Under The Sea Play Essay

Introduction

Our documentary drama piece is on how migrants are unable to simply seek refuge here in Australia. Bertolt Brecht a German play writer has helped us achieve this goal as we have brought upon a range of techniques which teaches the audience to think and to remind themselves that what they have watched is theatre not real life. Important techniques which he uses include narration, song, use of placards and projection, simple staging, utilising sets, props and costumes and changing character. These help to break up the action the audience have witnesses and not become emotionally attached. Our group have incorporated these techniques into our play to create a powerful performance which raises the issue of migrants coming to Australia.

We felt we needed to bring awareness to the audience about this issue and to inform them what is happening. In the beginning of our drama performance the group and I have incorporated the playing of a song parody ‘Under the Sea’ written by Hans Christian Anderson as a technique to emphasis the dangerous boat journey and fright of arrival to a new foreign country. Changed phrases of the song include that from ‘the seaweed is always greener, in someone else’s lake’ to ‘the freedom is always greener, in someone else’s land’, referring the lyrics directly from a migrant’s perspective if they were travelling down to Australia. The Lyrics heighten the intensity of the journey as the song continues suggested by the lines ‘charging straight to us, but we hope they won’t stop us, we just want a place to sleep’, highlighting the startled emotions felt when coming into contact with Australian boarder protection services. The fear brought by knowledge of the fact that after such a long and

We staged ourselves centre front stage so that we could look powerful whilst singing directly out into the audience. The technique, song is important, as it is used to detach the audience from the documentary drama piece. It can also be used to break up the action, which allows the audience to reflect on the issue being presented. Our song ‘Over the Sea’ conveys a strong message to the audience through its impacting lyrics and iconic tune taken from the children’s Disney movie ‘Little