Overview

F R A G M E N T S premiered as a reading at Becket Arts Center, Becket, Massachusetts on World Aids Day 2025. Written and performed by Jim Petosa, his one-man show recounts the story of a couple navigating their mystical, transformative, and brutal journey through the AIDS pandemic. F R A G M E N T S, available now in book form and with performance rights available from the author, is the opening show at the Great Barrington Public Theater in their summer 2026 season. It moves to other venues in major US cities beginning with the fall season. From the author... This memoir is written in a series of episodes. I call them fragments. Each one seems mystically selected because they are indelibly etched in my brain. That is how memory works. The story begins in 1985 and ends in 1990. There are ten fragments and an epilogue. For many years, these fragments were told as oral histories to friends who had the patience and the interest to hear them. Over time, each fragment developed distinct characteristics, an attention to specific details, and a recollection of particular phrases expressed. All the events in this memoir reflect how I recall each moment. Every spoken word recorded here is either exact or as accurate as my memory permits. This memoir exists because, as time goes by, our shared memories of the era and circumstances surrounding this journey gradually diminish. We must ensure these stories are preserved by documenting them and sharing the diverse experiences we had, so they are not lost. This memoir does not stand alone in the body of literary and dramatic texts that continue to rise from the ashes of those days. My hope is that it will contribute to our understanding of that time with a particular focus on the shared life of two people and the sole survivor who felt compelled to tell the story of their unusual journey. Sharing these stories has shown me that they encourage each listener to reflect on their own experiences with loss, grief, and resilience. Alongside surprising moments of happiness and celebration, there is also a distinct appreciation for life's absurdities. The mystery within these memories creates a sense of kinship among us, transforming despair into hope. Jim Petosa is Professor Emeritus at Boston University's College of Fine Arts, where he served as Director of the School of Theatre (2002-2019). He is a member of Actor's Equity and the Society of Direc-tors and Choreographers for which he has served as a member of the Executive Board.

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9781968919375

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Jim Petosa is Professor Emeritus at Boston University's College of Fine Arts, where he served as Director of the School of Theatre (2002-2019) and continued as member of the faculty through 2023. He served as artistic director of Greater Boston's New Repertory Theatre (2012-2018), Boston Center for American Performance (2009-2019), and Olney Theatre Center in the DC area from 1994-2011. He is co-artistic director of Potomac Theatre Project/PTP/NYC (1987-present). He has directed plays, operas, and musicals throughout his long career. As a guest director, he has worked at the Smithsonian Institution, Wolf Trap Farm Park, The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, D.C.'s Studio Theatre, RoundHouse Theatre, and many others. As a spoken word actor, he has worked with the National Philharmonic Orchestra at Strathmore Hall, the Boston University Orchestra, Eclipse Chamber Orchestra, New Collage Music for which he recorded Donald Sur's THE LADY AND THE UNICORN, conducted by David Hoose. He has taught at The Catholic University of America, which is his alma mater, University of Maryland at College Park, George Washington University, Georgetown University, and Middlebury College among others. He is the recipient of the Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Director of a Musical (JACQUES BREL IS ALIVE AND WELL), and a nominee for Outstanding Director of a Play (COLLECTED STORIES) and the Charles MacArthur Award for Outstanding New Play for his collaboration with Carole Graham Lehan on the biographically inspired LOOK! WE HAVE COME THROUGH! about the lives and marriage of D.H. and Frieda Lawrence.A member of Actor's Equity and the Society of Directors and Choreographers for which he has served as a member of the Executive Board, Petosa is a current board member and past president of Becket Arts Center, chair of the City of Quincy's LGBTQ+ Commission, and has served on the Board of Governors at United First Parish Church in Quincy, MA.

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