The Breach

The spine of this play is how the Katrina disaster demands each character to find his/her strength and 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