"A punch in the gut, clear, overwhelming and emotionally powerful."
Be Inspired by Their Wounds
Experience the moment when Mother Jones uses her loss of everything to become a leader of working people, when Fyodor Dostoevsky turns a firing squad into the inspiration of a great writer and when Dorothea Dix overcomes a past of abuse to champion the mentally ill.
See the courage in Arthur Rimbaud’s decision to quit writing and Assata Shakur’s to leave everyone she loves.
Feel the betrayal and the audacity that brings down Jericho and creates the Iroquois Confederacy.
So You Can Heal Your Own
What stands in the way is the way.
Meditations, Marcus Aurelius
The Broken Shoulders Project is...
The Dramatic Alternative to Life's Challenges
We present readings of brief, original and powerful dramas depicting the moment when real people choose to overcome the damages of their trauma with positivity and hope.
"Your rendition really hit home. The audience was blown away!"
Abigail Rabinowitz and Rabbi Binyomin Scheiman, Directors, Hinda Institute
We bring the wounded into a circle of others to rehearse, read and discuss these plays in greater depth, often comparing their experiences with those of the characters.
"You managed to reach many of our hardened guests... how powerful this was.
[It] will have a phenomenal impact on many lives."
Roland Fouche, former Director of Hilda's Place Shelter
You can bring us to your Fundraiser, Living Room, Drama Group/Book Club, or your Residents and Clients!
- Have us present a designed-for-you Reading at your Fundraiser, Thank You Dinner or other gathering;
- From the comfort of your own home, watch us on Zoom (there's a new Reading on most 2nd and 4th Mondays of every Month: Go to the PRODUCTS Page for a complete schedule and Zoom Code);
- Purchase our Plays for your Drama Group or Book Club and Conduct your own Readings with the help of a Facilitator's Discussion Manual; or
- Bring in a Broken Shoulders Director to create a full-growth Kintsugi Circle experience for your clients and residents (Go to the KINTSUGI CIRCLE Page for a more thorough description).
"The Broken Shoulders Project
is extraordinary."
Statement of the Founder
When Your "Big Shoulders" Break under the Weight of Life...
The tendency is to curl inwards. Shut out the world. Even drown in your own tears.
The Broken Shoulders Project invites you to go the opposite direction: Step outside yourself. Find another from decades or centuries earlier who has experienced a similar trauma or challenge. Find the moment of decision when that individual turned his or her life around. Write about the person. Draw a picture. Sing a song. Teach others about him or her. Connect your story to theirs. Discover how they could not have accomplished what they did without the wound created by their trauma.
Be inspired by their wounds
So you can heal your own.
We at Broken Shoulders show you one way to do this:
We work with you to present a public reading of a brief play about real people in history struggling with and overcoming the wounds of homelessness, aging, violence, depression, incarceration, disease, grief or other challenges in life.
We lead discussions of that play to unearth its meanings to you and others.
And, throughout, we teach how to step outside; we teach how a connection to laughter and desire can open your heart and mind to a more complete life.
Tim Anstett