David Barker ‘dodges bullets’ in true life play

In a special two-day performance event, the Bloomington Playwrights Project organized David Barker’s one-man show, “Dodging Bullets.”

The show chronicles the events leading up to when Barker’s brother in law attempted to murder him and his sister and what ultimately followed.

During the 60-minute piece, Barker portrayed the various characters of his family.
His mother suffered from short-term memory loss.

Then, his aggressive father was shown approaching the day he was rushed to the hospital for stomach surgery. He died a year after the surgery, his personality deteriorating all the while.

Barker also portrayed his overzealous psychiatrist as well as the battle between his mentally unstable brother-in-law and submissive sister.

In the midst of all these “characters,” Barker tries to deal with everything while his life is falling apart. Audience members seemed to be moved by Barker’s emotional journey, such as graduate student Tom Stoffel.

“It’s one thing to play a fictional character,” Stoffel said. “But to use yourself and superimpose all those emotions is amazing.”

Barker communicated tragic events of his life to audiences, but in many moments used comedy as a coping device. During Barker’s stay in Bloomington he led a workshop with IU Theatre and Drama faculty member Adam Noble’s movement class, whose members included students such as Stoffel.

“It’s amazing to see how the techniques he talked about in the workshop worked in the show,” Stoffel said.

Barker’s sister was married for 32 years to a verbally aggressive man who called her names, such as “fat cow”, and threatened to kill her multiple times. Barker said that in the show he found the situation ironic because the aggressive brother-in-law was a renowned brain surgeon in an upscale Boston suburb.

After having her life threatened too many times, Barker’s sister finally left her abusive husband. But on July 6, 2004, when she went back to their home to retrieve her child’s asthma medication with Barker and her daughter, her husband flew into a rage and shot at her and Barker.

Barely missing Barker’s head and only inches from hitting his sister’s heart or other vital organs, he lives to tell the tale. Former IU faculty member Ellen Brantlinger said she thought that the performance was not only fantastic but meaningful.

“The experience was important to show,” she said.

At the end of the play, Barker revealed that even though he is always dealing with the trauma of the event, he has been able to make peace with it and through his faith, forgive his now ex-brother-in-law.

Barker explained to audience members that being in this show helps him cope with his post-traumatic stress disorder, which graduate student Thomas Florio appreciated.

“It’s amazing how he took something so damaging and changed it,” Florio said. “He changed it into something healing that everyone can see.”