This weekend marks eight years since the tragedy at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School took the lives of 17 students and staff members. Among them was Nicholas Dworet, a 17-year-old with a gift for swimming — and a dream of Olympic gold.
Dworet was the captain of the swim team and had committed to compete in college at the University of Indianapolis. He had aspirations to compete in the 2020 Olympics for Sweden, the country of his mother's birth, where his family visited often.
He did not survive the 2018 shooting, but his younger brother Alex, who was shot in the head, did.
Dworet’s story was first told by author Carla Albano in her book Soul of a Swimmer. Now, that story is finding a new life on stage. It’s now been adapted into a hybrid production — part theater, part film — and is currently touring across South Florida.
The man behind the production is Phillip Church. He’s a professor emeritus of theater from Florida International University and the founder of the nonprofit What If Works, which seeks to use the arts to bring about social change.
"I think the book gave me the opportunity, when I read it, to create an ode to the precious value of a single child's life," he said.
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The show was adapted and directed by Church and produced by Paul Steinsland and Ethan Torres. A theater production of "Soul of a Swimmer" was filmed, then visual effects were added to create the hybrid production. It screens this weekend in Homestead and Coconut Creek.
WLRN's Carlton Gillespie spoke with Church about the production on the eve of the shooting's eighth anniversary.
This conversation was edited for length and clarity.
WLRN: What is it about this story that stood out to you?
Church: I know that this question's gonna come from the audience as well to reduce it down. I think the book gave me the opportunity, when I read it, to create an ode to the precious value of a single child's life.
I'm saying that because there was a [news] article about Chris Hixson. He's had a trail named after him, which is fantastic. The article states 17 students and staff [were killed]. It gets closer to who they were. But who are these students? Who are these staff members? What is the value of their singular life? Who are they? Are they a statistic for the breaking news?
But the book just said: This is the precious value of one lost child's life. The world has lost so much.
Your theater production company, What If Works is focused on community engagement. Theater with a purpose, you call it. Why is that so important to you?
I think in general people need to be reminded about goodness. I go through the Miami Herald, and let me tell you, if I find one good luck story it's a field day. And I know the news only sells because of negative.
Where is the balance? Everybody goes, 'Oh my God, social media, it's so terrible what the kids are doing.' Where is the balance? Who is bringing [it] forward?
So I choose not to do commercial theater. I choose not to do entertaining theater musicals and blah, blah, blah, blah. I suppose some of us in theater feel this incredible need to give people an opportunity to recognize what is missing.
What's been the Dworet family’s response to this production?
They came a couple of times to see this, and they were really deeply moved.
They're remarkable people. They do not have an ounce of hatred or a desire for revenge in their bodies. They just have a desire to go out and they don't proselytize on this stuff. They're not out there doing political statements and trying to make everybody a saint or reform everybody.
But when you talk to them, they just talk about their son and of course Alex, the second son was shot, but he survived and they're just so grateful. They still have Alex and they feel no rancor. With Carla's book— Carla knows that family. It wasn't written like a reporter from the outside who was just gaining the facts — it was a very personal thing, intimate.
Hopefully we've done the book justice.
Feb. 14, at 3 p.m. at the Healing Sanctuary in Homestead, and on Sunday Feb. 15, at 2 p.m. at the Broward College County Library in Coconut Creek.
IF YOU GO
What: "Soul of a Swimmer"
When: February 14-15.
Where: Healing Sanctuary in Homestead, on February 14 at 3 p.m. Broward College County Library in Coconut Creek on February 15th at 2 p.m.
