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The Day I Accidentally Went to War' with Bill Posley
00:28:06
"Shrinking" writer and comedian Bill Posley discusses his one man show, "The Day I Accidentally Went to War."
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- [00:08]
Alison Stewart
This is all of it on wnyc. I'm Alison Stewart. In case you missed it, we had some great conversations this week. We talked about the politics of hysterectomies. We talked about a documentary that shows how a country can lose an independent press. Yes, I'm looking at you, Russia. And we had something that made you feel good. We had the gorgeous music from Rachel and Vilre live in our studio yesterday. You can listen to all, all of it by going to the show's website@wnyc.org or listen wherever you get your podcasts. And now on with the show. Writer and comedian Bill Posley is one of the executive producers on the hit Apple comedy series Shrinking. His writing credits include Cobra Kai, Kenan and the Neighborhood. Things are a little different with this new one man show. The Day I Accidentally Went to War. It starts with the audience themselves being, quote, processed like new military recruits. And once the audience is seated, Bill shares his unexpected path to joining the National Guard, graduating boot camp on 9 11, being deployed to Iraq, and the chaos that came with coming home. The Day I Actually Went to War runs at the Soho playoffs through August 30th. And Bill Posley joins me now in studio. It's really nice to meet you.
- [01:28]
Bill Posley
Nice to meet you. Thank you so much for having me.
- [01:31]
Alison Stewart
So you write about comedy. This is a veteran experience. What made you say, oh, that's a good idea? Comedy and a veteran experience.
- [01:40]
Bill Posley
You know, I think, you know, when you take a look at my career, things like shrinking, there's a balance of trauma and comedy. And I think that comedy is proof or at least part of the process to being on the other side of trauma and being able to laugh at something means that you are in the process of moving through it. And so I love being able to turn things that we find dark or dramatic into comedy because I think that is literally the best medicine.
- [02:23]
Alison Stewart
This isn't your first solo show. You had that playing that one man play. The Day I Became Black, a similar exploration of your personal journey. What do you appreciate about the one man show format?
- [02:36]
Bill Posley
I just love being able to sit there and connect intimately with the audience. That is one of my favorite things to do and being able to tell a story with them. And a lot of my shows are interactive, so I actually get to be a part of incorporating them into the show. And I really, really love that aspect of it. And as you know, in this show, I'm taking the audience through their own version of basic training. You know, they get to work together as A team, and they get to graduate and they get to have all of these really interesting experiences that I don't think I would get a chance to do in a traditional play. And so I love that aspect of being able to actually immerse the audience and myself with them in the one person format. It's so much fun. And me and the audience get to have so much fun together.
- [03:32]
Alison Stewart
All right. What happens when you get somebody who crosses both arms is like, nope, not gonna do it.
- [03:38]
Bill Posley
Well, I try and build in I. And things like that before the show. So I hope to disarm them and make them feel like they're. I'm not asking them personally, but I'm asking them as an entire room to participate in this. And so it really makes it feel like they're joining in with their, quote, unquote, fellow soldiers as they're going through this experience.
- [04:02]
Alison Stewart
Have you always known that you wanted to explore your experience as a veteran in a play?
- [04:06]
Bill Posley
Oh, man, no. This was the hardest, one of the hardest things I've ever had to write because how do you make something like this funny? Right? And that's really been tough. I did my first one person show and I was like, okay, here comes the next one. And then like seven years later, six years later, it took me to write the show just because there was such a barrier to entry when you're talking about the veteran experience. Right. And I really didn't know how to make it palatable for people who didn't know anything about the military or felt a certain way about the military. So I wanted to figure out what was the best delivery system for this information. And not to mention, I also wanted to make sure that I was telling the story of me and the people who served with me accurately. So I made sure to call up all the people I served with and was like, do you guys remember it this way? And they're like, yeah, yeah, yeah, we do. Okay, you're good. And I'm like, what should I say? And they're like, oh, don't forget to tell this story. And I was like, oh, okay, great. And so there was a lot of, like, conversations, fact finding that I really wanted to go through. And I also wanted to make it so that people who maybe don't know anything about the military or don't even. Or feel a certain way about the military and people who are pro military are both brought in. And the people who feel a certain way about the military, I hope that they have a different perspective on what it means to be a Veteran. And I hope that people who are pro military are informed a little bit about how veterans are treated and question how the military leaves veterans unsupported.
