Bill & Stephanie & The Dramaturgy of Listening: Understanding Theatrical Aurality Through Annie Baker's Plays

This is a two-part playwriting thesis about how listening is central to creating and interacting with performance. First, is a play that I wrote called Bill & Stephanie, which centers on two couples and their single friend, who, over the course of the night, tells them about when he ran away from his life for two weeks, and what he discovered while away. The second part is an essay titled ?The Dramaturgy of Listening: Understanding Theatrical Aurality Through Annie Baker?s Plays,? which investigates how listening functions in performance. The essay focuses on the work of Annie Baker, a contemporary playwright whose plays are known for their long pauses and silences, and dialogue that uncannily reflects everyday speech.