Trudie Lee
‘People who’ve taken introductory psychology will recognize my play as the story about the guy with a rod in his head” says playwright Janet Musil
Janet Musil brings brain-busting tale of Phineas Gage to playRites
While perusing an introductory psychology textbook playwright Janet Munsil came across an anecdote that sparked her latest play that elusive spark one of five new works featured at this year’s playRites Festival.
The play is based on the true story of Phineas Gage a railroad worker who in 1848 suffered a traumatic brain injury. While preparing to blast some rock to make way for a railway the gunpowder he was packing into a drill hole in the rock exploded prematurely. The force of the explosion drove the bar Gage had been using to pack down the powder through his brain.
Considering the primitive state of neuroscience in pre-Civil War America the amazing part of the story is that Gage survived. Furthermore the doctor who cared for him John Harlow documented Gage’s recovery leaving a valuable text behind for future study in the field of neuropsychology. “People who’ve taken introductory psychology will recognize my play as the story about the guy with a rod in his head” Munsil laughs.
As a result of his accident however Gage’s personality changed irrevocably. “He went from being a likable guy to someone quite the opposite which isn’t uncommon for someone with a frontal lobe injury” says Munsil.
She says it was challenging to write a play about somebody who undergoes a radical personality change. “I realized the protagonist couldn’t get any better that the old Phineas wouldn’t come back” Munsil says so she decided to include a contemporary storyline in the play. It involves Helen a professor who is teaching a college psychology class for the first time.
The play travels back and forth between the two storylines with some actors playing roles in both. Munsil says she tries to draw some parallels between the historic and contemporary storylines. “In the play as in life it’s not necessarily the person with the injury who’s struggling; rather it’s the people around the victim who are having a difficult time because they remember the ‘old’ person and just hope he comes back” she says. “Likewise Helen is caught up in her own personal drama and doesn’t realize the effect she’s having on others around her.”
Munsil says she usually looks to the past for inspiration. “I do a lot of historical research” she says “but I try my best to hide it so people don’t feel they’re going to a lecture when they see my plays. I convey the information and historical colour through the characters’ relationships with each other.”
Munsil’s research for spark included a trip to Cavendish Vermont where the accident happened to attend the 150th anniversary of the event. While there she also attended a neuropsychology conference. “It was fascinating” she says. “I have a real sense of wonder about the brain and how it works and how it defines our idea about self.
“We’ve learned a lot about the brain in the past 150 years but it’s still a mystery” she adds. “I love that we don’t have the answers.”