- [05:49]
Alison Stewart
It's interesting because later on in the play, a flag comes on stage of a picture of a flag. And I have to imagine that that portion of the show changed from day one to 2025.
- [06:03]
Bill Posley
Oh, yeah. I mean, it changed to yesterday. I mean, you know, it's like, yeah, yeah. I mean, you know, I put that. I put that image up and, you know, we talk about it. We have a real conversation about the evolution of that image, both how I feel about it, how I felt about it, how I continue to feel about it, and how that image has become polarizing in our society depending on who's looking at it and what it represents. And so I really love that moment in the show because I think it's a where everybody's, you know, kind of on board and they all have their version of what that means to them and we actually get to explore it and, you know, we make each other laugh as we're doing it as well.
- [06:52]
Alison Stewart
I'm speaking with comedian and writer Bill Posley. He's here to discuss his new One man show at Soho Playhouse, the Day I Accidentally Went to War. It's playing through August 30th. The beginning of the show, though, we learn about you. We learn about your childhood. We learn that you were husky, husky guy, you like the Backstreet Boys, you had an elf blanket. And we learn about your parents. What did you want us to know about your parents? What did you think was important for us to know about your parents, considering what else was going to happen in the show?
- [07:25]
Bill Posley
Yeah, I think the, you know, the big part about learning about my parents and even more so learning about my situation is I wanted to, you know, give a different story as to why somebody would join the military. Right. And people have this picture of their head of what a veteran is and how somebody is just like, gung ho and wants to go overseas and. And just join the Army. And I wanted to show that there are circumstances sometimes for people that actually make it so they don't really feel like they, you know, have a choice or feel like it's the only option if they want to get out of their situation. And so I had to paint a picture of the situation. And so that's why you learn about my parents. And. And also later in the show when it's time to come home, I wanted people to have a connection with my family. So that way when they saw me come home, they realized the people I was coming home to and weren't getting to know them for the very, very first time.
- [08:23]
Alison Stewart
Hearing you talk, you speak so eloquently. You have such beautiful language. You were a crap student. Can I just say that in high school. And that was a big part of it for you, Honest?
- [08:38]
Bill Posley
Yeah, it was a big part of it. Not everybody's really great at test taking. And some people, look, I was getting a C in gym class. It was that bad. All across the board. And yeah, when I got to my senior year and they showed me my progress report and I was ranked 211 out of 266, I was like, oh, okay. And my parents not really being able to afford for me to go to college. I had a 2.3 GPA. And I remember googling on the Internet, is that a good gpa? And literally AI wrote back, the answer is no. And so it was really, it was daunting because I really wanted to pursue a four year school and I wanted to get out of the community that I was in. And it didn't feel like I really had many options. And so the military presented an opportunity for me to do that and I was like, all right, I'll sign up, do my part time work. This is going to be great. I'm gonna get to go to school. And then bang. You know, everything changed. On 9 11.
- [09:45]
Alison Stewart
You were supposed to graduate on 9 11?
- [09:47]
Bill Posley
Yes. From basic training? Yes, yes. I mean it's the wild. It's the most ironic. It's insane that the day I was supposed to walk the parade field to graduate is the day my life changed. Cause at that point it was like peaceful times. We had no issues, nothing was going on. So I was like, oh, I'm coast right? I'm gonna get my college education. I'll do my one week at a month, two weeks a year. And then before I knew it, man, I was 18 months later, boots on ground in Iraq.
- [10:17]
Alison Stewart
Is that what you mean about you accidentally went to war?
- [10:21]
Bill Posley
Yeah, yeah, that's what I mean when I say I accidentally went to war. It was 100% my choice to sign up for the military, but I had no idea what I was getting myself into. And I, to this day, the men and women I served with, the people I got a chance going through what the military gave me as far as discipline and values and morals and a work ethic. I am so grateful for all of those experiences. Looking back on them now, honestly, I wouldn't be the person I am today. I wake up, still wake up every day between four, five o' clock in the morning, get my work done, do a workout, do all the things before I even start my job, you know what I mean? And I owe that to the military and my experience there. And then the people who are still in my life, my brothers and sisters who have served with me, they're some of my best friends. They're closer to me than some people in my own family. And so I love that. But if you had told me at the time when I was gonna sign up that I would be going to war, I wouldn't have. So it's crazy.
