David Barker's a one man play Professor 'dodges bullets' in one-man show David Barker is an award winning actor, director and fight correographer. He is also an accomplished mime, and his work has been featured in numerous publications. David is currently Professor of Theater at Arizona State University in Tempe where he teaches movement and acting, and serves as coordinator of the MFA Performance Program. On his sabbatical leave during the summer of 2004, David Barker was up against an artistic block. He needed to develop a new solo show that was personal and biographical. But with life approaching 50 years where no major catastrophe or particularly unusual event had ever occurred, he had nothing to write about. Barker, a theater professor at Arizona State University who is known for his solo mime performances, didn’t have to scratch his head too long for subject matter. Two bullets, fired in rapid succession, changed everything. One of the bullets was aimed at him, and astonishingly, it missed. His sister was not as fortunate, because the second bullet – meant for her – hit her in the chest. The story of how his brother-in-law, “Dr. Jack,” happened to open fire on him and his sister became Barker’s sabbatical project – a one-man play titled Dodging Bullets. The play follows three story lines – Dr. Jack’s attack on his wife and Barker; Barker’s father’s emergency surgery and declining health; and Barker’s mother’s dementia. Dr. Jack, a semi-retired, successful East Coast brain surgeon, had been abusing his wife for many years, and his wife finally moved out. On the fateful day of the attack, Barker accompanied his sister and 15-year-old niece on a stop at the sister’s home to pick up asthma medication for his niece. “I went along to protect my sister,” Barker said. “We approached the house and Dr. Jack appeared at the front door and ordered me to leave. Dr. Jack is a high-strung control freak, so when I refused to leave he attacked me. We grappled briefly and he ran back into the house. My sister, niece and I were in complete shock. He came back with a gun and began to fire.” The rest of the story is a dramatist’s dream, a soap opera come true. The SWAT team arrives, snipers are placed on the roofs of the houses across the street, and Dr. Jack stays holed up for four hours, but finally turns himself in and is booked into the county jail. Dr. Jack’s sister bails him out, but he is arrested again for trying to buy a handgun and spends the next 10 months in federal prison. Shortly after his release he marries an Episcopal priest but he still had not faced his attempted murder indictments. This event is co-sponsored by the Verde Valley Sanctuary. Following the play, several staff members will be present to address questions about domestic abuse, and spread awareness about what options are available in the Verde Valley to confront this growing problem. Dodging Bullets
Selected Press “You'd be hard pressed to find another arts practitioner in the Valley (or maybe anywhere) who knows more about the use of the instrument that is the human body, or who has more access to physical range and control, as well as an understanding of how perception, thought, and emotion dovetail with the body's systems. But Barker's a human being, too. It's fascinating to watch as he portrays his struggle to deal with the impact of the violent, traumatic event on himself and his family. While it's probably extra-interesting for his fellow artists and for other survivors of violence, it's an evening that everyone can relate to, largely because of Barker's clarity and humility as a performer and Ben Tyler's sympathetic, pinpoint direction.” Phoenix New Times Best of 2009
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