How is an aspect of more direct performance reflected in Phillips' Machine Dreams?

Phillips' work lends itself to a greater aspect of direct
performance in a couple of distinct ways.  The first is the basic approach she takes to
the work.  In making her characters a "microcosm" of society, she is able to present
their own voices as representative of a faction of that social faction.  With this in
mind, the characters are able to speak for more than themselves, which is why it makes
sense to have the characters read their thoughts aloud.  They are not speaking to the
reader only, for they are speaking for an entire group of American society.  The
internal thoughts of each character and how they are struggling with both society and
their place within it make more sense for a dramatic reading on stage or in spoken word
forum, as opposed to constrained on the pages of a book.  The need for a narrator is not
as present for these characters wish to have their own sense of speech and articulation
outside of what others might say for them.  The opening is reflective of this as Jean is
writing a letter to her daughter, indicating that this is something to be performed or
read aloud and not kept merely on the page.  Articulating Mitch's frustration is
something that one could see akin to Miller's Willy Loman or Wilson's Troy Maxson.  The
idea of a man struggling to hold on to whatever small piece of the world he has as it is
slipping through his fingers is something that lends itself to an aspect of direct
performance.