- [11:34]
Alison Stewart
The show is funny, but then it deals with really heavy issues, and then it's funny again, and then it deals with identity. In what ways was it difficult for you to find humor in this?
- [11:50]
Bill Posley
Yeah, you know, comedy's the most subjective thing on planet Earth. What's funny to one person is not funny. What's funny to me is not funny to other people. And so some of the things that are difficult are like trying to make light of losing fellow soldiers, trying to make light of discovering what happened on 9 11. Trying to make light of my parents going bankrupt and not having any money.
- [12:21]
Alison Stewart
For me, Iraqi children just being frightened of you.
- [12:23]
Bill Posley
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Iraqi children being frightened of me. And, you know, you take those subjects and on the surface, I mean, they're universally sad. They're universally sad. There's no way around that. But I think that, like I said, when you think about some of the work that I've gotten to do on shows like Shrinking, where you're dealing with the loss of a mother and a family and a father who is now trying to re engage with his daughter, on the surface, that does not sound funny. But. But I think when you talk about my honest feelings and emotions during that time, that's where it becomes relatable. And when something traumatic becomes relatable, that's when I think it can become funny. So I do my best to try and bring the audience along with me. So they may not have experienced it, but they at least understand where I'm coming from. And if they can understand where I'm coming from, then, man, I think we can laugh about it. I really do.
- [13:23]
Alison Stewart
Correct me if I'm wrong, but there's a character on Shrinking who's a vet.
- [13:27]
Bill Posley
Yes.
- [13:28]
Alison Stewart
Are you involved with that character and writing that character?
- [13:31]
Bill Posley
I do. Yes, I do. I'm not the only person who writes for that character. We all. There's a great writers Room. Everybody in that writers room is so talented. I just want to shout them out right now because they're amazing and like a family to me. But, you know, and also, I'm grateful for Bill Lawrence and Neil Goldman because they always, you know, ask me my experience and listen.
- [13:59]
Alison Stewart
Oh, interesting.
- [14:00]
Bill Posley
And listen to it authentically and allow me to share so that we can make that character's experience authentic. And those guys have been so supportive, not just of me writing for that character on the show, but also just me doing this show as well. You know what I mean? Those guys have been amazing about giving me opportunities to go and perform while we're in the room and all of that stuff. So it's been such a special experience on that show. It really has. It's been awesome.
- [14:31]
Alison Stewart
My guest is Bill Posley. His show is called the Day I Accidentally Went to War. The Soho Playhouse through August 30th. How long were you in Iraq?
- [14:40]
Bill Posley
So I was in Iraq. So the army, the way it works, the army is 12 months, boots on ground. So once you enter, literally, like once you cross into the border of Iraq, you're there for 12 months until you cross back out. But then you have to. You have to do what's called mobilizing so you're activated. And then you have to get your equipment, get your gear, go train, travel to Iraq, travel to Kuwait, crossover, come back, go out of Kuwait, deep process all that stuff. So on the other ends, that's like a month and a half. And a month and a half. So the amount of time I was actually away from my home was about 15 months.
- [15:18]
Alison Stewart
When you came home, what did you expect would happen?
- [15:23]
Bill Posley
Man, I thought they were pop confetti. I thought I was going to be. I thought, you know, somebody was going to be running at me. Flowers, flowers. Just tossing it. You know what I mean? And I was going to be kissing babies, and it was going to be great, and. Cause that's the way they, like, show it on tv, you know. And, you know, it wasn't like that. You know, when we came home, it was. You know, we landed at an airport, and then we got on a bus, and then we went to this, like, parking lot. And, like, I don't even know if my parents were there. I think I got a ride with somebody else. Cause of the time of day. It was. It was hard for my parents to get there. And so I finally got. It was like, such a underwhelming experience. That's kind of funny now, I think if you were to ask, like, so Funny, if you were to ask my dad, he'd be like, you guys came home when the Red Sox were on. What are you crazy? Why would they schedule that? You know, it was like that kind of. And my mom's like, I don't drive in the evenings. I don't trust the light.
- [16:27]
Alison Stewart
But it was a little bit of like, see you, bye.
- [16:29]
Bill Posley
Yeah, yeah, yeah. And because, you know, obviously, my parents love.
- [16:33]
Alison Stewart
It's upsetting.
