The Breach
...identity. The characters' quest for self is demonstrated through the play's performance element of text because the characters' lines highlight their progression from being submissive to defeat to successfully overcoming the tragedy. A great example of this is the transformation of Quan. The play switches back and forth between little Quan and grown-up Quan to show the audience that the little girl has found the strength to survive and retell the story. Little Quan's fear of uncertainty is cleverly presented through the silence of her character; in contrast, grown-up Quan's monologues, which she presents loudly and clearly, describe how the little girl has successfully grown to a woman who knows her place in her community.
At the same time, the play's text also detracts from the spine of the play. Most of the characters are able to find their identity and overcome the disaster, but Charlie is an exception. The audience can see his useless attempt in trying to save a dead baby. However, he chooses the dead baby over Mac, when it is clear that Mac probably has a better chance of surviving the Katrina. Instead of successfully finding his identity, Charlie falls apart and loses his sense of self.
The opening of the play shows the strongest design element that contributes to evoking "New Orleans", where a family is crawling through a hole in the roof of their home and is now stranded on the rooftop in pouring rain. This successfully illustrates how the hurricane played its part in tearing the community apart. Despite some of its strengths, the play could have added some scenes that would show a sense of community in New Orleans because after the victims lose their material belongings, they only have each other. A business owner from my article says "Even though my business is destroyed, I can still be a good neighbor" (Appel).
Since The Breach is about how the...
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