Remember the night that dad left, mum said it was our fault. We were so scared as we sat at the top of the stairs, listening to them shout. Then without any warning we heard dad slam the door and he was gone. He had left us forever, he never came back. We had cried for days, he didn’t even say bye to us, he just left and never came back. Why did he leave, was it our fault, I think it was, that’s why he didn’t say bye. I miss dad. I wish he had said bye to us, at least then we could have known that he cared. Mum said that it was all our fault, she blamed us for it, and maybe she was right, I don’t know.
Remember when mum said, we wouldn’t have to go to school anymore, we were so happy but mum snatched away our happiness, just like she has always snatched from us. She used to burn our backs with the iron if we were naughty, one time you said that your burn was bigger than mine, but it wasn’t, because I always get the good things cause mum loves me best. I wish she had cared a bit for you, she always said you were a burden for her and why wouldn’t you just die. I hated it when she said that, more than that I hate her for saying it.
Promise that you will leave her. Promise me you will go far away, till you find a better world, a world that is not full of evil like this one. I will always watch over you and be with you in your heart, but this time only you will be able to see me so I can help you always.
Remember the time mum bought us the green bracelets, you and I had promised that we would wear them forever to prove that we were sisters. Beth when I leave I want you to have my bracelets, you will won’t you. Beth, I want you to be pleased for me, that I am leaving away all the pain and suffering of this world, but I want you to also try your utmost best to join me, so then we can be together again and not have to worry about mum. I want you to be happy with whatever you do in your life, I want you to prove yourself to mum and make something out of yourself.
Goodbye and I want to tell you lastly that I will miss you a lot and will think about you wherever you are please don’t forget me and please escape. Please, please, please, please find a way to escape mum and find happiness again.
From your loving sister
Chloe xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
To stage this performance I would use a split stage because in one side of the stage, Chloe will be sitting on the floor reading the letter out loud and then on the other side of the stage the characters will be acting out the contents of the letter. The characters I would use in the drama are the mum, the dad, Beth and Chloe. Beth and Chloe would clearly be in the drama as they are the protagonists and the entire drama is based on them. The mum would be in it because only then can the audience see the way she abused the girls and because she is the antagonist. The dad would only be in the two scenes that concern him. The letter would be narrated by Chloe as it is her letter and I think that the drama should be staged in their house, Chloe is in the attic reading the letter out loud, while on the other side of the stage the others are in various parts of the house. I think that in the drama we would have two Chloe’s, one who reads out the letter and another who takes part in the drama. The letter would have to be narrated in a serious, yet heartbreaking way. When Chloe is talking about her memories with Beth she could perhaps get a little choked up as if it’s really hard for her to say the words out loud and maybe she could have tears running down her face.
At the beginning when in the letter Chloe is telling Beth to “remember all the good times and keep fighting”, we could have still images of the two holding hands, them sitting together, playing together and even watching TV together, these could all symbolize the good times that they have had together and then we could have someone miming Beth in the center of the room with all still images situated around her and she is miming kicking or punching the air as if it is someone she really hates. I would also have some other still images or symbolic statues that are all based on the first paragraph. Like where it says “stand up for yourself” we could have Beth standing tall and proud while her mum is lying on the ground. This would also include levels because it would show that Beth is stronger than her mum now.
In the second paragraph, she is reminding Beth about their first birthday. There could be a flash back, showing the family on the other side of the stage and they are all sitting down on the floor and then the parents present both girls with the balloons and they cut a cake while the parents sing happy birthday to show that they were once a happy family.
The next scene would also be a flash back, but this time showing the girls on their first day at school, getting bullied by all their class mates and on telling their mother she makes them understand and cheers them up.
The next scene would also be a flash back showing the two girls sitting hunched up together in a corner, while the parents are arguing and shouting at each other. The dad then just simply walks out of the house and the girls left alone with their mother start crying and then the mother vents out her anger on them by slapping them both hard. Here we would have slow motion to tell the audience that this is the first time she raises her hands on the girls.
This next scene would also be a flash back showing the mum not allowing the girls to go to school anymore and locking them in the attic, with the TV. It would also show the audience how much control the mum had on the girls because without so much as a word they went with whatever she said and did what she wanted them to do. Here we would use levels to show that the mu is stronger than the twins because she is above them and as they have to look up to her it give the impression that the girls worship her.
The next scene would be a flash forward showing Beth standing tall with Chloe standing beside her, but the audience can just see her face over Beth’s left shoulder. This would show the audience that no matter what happened Beth did what her sister had asked of her and escaped and was now looking for the better world.
This scene would be followed by a flash back showing the mum presenting the girls with the bracelets and then the twins promising each other that they will wear them forever. This scene would show the audience how close the sisters wee and that no matter how much the mum favouritized between them she always bought them the same things.
The last scene would be a still image showing Chloe lying down on one side of the split stage, while on the other side it would show Chloe getting up and putting the letter on the floor she turns her back to the audience. This would be the ending of the drama.
The sound I would use in this would be the song Concrete Angel by Martina McBride. I would use this song because it is a piece of music about child abuse and it would also create atmosphere as this is a slow song and it would also allow the audience to get more involved in the drama.
I would have a blue light on the part of the stage where Chloe would be sitting because it would symbolize sadness and loneliness. I would have a white and red light on the other side of the split stage because red symbolizes anger and fear. The red light would show the mother’s anger and the twins’ fear. The white light would symbolize freedom and equality. The white light would show the twins’ hope for freedom and it would also show how they consider themselves equal no matter who the mother favors the most.
