NARRATOR: At the same time, at the library, a certain worm wakes up.
MAISA THE WORM: (Clock ticking) I’m tired and I feel weird. I’ve woken up on the library floor and I’ve been squished. I can barely move. I’m going to slither over to the book and eat it. (Strange noises)
NARRATOR: Somewhere else, Kalle the Earthworm has just woken up.
KALLE THE EARTHWORM: I don’t feel like getting up. Hungry. I wonder what time it is. Surely I haven’t overslept? Is this a school morning? Hot… if I open the window… no, too tired. My bed is all slimy. I should tidy up. Did I have homework? I could go to the library.
NARRATOR: Soon, Kalle the Earthworm is also lying on the library floor eating a book. (Eating sounds)
……
The above extract is taken from a radio play created by students from Year 5 at the Freinet School in Rauma. During the spring term, they have looked at the theme of boredom and found ways to express it in writing workshops, discussions, by drawing, and by creating soundscapes of boredom. Based on their ideas, they then recorded a radio play whose title roughly translates as Land of Boredom in an Era of Apathy.
The starting point of the radio play is a world without the internet. It takes place in the Land of Boredom where a group of characters, including Swag-Pörrö, Bored Tiina, Slime and Seppo live. In the conversations the students have written for the characters, boredom becomes fatigue, laziness, sluggishness and lethargy.
To complement the script, the young radio-play makers have made a soundtrack with sounds of boredom, including music and sounds created with Foley sound techniques. They also took turns as sound recordists, capturing lines of dialogue and other audioscapes.
The radio play is created under the supervision of children’s writer and creative writing teacher Karoliina Suoniemi and sound artist Jukka Herva. It is curated by Anna-Kaisa Koski.
Land of Boredom in an Era of Apathy premieres on Radio Ramona (93,3 MHz, 97,3 MHz or online) on Tuesday, June 4, after the 6pm news. It plays all summer at Rauma Art Museum as part of the Triennale.
The language of the radio play is Finnish.
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“The Internet has just turned 30, and touchscreen smartphones have existed for at least 12 years. What does boredom mean to the post-smartphone generation who have no recollection of those timeless times? Do they ever get bored?”