In Spirals with The Iliad . Inspired by a story about a Stanford University student who wrote everything in spirals, Breen “wondered what that kid was like in kindergarten. What was that like and why would it happen? So I concocted a story about a kid getting stuck on a rollercoaster at ‘DizzyWorld,’ falls asleep and wakes up and everything spirals.” As with most of his works, the main theme of the play is “about being true to who you are and acceptance,” he says of the ultimate lesson he imparts. To illustrate the point, one year Breen revised the play and cast seven different boys to play Peter. “I wanted to show that this character could represent anybody. The shot at the end is this multiracial group of guys and it made the play better.” Such constant examination and revision of his own work is at the heart of Breen’s drive to improve upon greatness year to year, be it his own or his students’. “Looking back at some of my old musicals, I question my assumptions and biases. I notice that in some of the early musicals, I write physical descriptions and almost every one of them is a white kid with blonde hair. I’ve edited most of my plays to reflect a gender-neutral parental role because it’s not important to the story,” he says. “To me that’s the biggest challenge: being appropriately relevant and keeping up with how quickly the school has grown in its sensi- tivity and response, not only to DEI, but also smaller stuff.” While retirement looms on the horizon for this beloved life-long learner, the revisions will continue. Breen plans to resume his passion for chess and return to his piano. “I want to know what excellence in piano playing is again,” he smiles pensively. “I haven’t known that for years.”
reading about playwright Neil Simon’s technique of crowding, whereby one mines real conversations from busy places like hospital emergency rooms for inspiration, he tested the concept by sitting in a Greyhound bus station in Stockton, California for an afternoon. “I told the kids at school that you don’t have to invent drama, all you have to do is listen and put stuff together,” he says. “So we turned on the radio to find stories. Whatever stories we found, we put in our musical.” Each year, Breen selects the musical and the casting based on the personalities of the 6th and 8th grade classes, involving each student in every step of the creative process, from artwork for sets and playing in the student band to acting on stage or working backstage. It is a deliberately designed process to move the students out of their comfort zones. “I’ve had boys who really don’t want to take a risk,” he says. “I cast everyone in a role they do not ask for, and they are shocked. You can feel the nervousness of some of these boys. And they remember those moments, they’re transformative.” Class time is spent reviewing the play and drawing parallels from literature, as he does for his favorite Peter, Who Writes
14 | CATHEDRAL SCHOOL FOR BOYS
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