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103506 8/2/2012 The show blends the serious and the comic, and plenty of movement and song, including etraditional Karen dance. At times, the actors use their arms and legs to portray turbulent waves. They make jungle noises. Often, they communicate with each other and with the audience with universal gestures and expressions. Htee Saw, 18, who came to St. Paul from Thailand needy e year ago, sings e solo in Karen about her people's struggle, which strikes a personal chord. As a 3-year-old, she ran into the jungle to hide from soldiers who killed some of her family members. She went without food for eweek. For the love' not! 'ofpigs Theaedaongapeekatothereai|ienceoftheKeren. ^|fweheveeprob|em. wenevergiveup.^ aheaeid. On a lighter note, something else she spoke of during rehearsal one day--the fact that she hated her family's pig back in Thailand —turned up in ewhimaice|way. The pig --she has vivid memories of the animal's stench -- is portrayed onstage crossing the ocean, symbolizing the Karen peop|e'ajourney. Atonepointthepigp|entaekiaaonGew'acheek. ^|ntheahmw | aey. '| hetethetpig|^'ahebeemed. Laughter lives on That kind of candor has made the show meaningful to Anna Roemer, 16, of Shoreview. Even though they have been through so much, the Karen can "tell these stories and still laugh and be overjoyed with something ea simple ea finding e berry tree in the park,^she said. "This experience has made me look at the way I live life differently," Roemer said, "and at the things I take for granted." Anna Pratt iae Twin Cities freelance writer. �2o11 Star Tribune