BREAK shows us the day in the life of a few middle-school teachers. But this isn't just any day. Accuardi meticulously builds the tension where we realize a student is hospitalized and the parents are holding a certain teacher responsible. Right or wrong, the occurrences in this play eerily and honestly mirror what it is like to be teaching in the 21st century. Combustible! This is an important play for our current time with fast-paced, sharp dialogue, and honest and relatable characters. Produce this play!

This world--the school, the students, the social climate--feels so fleshed out even though the piece examines just four teachers through a microscope. Accuardi's writing is economical and spare and so beautifully captures the natural, inelegant rhythms of human speech. The scenes are also so tightly and potently written. I felt for all of these people, and it felt clear the playwright did as well, even while not letting them off the hook. The bookending monologues punctuated the piece perfectly. This was so well structured and compelling!

BREAK is a powerful play about the responsibilities and struggles that come with being a teacher. Its middle school setting feels particularly appropriate as an in-between time in life for a kid, when it's incredibly hard to know where you stand - and these characters, too, though they are adults, grapple with where they stand in their lives, professionally and personally. The relationships, both the ones we see onstage amongst the teachers and the ones that are referenced with their students, colleagues, and family members, are complex and strong and really well-written. I would love to see this play performed!