- [16:34]
Bill Posley
Yeah. But obviously, you know, my parents, my family, they like. But they don't know. They think you're just coming. Yeah, he's back. And they don't know that there's an entirely different person who's returned home.
- [16:47]
Alison Stewart
Yeah.
- [16:48]
Bill Posley
You know what I mean? And so it's a shocking development. You know, I talk about this in the show, which is like, guys, we see all of those, man, I love them. You see the veteran return home movies on YouTube, and they're so inspirational, and we cry and we feel better and all this stuff. But, you know, once that camera goes off, that person's now home. And it's real hard, and it's. And it's not easy. And that's the stuff, you know, I want to talk about. And, you know, I've seen a lot of war movies, and I've seen a lot of that coming home story. But, you know, oftentimes it's portrayed. You know, sometimes it's, you know, disabled vets, or maybe they're suicidal or things like that. And that. That is true, and I want to honor that experience. But I also just want to talk about, like, just how hard it is to get a job. How hard it is. And, you know, that's some of the stuff that, you know, I bring up. How hard it is to, like, be in a relationship. How hard it is to, you know, go work at a bank when. Two months, and have people yell at you for not being able to process their payment. And you're like, do you know that like, six months ago I was.
- [18:08]
Alison Stewart
I was in the middle of a.
- [18:09]
Bill Posley
Rock with a gun and everybody. And I was a hero. Do you understand that? And also, I think I'm in a unique situation because, you know, I was over there around 18, 19 years old, you know, and so I wasn't even. My frontal cortex hadn't even been fully developed yet. And so, you know, there were guys I was there with who were 35, 40 years old. And, like, they knew who they were at that point. They were established. They had wife, they had kids, they were figuring out how to. But me I didn't even know what I was doing. And it's just so interesting because you're like, I can't rent a car. I can't drink, but I can carry a gun and do this. So it's a completely different experience for somebody like that. And so, yeah, I kind of talk about that and help people understand what I was going through through that time.
- [19:01]
Alison Stewart
You talk about trying to get help from the VA and being denied disability for PTSD because they said there was no evidence. Despite you going to war, you received a letter that said, dear William Posley, we made the following decision regarding your claim. Service connection for post Traumatic stress disorder is denied because the medical evidence on record fails to show that this disability has clinically been diagnosed. We have not found that you experienced a stressful event in service, including fear of hostile military or terroristic activity. We'll talk about the writing another time.
- [19:39]
Bill Posley
Yeah.
- [19:42]
Alison Stewart
How widespread are these disability denials in the military from guys, you know, oh.
- [19:48]
Bill Posley
I mean, this is. I mean, this is a tale as old as time. You know, I am one of millions of veterans who consistently fight for benefits at the va. I mean, the system is antiquated. It is so cumbersome. It is so difficult. You're asking people who may have mental and emotional trauma trying to figure, like. And then you put stacks and stacks of paperwork in front of them, and it becomes so overwhelming that you just shut down. You feel paralyzed, or you get denied once, and the truth is, everyone will tell you, well, you have to keep fighting. You have to keep trying, you have to keep applying, you have to keep doing that stuff. And at a certain point, you just start to feel like you don't even have the energy to do it anymore. And you just feel like, oh, my God, nobody cares. They don't care. It's too much. And that's one of the problems with kind of what's going on currently is like, there's talk of 83,000 jobs being cut from the VA support staff. And it's like, that's to help veterans figure out and navigate the logistics of all of this stuff that's happening. And so, you know, I did the show last night, and I had a woman come up to me and say, please do not stop trying to get your benefits. My husband has been fighting for decades to do it, and he finally got it, and it's worth it. And it's like a decade. What are you crazy? I have to keep showing up and do it. It just seems so, so hard. And every veteran I know who's been through that experience, talks about it, and it's something I want to continue to shed light to on this show because we're not done. It's not done. You know what I mean? And so I wanted to make that not just poignant but also funny, but also, you know, make sure people know what we're going through.
- [21:40]
Alison Stewart
We're talking to Bill Posley about his show, the Day I Accidentally Went to War. We'll have more after a quick break. This is all of It. You're listening to all of it on wnyc. I'm Alison Stewart. I'm speaking with comedian and writer Bill Posley. He's here to discuss his new one man show at Soho Playhouse, the Day I Accidentally Went to War, which is playing now through August 30th. The show challenges stereotypes about who a veteran is. Right off the top, you say that seeing a vet isn't a monolithic idea. What do you mean by that?
