Theatre studies and drama
The effects of Gamma rays on man-in-the-moon marigolds

Isaac- Benjamin Hunsdorfur
Afiqah- Ruth Hunsdorfur
Chen Xing- Matthew Hunsdorfur

Directorial Vision:

What is the play about?

Benjamin Hunsdorfur is a man who is constantly drunk and does not show affection to anyone, even to his children. As a result, the children, Ruth and Matthew Hunsdorfur are affected by his actions and we can see the parallel with the science experiment that Matthew is taking on where Paul Zindel (playwright) actually uses cobalt-60 as a representation of Benjamin while he's decaying, exposes the harmful radiation onto his children (the plants used in the experiment), the excess exposure to the gamma rays that is highly destructive would wield dwarf plants or the plants are killed. We can see how both Matthew and Ruth are affected by the dangerous waves by Benjamin where Ruth has her fits and how Matthew is too shy.

Some of the main themes of this play includes family relationships and how the family dynamics work where as opposed to showing love and care for ones’ family, in actuality, there are more layers to a family relationship and unconditional love is just a word, not something that is shown or given even by our parents. We also see how the individual family members can purposely hurt one another, emotionally and psychologically where Benjamin kills the rabbit (Peter) that Ruth loves.

There's a lack of love between the members of the family, causing the lack of trust between them. This in fact, reflects a society in which there is a presence of miscommunication and misunderstanding where people do not go the extra mile to understand each other
The many depths of each character and the problems that they face all contribute to how they treat ach other, Ruth, who longs for the approval of her father becomes emotionally unstable and Matthew is constantly being pushed back and becomes the mediator between the two. The positive outlook on life that was portrayed by Matthew gets dimmer and duller the more he is “exposed” to his father. However, Matthew is the voice of hope in the story as he finds the beauty and wonder of the universe outside even when he is faced by the constant bickering and exposure to the ”gamma rays.”

Message

We want to show how ones’ actions can affect another, especially those closest to us and that is our family members, we want people to appreciate the fact that they have their family and also not take them for granted, this would be ingrained when the audience sees how Ruth and Matthew was affected by the deliberate killing of Peter and how callous Benjamin was in dealing with Ruth’s fits. Also, Matthew was not paid any attention to, even when he wins a prestigious competition and usually, winning something would be cause for celebration but what Matthew had to deal with is another fight between Ruth and Benjamin.

We want the audience to be emotionally, psychologically affected, to feel the emotions that the characters feel and not take it light-heartedly, to really understand that hurt is not just in a physical sense but also emotional. To reflect on their own lives and whether they have achieved the goals that they have set for themselves and for their families and see if there is a way to improve relationships or strengthen bonds.

Target audience

The target audience of this play is young adults and families. This play deals with the issues of family relationship and how it affects the individual. Thus, this group of people will be able to identify with and relate to the play and its characters as they have more experiences or knowledge about the issue. Young children who have not seen what the reality of the society is would not be able to understand the play and the issues discussed. We want the audience to reflect on the play and its themes and then reflect on their life and how well they have lived it and also reflect on the actions and consideration that they have given to their family members and really understand that as a family, to make it work, understanding is needed. It is good if families can go together as they can reflect on the play as a whole.

How're we going to portray the play?

We are going to make the play as realistic as possible in a sense that the characters are relatable. The monologues would be emphasized to show the impact on the feelings and emotions of the character, using dramatic sequences. However, we would want to make the quarrel as natural as possible.

So the actors must really be their character and thus, we are using Stanislavski’s acting system in which we would understand the character's background and be the character.
The 3 Step approach:
Actors will prepare by analysing the given text, understand and develop the characters.
Actors will bring out physical characteristics.
Actors will then combine physical and mental aspects to portray the character.

We are doing this because we want to capture the essence of the characters and play each character with emotional depth rather than just do it in a showy way, thus create a claustrophobic atmosphere where the characters turn on each other instead of trying to get out of the space.

settings

Will add in the details of the settings later on.

lightings

Lightings is with stacy!

sounds
Ditto.

props
will post later.

Love, ruth