He seems almost as curious of me as I am of him.
Person B and Person C interact in a very interesting dynamic. They make conversation over coffee. The pair appear to have very easy conversation, and there is passion beneath certain topics. They constantly switch between casual chats and serious energy in their discussions. Person B and C have remarkably different appearances. They both represent mainstream culture in many ways through their expression of opinion and choice of appearances.Outwardly, they are a pair of individuals that I wouldn’t expect to have much in common. I assume that the differences in their styles are based upon upbringing and the families that influenced them. I hear snippets of their conversations. Person B makes a comment about bartending, and being a sort of assistant behind the bar. It’s hard to determine the exact relationship between the two, they could be classmates, old friends, or even romantic interests. The body language between the two of them is very mirrored, Person C copies the way Person B crosses her legs and they constantly nod affirmation as to reflect the other. I observe a very cohesive peer relationship between the two. As they stand up to leave, I notice how much taller Person B is, maybe around two feet taller. They exit and linger outside the doorway of the cafe for a few moments, and there is a bit of tension in the goodbye-hug. Who even knows though?
The Finale
In November 2016, I observed several strangers in a local coffee shop. It was an interesting assignment to me because I’ve never spent so much time fixated on specific strangers. I do enjoy simply noticing people around me while I’m out in public, but it felt pretty odd to take such detailed notes of behavior and interactions of other people without them knowing. It was most eye-opening to consider the backgrounds of the lives of the people within my observations. I enjoyed this project because it gave me perspective on the reasons why people behave like they do, and it also encourages me to consider how different each of these people may be “behind the scenes”. I thought Person A was onto me for a minute there but he didn’t seem too concerned. The main conclusion and theme of my observation is that dramaturgical analysis is a very effective and accurate way to observe society.
