Themes In Refugia

Refugia: Breaking Free of Confinement and Embracing the Past

The production of Refugia emphasizes how confinement has shaped the lives of mankind with the aid of sound and set design throughout history. The characters take journeys as refugees, which test their will to be free. Each refugee has their own challenge: a language barrier, differing religions, persecution, and even age. The characters find liberation and are free to thrive in the present, instead of living in the past. However, they must first understand their past and escape their confinement before they are able to look towards the freedom the future offers. Sound design is a key element of Refugia. In Chapter 1, a small sings live as the group of elderly men pass away and are

The same basic set was used throughout the play, with the simple addition of props to set the scene. The use of a gray, stoic set emphasized the feelings of confinement experienced by the human race, which is expressed by the trials presented by the characters within the play. The plain, gray walls also help keep the focus on the main point of the play, providing minimal distractions. The majority of the play takes place in the center of the stage, but there are key events that happen in the two rooms located upstage. The room located upstage right serves as a jail for the refugee child in Chapter 1 and a study room at the library in Chapter 5. In both chapters, the room is a confinement space for children, who have no freedom to move about, enjoying the freedom of the world, or tell their stories. These children are separated from the events taking place at center stage, keeping them from uncovering the details of their past and moving toward their future. Instead, the room forces them to live in a restricted world of

Once the aspects of refugee status were closely analyzed, the play made more sense. It is important to understand that refugees have existed and still exist in today’s world because it needs to be understood that everyone’s life is not easy or carefree. There are struggles they must overcome to break free of the confining forces that hold them back. Refugia shows the audience that people are confined and liberated in many different ways. It also emphasizes how one should not give up trying to break free of confinement or divulging into the past because you never know where it will take you. This is an important lesson for college students to learn because they have entered an unknown stage of life. It shows how hardships will be faced along the way, but persistence is needed to thrive. Refugia was a great play to perform in Austin because Austin is a melting pot for people and cultures. The play pointed out that everyone takes a different journey to get the freedom they want, but, in the end, we come from the same ancestors, who fought for the world that exists