Poquette has a bachelor's degree in English and specializes in writing about literature. In the following essay, Poquette discusses the structure that Gardner uses in his play.

When one examines the structure of I'm Not Rappaport, something becomes immediately apparent. Whereas there are three separate scenes in the second act, the first act remains unbroken by scenes. It is one long section that runs continuously for nearly half the play. When a playwright makes a structural decision like this, it usually has some significance. In this case, Gardner is using this odd structure to underscore the theme of aging in the play.

Gardner uses this structure in two different ways. First, the structure influences the pacing of the play. Pacing refers to the speed at which a literary work unfolds. In the first act, the unbroken action automatically speeds up the performance, because it has no scene...