TribLIVE: Sgt. Casey Johnson is a strong, well-organized, fearless woman.
When we first meet her, the 30-year-old Marine is preparing to leave for a six-month tour of duty in Iraq.
She has prepared a meticulous plan and a detailed schedule for her mother, who will take care of Casey's 10-year-old son, Sean, right down to dates, filled-out forms and signed checks to register him up for next spring's baseball team.
5 comments:
This sounds like a really good show, and I hope I can find a time to go see it before it closes. The topic that I don't think is dealt with very much in theater, at least not to my knowledge. Outside of the realm of theater, PTSD is discussed often but I think that many people are not aware of the other issue that this play brings up, which is sexual assault within the military.
There is a great documentary about this, "The Invisible War" (it's on Netflix, watch it, it's important). It's a huge issue ignored by the military, which affects both men and women in service. It's good seeing that this playwright is spreading awareness about this.
This play sounds incredibly interesting -- there is so much in the media about soldiers, fighting, etc. but I feel like we never much encounter the aftereffects. Soldiers are cared for so little once they get back from fighting. They seem to be expected to go back to everyday life right away without much help. I listened to a very interesting article on NPR about PTSD and a new program being started for Veterans to join in group meditation and counciling. Vets from Vietnam who have been suffering their whole lives with PTSD are finally learning how to deal with it and it's changing lives. It's insane that it's taken so long! If we are going to send soldiers out we need to be more prepared and supportive of them in their return. I'm glad to see this issue being taken up in the theater world. It's hard stuff to tackle but I think that's also what is so amazing about theater and it's ability to tackle these kinds of issues and bring them into awareness.
I think that it is great that the playwright is taking this opportunity to deal with many facets of the issues plaguing soldier in the war and not just one or two of them. PTSD has become a widely spoken about consequence of war and to some degree people are now shining a light on the prevalence of sexual assault in the army as well. It's great that she has also chosen to deal with the issue of solider who are also trying to parent during and after their time actively serving, in addition to those issues. I am especially excited to see that the parent in question is a single mother and how that effects the direction of the story.
I've been waiting for awhile for a relevant play about sexual assault in the military and this one feels like it could be. I hope I'll be able to see it before it closes. I can't even imagine leaving my child for a year or more while deployed overseas, nor can I fathom the hurt and trauma associated with being sexually assaulted at all, much less by the people who are supposed to be your comrades.
Last year I was volunteering at another arts event, and I just happened to speak with the director about this show. At the time, as well as currently, I am greatly intrigued by the conversation. My psychological curiosity is peaked whenever I discover systematic wrong-doing. Nazi Germany, the Catholic Church, and the Sandusky trials all serve as prime examples of people who knew what was occurring was wrong, still for a long time, nothing changed. Even our own Beta Scandal is yet another example of this. I am really hoping to go see the show. I do have one slight reservation. Awareness of such atrocities are important, however aggression and redundancy can cause the overall production to suffer. I reflect on Vagina Monologues, in itself, a great show. However there comes a point where it becomes overtly aggressive and redundant. Instead of engaging in a multi-level conversation, the production beat’s a dead horse. This snapshot article seems to indicate that this show doesn’t do this, which makes me all the more excited to go and see it.
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