Andrew Shi

On Monday, students and local Maine residents gathered in Kresge Auditorium for a performance of “Broken Clock,” a play by non-profit Maine Inside Out (MIO).

Since 2008, MIO has worked with those affected by incarceration and systemic oppression to promote understanding and community engagement. They have facilitated original theater projects with incarcerated youth, workshops in prisons and schools and public events encouraging dialogue—all to produce “conversations we may not otherwise have,” Co-Founder and Co-Executive Director Chiara Liberatore said.

MIO’s goal is to break these cycles of violence and persecution, both for the adults who remain actively stuck and the children who stand on the precipice of falling into said cycles, according to its website and commentary from ensemble members.

“Broken Clock,” first performed in June 2024 for the Lewiston Juneteenth Festival, is an original play exploring themes such as “incarceration, gun violence, grief, family, trust and time,” as stated by MIO’s website. As the play began, eight ensemble members, dressed in plain black clothing and without props, took to the stage to tell stories that explored these themes.

The theme explores a wide variety of stories that offer the audience opportunities for connection. A mother struggles to make rent while caring for her baby. Imprisoned men place unanswered phone calls to loved ones and lawyers. A young man on the streets is given his first gun.

Occasionally, audio recordings of currently incarcerated men sharing poetry and reflections played over scenes, reminding the audience of the real stories behind the performances.

The movements of the actors’ bodies ranged from the joy of dancing and the gentleness of cradling babies to scenes of immense physicality and force. At times, the actors moved as a cohesive unit and, at others, as distinct opposing forces.

“Tick tock,” the actors turned to the audience and repeated between scenes, themselves becoming the metaphorical “broken clock” haunting members of these affected communities, their whole lives lived within an uncaring system. “A broken clock is right twice a day.”

The show concluded with a discussion directly between the audience and the cast. Audience members were encouraged to call out a single word or phrase the show had brought to mind, and the responses reflected the wide range of emotions encompassed by the play itself.

“Mother’s pain,” one woman said. “Unfair,” another called out. “Frustration.” “Everyone wants to be loved,” others said.

Noah Bragg ’15, Co-Executive Director of MIO and ensemble member, emphasized the importance of dialogue in MIO’s productions and why the organization decided to bring “Broken Clock” to Bowdoin.

“We’ve been touring the play in community settings, in colleges and in prisons, really intentionally because we’ve been having these conversations after the show with each of those different demographics,” Bragg said. “I think the reason that colleges are really important is that there’s young people who are going to shape the world … who are developing themselves here.”

Discussion participants ranged from new parents to aspiring lawyers whose comments showed their ability to connect with the humanity of the performance, if not necessarily the trauma of the experiences.

“Whether [audience members] have lived experience with the carceral system, or whether this event was their first exposure to the specific injustices of prisons and beyond, we hope that ‘Broken Clock’ will stay with them for a long time to come,” Sarah Seames, director of the McKeen Center for the Common Good, said in an email to the Orient.

Bragg hopes the performance gave audience members, especially Bowdoin students, an occasion to reflect.

“Connecting with their own and others’ humanity,” Bragg said. “I think that’s the number one thing. Whatever that means to them, whether they’re connected with a certain scene in the show, just to take that with them.”