When P. Carl sent the manuscript for his memoir, “Becoming a Man: The Story of a Transition,” to American Repertory Theater artistic director Diane Paulus, she didn’t hesitate.
“I found the memoir deeply moving,” Paulus says, “and immediately offered to commission it if he would consider adapting it for the stage.”
The result of that collaboration is P. Carl’s “Becoming a Man,” co-directed by Carl and Paulus and receiving its world premiere at the ART Feb. 16-March 10.
While many memoirs focus on an individual, Paulus says what struck her about “Becoming a Man” was Carl’s ability to put his experience in the context of how his gender transition affected others.
“The play explores his bonds with the people who have been important in his life,” she says, “and most particularly his relationship with his wife. The play’s narrative arc follows one year in their life together.”
Paulus says both the memoir and the play pose the question: “When we change, can the people we love come with us?”
P. Carl, an acclaimed educator, dramaturg, and writer, has spent more than two decades in the theater world, developing new works at Playwrights’ Center in Minneapolis, Steppenwolf Theatre Company in Chicago, and Arena Stage in Washington, D.C., before arriving in Boston to join the Emerson College faculty and serve as co-artistic director of ArtsEmerson (including serving as dramaturg on Melinda Lopez’s award-winning “Mala”) from 2012-17. In 2018, he collaborated with Paulus as the dramaturg on Claudia Rankine’s stage adaptation of “The White Card.”
Carl transitioned in his 50s, 20 years into his relationship with his wife, Lynette. He says that even though he pictured his story in dramatic terms and loves writing dialogue, he couldn’t imagine anyone else developing it with him.
“I knew Diane so well and think [ART’s] Ryan McKittrick is the best dramaturg anywhere,” he says. “But most importantly, I didn’t want this to be a solo show performed in a basement somewhere. The play encompasses several characters [an ensemble of seven actors performs several roles]. Of course it’s about my transition, but it’s also about my relationships with family, spouse, friends. Those are aspects every audience member can connect with.”
At the same time, “Becoming a Man” is an emotional journey, chronicling one individual’s courage while navigating the expectations of family, friends, and most importantly, his wife. One of the key characters in the play is Polly, who represents Carl before he transitioned.
“Very early on,” says Paulus, “we had conversations about dramatizing Polly onstage.”
It was important, both Paulus and Carl say, to illustrate Carl’s past through Polly, who serves as a reminder of where Carl has been and how he struggled in a world where he never felt he belonged.
“Polly and Carl are always in dialogue,” says Carl. “Those memories are part of me, and no one can really escape their memories.”
Paulus says this drama appealed to her because it moves at “an exciting pace. We hurtle forwards and backwards really quickly,” she says. “I think audiences are ready for this nonlinear approach to storytelling that brings them into the experience. Our job in rehearsal is to make sure we are really specific about what we are trying to communicate at every moment.”
“My feelings about living aren’t linear,” says Carl. “Transitioning is like falling down a hole, not quite knowing what comes next. It was important to me that the action onstage holds onto the complexity of how the mind works.”
At the same time, he says, he recognizes how important it is to share his story, particularly given the current political climate.
“There are almost no plays featuring a trans person,” Carl says. “At the same time, I don’t want it to be simply reduced to one person’s story of a transition. It’s about all of the people, especially my wife, and how we moved through this.”
Says Paulus, “I hope some audiences come to see our production because of his story, and I hope other audiences recognize themselves in these relationships and his struggle to be seen.”
The buzz about ‘Bumbled’
Colin Hamell stars in “Bumbled,” a new one-man play by Bernard McMullan (“Jimmy Titanic”), directed by Carmel O’Reilly, and produced by the Here Comes Everybody Players and Tir Na Productions, at the Foundry, 101 Rogers St., Cambridge. “Bumbled” follows Pascal, an Irish honeybee who, according to press materials, “embarks on a hilarious and poignant journey to tell the world about the importance of bees, save the planet and find true love.” The play’s limited run ends Sunday. Tickets are $32 at cambridgefoundry.org.
“K-I-S-S-I-N-G” a Blackburn finalist
Congratulations to Lenelle Moïse, whose “K-I-S-S-I-N-G” is one of 10 finalists for the prestigious Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, described as “the oldest and largest playwriting prize honoring women+ writing for the English-speaking theatre.” “K-I-S-S-I-N-G,” a joyous coming-of-age story set in Boston, was produced by the Huntington Theatre and Front Porch Arts Collective and earned an Elliot Norton Award for outstanding new script in 2023. Eleven Susan Smith Blackburn finalists have subsequently won the Pulitzer Prize in drama. The winner will be announced on March 11.
BECOMING A MAN
Presented by the American Repertory Theater. At the Loeb Drama Center, 64 Brattle St., Cambridge. Feb. 16-March 10. Tickets start at $35. 617-547-8300, americanrepertorytheater.org
Terry Byrne can be reached at trbyrne818@gmail.com.