I want to focus on this fugue specifically because it highlights the first kills Pop and Elliot make in war and the moments that both will never forget. The characters, including Ginny in this fugue, move separate but in unison at the same time. Ginny narrates the deeper emotions Elliot feels, though they are not explicitly stated. Earlier in the fugue Grandpop and Ginny illustrate the silence that engulf every person present in the killing. Though these two characters are not in Iraq with Elliot, it feels to me like they are right there with him. It is like they are speaking for him, saying the words he cannot bring himself to say. It feels as if Elliot is frozen in time and the other characters are moving, feeling, experiencing, reliving their own war stories. Moving back to the highlighted "military code", I find it interesting and illuminatingly powerful to have both Pop and Elliot declare in unison that they are to remove the documents inside the wallets. Within this moment, Pop is narrating Elliot's moment as Elliot narrates Pop's. As they remove more items, the weight of the kill pans to the surface (or the center of the stage). Having never experienced this before, the simplicity in the definitives in the pictures are enough to captivate the audience. I feel so deeply that the stage directions add depth to the narrations and direction for the actors on stage, especially with the dropping of the first photo. All characters realize the impact the death of just one soldier has on Elliot especially and the disbelief of how small the death can feel as the photo is dropped.

A moment in the middle of the play that the play must pass through in order to get from beginning to end that is of the most significance to me is when Brian throws up the sea animal. Obviously, this moment was rehearsed and analyzed during class, but I believe it is especially important because it brings an offstage space and transitions it directly into an onstage space. Evidently, there is a major storm occurring outside the conference room and the stagnant setting is breaking down on the characters. Had there never been a moment where Brian physically brought the outside world in on the characters, I do not think the end would have been as finite. It suggests to the audience that there is no longer a future for these, once full of hope, characters. This moment in particular structures the paranormal, eerie, mysterious, uneasy, existential mood of the play. Not only does Annie Baker portray this moment to expose the eminent fate of the storytellers, but she also (I believe) commits to this event to highlight the traumatic, cut-throat lengths writers will go to to get their story published. I come to the notion that Brian’s expelling of the sea anemone serves as a motif for writers/editors in Hollywood and what it truly takes to get one’s name out into the world.

Second Moment (ACT 2) The second moment that struck me involves Malcolm and Jess in Act 2 as Malcolm reveals the same tooth necklace Jess was given. Not only does the playwright implement his effortless use of comedic timing to engage the audience in the event, but it places a lighthearted tone on a moment between two of the plays’ protagonists that provides hope for the resolution of the play. As Malcolm reveals that the tooth is what is keeping her sane, Jess has this light bulb moment that she now understands how she can save her sister. It feels almost magical in the sense that the audience wants to reach out and hug Jess, pushing her to go get Gabby and save her before it is too late. The stage directions implying how broken the city has become emphasizes the importance of the event, for if both characters do not mend the bridges that have been broken, the story will not have a fortunate ending.

pg. 55-56

First moment (ACT 1) One of the most important events in act one emerges as Gabby turns into a vampire. Not only does it shock the audience, but it transforms the audience’s image of Lucky as the protagonist who is so madly in love with Jess. I believe the essence of the stage directions as she shifts from human to vampire justly conveys the aggravation the audience will begin to experience as they realize Gabby is no longer the innocent character she once used to be. This pivotal shift in the story invites the audience to put themselves in Jess’s shoes as she is completely blindsided by what Lucky did to her baby sister. (pg. 39)