Erica's Response to Elephant's Graveyard

Affirmations

- It was really exciting to hear the play with actors! There was much added energy and theatricality... The scale of this play suggests some really exciting/intense staging possibilities... excited to see what you do with it!
- The merging of characters makes the play tighter and it is easier to invest in the individual characters and stories.
-On the same note the characters have really developed and each character feels like a whole person with a whole life and a whole story and an individual take on the events of the play.
- I enjoyed the moments that riffed on the idea of monologue... having two characters delivering monologues that seemed to be readable as either overlapping monologues to the unseen listener (or audience) or monologues in conversation with eachother (not to be confused with dialogue...) That is a very convoluted way of saying that I really appreciate the layers within these moments.
- And of course, fantastic language and story telling. Per usual.

Questions
- What is the hierarchy of the circus people? (past the clowns being at the bottom)
- Are there individual families/romances/loyalties within the larger circus family?
- What is Red running away from?
- Do any of the townspeople have a reaction to what they witnessed outside of what action should be taken? (Does it hit anyone personally?)
- Still a little confused about some of the circus terminology... specifically what is a roustabout? and I sort of get what a First of May is... but not completely?

Opinions
- The lynching monologue is a lot more powerful (for me) placed later in the play.
- The child monologues break the rhythm slightly... they are the only places that the adressee comes into question for me.
- As I stated above some of the circus terminology is still sort of unclear for me... I get it in context but I don't know if that is only because I've heard it in context a few times and am listening for it.
- I would like to see more interpersonal allegiances/relationships between some of the circus characters and/or townspeople...