@PLAY: ‘Broken’ by William Carter
William Carter’s Broken is a BU New Play Initiative production and the second of five events in the @Play Festival of New Work, a season-long celebration of the MFA Playwriting class of 2015, co-produced by Boston University Graduate School of Arts & Sciences and the College of Fine Arts School of Theatre in collaboration with Boston Playwrights’ Theatre.
We thought we’d take this opportunity to learn more about Will’s play and find out what’s next for this playwright…
Tell us a little about ‘Broken.‘
Broken is actually a version of the first play I ever wrote as a student at Boston University. I wrote the first seeds of it in class with the man I deem as my Obi Wan, Ronan Noone. Then, in the fall semester of 2013, I picked it back up again. It was a play that I knew had something special in it, because it is the play most inspired by the events of my life.
In Broken, two parents seek absolution from each other, once their son is in a car accident and suffers a brain injury. Back in October of 2007, my 1995 Honda Accord was involved in a head-on collision with a Suburban, which of course is a losing battle. As a result, I suffered a brain injury. I died, was revived, and put in an induced coma. The events of that accident and the recovery that followed have been so instrumental and formative in my life that I have tried my hand at writing this story many times before. I was dissatisfied with every single one. Every stage play version of my story failed, because I was the hero, and I was not conscious or present for a large part of it. Broken is my story from the parent’s perspective. Though, I’m quick to point out: these are not my parents, and their son is not me. These are characters inspired by true people, not based on them. But, I think there was something very cathartic in writing this play. For one, this is the first play I have ever written, where I, one, did not know where it was going, and two, did not find the story to match a theme or message I was trying to convey, though I believe themes and a message have emerged. I merely knew the given circumstances and let the characters carve their own path through my play. As such, this has become a play about control and forgiveness, though it certainly did not start out that way.
I hope that is sufficient for a little.
What makes you passionate about this idea?
First, I am passionate about this play, because it gives me a chance to tell my story, without telling my story. Broken has given me an opportunity to understand what incredibly wonderful parents I have been blessed with, to, in some tiny way, attempt to comprehend what a hard and painful experience my accident was for them. Moreover, this play is a chance to give an audience more information and understanding about brain injuries and work to normalize disability.
But really, I am passionate about this play, because it did not originate from ideas. Every play I wrote prior to Broken I knew what I was trying to say, and I constructed the characters and events of the play to match the ideas I was trying to convey. What makes me passionate about Broken is just how exciting the discovery has been. Not knowing everything is an amazing experience. Prior to my study at BU, I thought that it was the job of the writer to be an expert on his play and know every nook and cranny about the characters and the world. With Broken, I have discovered that it so much more fruitful and wonderful an experience to allow one’s self to discover. The process of writing Broken has been a discovery, and if I’m honest, very seldom have I been the one holding the flashlight.
Does this production of ‘Broken’ align with your original vision for the work, or did the play change shape as you went along?
Well, I should have probably read these questions before answering them, because I believe I might have already sort of answered this. But, I will say that what I have learned about writing theater is just what a piece of the puzzle I am. Previously, I thought I was the puzzle, which, as you might guess, eliminates collaboration and discovery for both myself and everyone else.
What Ronan Noone, Kate Snodgrass, and everyone at Boston Playwrights’ Theatre worked to get me to understand is that plays are not about me showing how smart I am. That writing in pursuit of truth is more useful, because it takes one’s writing outside of ego. One of the moments this rang true is during our first production meeting for Broken, when our scenic designer said to me, “Your play, it helped me. My friend has brain cancer, and your play, it helped me grieve.” This was amazing, and it further enabled me to open up and accept the thoughts and changes proposed by the actors, director, and others, as I continue to shape the play. This play is not about or for me; it has been shaped by so many people, and I feel a little bit like a fraud taking ownership of it, for the actors in this production have been so helpful in the shaping of this play.
How would you describe your writing to people unfamiliar with your work?
I write what my character Jean in my play, Line Please, deems “Traumady.” I don’t believe plays should be on this binary of comedy or tragedy, but somewhere in between, because that’s what life is. If the job of the playwright is to “hold the mirror up to nature” as it were, then I believe he should, and as such, my plays try and walk the line between the two. More than that, my plays tend to have striking shifts between the two. Furthermore, I love language; maybe, it’s one of the reasons I am a playwright, but language is a toy I love to play with, and I think that ball definitely gets tossed around in this play. Though, I feel it is necessary to add that this play is in many ways such a departure from everything I have written previously, though I definitely see at least these two aspects as something present across my oeuvre.
What’s the least likely thing you’ve gained inspiration from?
What an interesting question. The usual mode of inspiration is music, and as such, I have given the cast and crew a series of the music that went into this play’s creation. But the least likely thing I have gained inspiration from is other people. As noted, prior to the BPT, I would’ve been very unlikely to listen to others’ insight on my play, because I wrote the thing, right? I should know best. But with this play, Kate, Ronan, the actors from the different readings and workshops, and, most importantly, my director, Jonathan Solari, and the cast of this production have been so incredibly consequential in the shaping of this play where it is today. Michael Towers, Becca Lewis, Beverly Diaz, Ben Ducoff, and Jesse Richardson-Bull have all given such profound insight to this play that it has led to a number of changes and drafts upon drafts of new pages, as I have discovered the play I am writing.
What’s next for you?
We’ll see. I am going to keep writing, but I am currently looking for an opportunity to teach. When I was Teaching Fellow this past fall, I found that there was no greater gift than guiding and encouraging others in their writing, and also teaching and my students were incredibly helpful in my own writing.
I am open to seeing where this play goes, as well as wherever God wants to take me.
Read more about ‘Broken’ and the @Play Festival of New Work. We hope you’ll join us!