- [22:21]
Bill Posley
Yeah, I think that, you know, oftentimes, you know, we have in our minds this like Rambo, you know, Arnold Schwarzenegger guy running around or whatever. And like, if I came, I mean, Rambo would eat me. Like, I'm so, you know what I mean? Like, I was not born to be some like, tough army guy when I was growing up, you know what I mean? I was a very sensitive kid. I was also growing up. I was also a fat kid who was completely unathletic. So you're like, how did this person wind up in the military? And so I think I want to broaden people's horizons. And like any sect of society, people cast judgments and have the ability to pre judge somebody before they even get a chance to meet them. And I want to change that narrative because what I love so much about the show is you have all these people show up and they sit next to each other and they talk to each other and they get to know each other. And then at the end of the show, I say, how many people in here are veterans? And then veterans raise their hands and people are floored at the people who I'm floored. I'm still shocked at who's a veteran and who isn't, you know what I mean? And I've been in so many situations where veterans have spoken to me about policies, not knowing that I'm a vet or have spoken to me about things that they believe without knowing I'm a vet. And so I find it so amazing that nobody even to this day does veteran ring true for me when they first See me because of what we think a veteran is.
- [23:56]
Alison Stewart
Yeah. You describe yourself as a biracial, bisexual, feminist vet who's pro football, pro gun, pro choice, believes in God, RuPaul's Drag Race, and that someone should knock Elon out.
- [24:11]
Bill Posley
Yeah, I think that.
- [24:12]
Alison Stewart
Still believe in all that.
- [24:13]
Bill Posley
Yeah, yeah, yeah. I think that, like, you know, I speak to that point because I think that like, you know, we live in. I personally think that we currently live in a society where you don't get to have that much of a complex, nuanced take on life. Right. You're either this or this, or you believe in this or this. And because of that, you get siphoned off into one side of the line or another side of the line. When I think the majority of us are just complex and nuanced people and we're trying to figure it all out and we don't believe in one thing, and that's the only thing. We believe in a whole lot of things. And so. And that's what the army taught me because it brings people from all these different walks of life together and they're forced to coexist and be a team. And so I want us to share more of those complexities with each other because I think if people opened up a little bit more about all the things that they loved or felt were important or believed in, we'd start to actually connect a little bit more on the things we have in common than the things that we don't. And I'm telling you, that is one of the best parts of being in the military. It's one of the best parts about being in basic training is that all these people, like I said, come from different walks of life. But when you're there in order to be a team, in order for us to coexist, you actually we are forced to find the commonalities in order to work together. And I love that experience. It was the best.
- [25:43]
Alison Stewart
You're on stage by yourself for the whole show. How do you mentally prepare for that?
- [25:48]
Bill Posley
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. That is. I have a playlist, I have a coffee order. But yeah, you know, when you do that, I often, sometimes think of it as I think of it musically. Right. That is really the best way to put it, especially with a one man show. That kind of experience and interaction with the audience, it really does feel like you are conducting music and you are watching and they are. When they're laughing and you're playing with. When they're crying and you guys are vibing off of each other. And it feels so much more like that than it does a performance, like a traditional storytelling performance. It really does feel like music. You and the audience are creating music together, and it's special. It's a very, very special feeling.
- [26:46]
Alison Stewart
Do you have a moment every night that still gets you, man?
- [26:51]
Bill Posley
Yep. Whoo. Trying not to cry right now, but it's when I. When I come home and I see my. There's a video of me coming home and I get to see my parents. Oh, man.
- [27:17]
Alison Stewart
That's worth crying over.
- [27:18]
Bill Posley
I know. I know. But let me tell you, having to edit that video was hard. I had to sit there and watch that thing like, I swear, like, 400 times. And, like, you just have to keep seeing them every time. Hug you, tell you they love you, come home. And so there are some performances where I play it, and I just have to go to the back of the room because I'm like, oh, man, I'm. I have to finish the show. But. But that still gets me every single time. It still gets me. Those videos are powerful people. They're very powerful.
- [27:53]
Alison Stewart
I've been speaking with comedian and writer Bill Posley. His show is called the Day I Accidentally Went to War. It's at Soho Playhouse through August 30th. Thank you for coming in.
- [28:03]
Bill Posley
Thank you so much for having me. I really appreciate it.