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Friday, November 10, 2023
U.S. Military Veterans Take the Stage in War Words Off-Broadway Beginning November 10
Playbill: A cast comprising veterans of the U.S. military along with stage and screen stars takes the stage at A.R.T./New York as previews for the world premiere of Michelle Kholos Brooks' War Words begin November 10. Opening night is November 14, and performances will continue through December 17.
I think that this production is very interesting because it emphasizes the purpose of theater, which is to tell people’s stories. Oftentimes we concentrate on the effects of theater, and the quality of acting, but at the root of every play is a story. Our goal as designers is to tell this story. One thing that is interesting about this particular show is the story that it tells. It tells the story of veterans, which I don’t think I know of any plays that talk about veterans of war, and I think that this story can fill in that gap. I also think that it is interesting that this play is using people who have actually lived these experiences rather than just actors. Normally everyone who is cast is a trained actor, but in this situation, the performers who are not trained as actors can draw on their actual lived experience, and therefore don’t need that training.
This is an amazing message to send. The fact that this show wants to be authentic that they have actual veterans in the cast not only makes the show authentic for the process but for the audience members as well. On the other hand I think that it is a tricky game to p;lay because that means these people might be reacting to their trauma and ptsd. Many actors are amazing because they have life experience but they are still acting and not playing through their own trauma. It might become as if the people are projecting what happened to them or it might be extremely authentic to the point where no audience has ever seen before. I think that it will be very interesting to watch a show about the army and war when our world is currently in the state that it is in, but I know that it is important to keep art happening even during the hard times in our lives.
Growing up on a military base during the times of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars illuminated to me the struggles that veterans go through at a very young age. While more must be done to support veterans in a clinical sense, I’m specifically interested in how the arts can be used to assist veterans in healing from war. This play seems like a great first start. One perspective that individuals fail to take in is that support of individual veterans is not equivalent to support of the US military practices. We can create art that empathizes with the absolute brutality our veterans go through, while still showing the nuances of war and battle as a whole. I actually think it’s more powerful that way. I’m very excited that this is a docuplay. I am a big fan of docu-plays and find them to be able to share stories in a very processable way. I hope that efforts are made to make this play available to those who really need to see it and that I’ll be able to see it myself at some point!
3 comments:
I think that this production is very interesting because it emphasizes the purpose of theater, which is to tell people’s stories. Oftentimes we concentrate on the effects of theater, and the quality of acting, but at the root of every play is a story. Our goal as designers is to tell this story.
One thing that is interesting about this particular show is the story that it tells. It tells the story of veterans, which I don’t think I know of any plays that talk about veterans of war, and I think that this story can fill in that gap. I also think that it is interesting that this play is using people who have actually lived these experiences rather than just actors. Normally everyone who is cast is a trained actor, but in this situation, the performers who are not trained as actors can draw on their actual lived experience, and therefore don’t need that training.
This is an amazing message to send. The fact that this show wants to be authentic that they have actual veterans in the cast not only makes the show authentic for the process but for the audience members as well. On the other hand I think that it is a tricky game to p;lay because that means these people might be reacting to their trauma and ptsd. Many actors are amazing because they have life experience but they are still acting and not playing through their own trauma. It might become as if the people are projecting what happened to them or it might be extremely authentic to the point where no audience has ever seen before. I think that it will be very interesting to watch a show about the army and war when our world is currently in the state that it is in, but I know that it is important to keep art happening even during the hard times in our lives.
Growing up on a military base during the times of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars illuminated to me the struggles that veterans go through at a very young age. While more must be done to support veterans in a clinical sense, I’m specifically interested in how the arts can be used to assist veterans in healing from war. This play seems like a great first start. One perspective that individuals fail to take in is that support of individual veterans is not equivalent to support of the US military practices. We can create art that empathizes with the absolute brutality our veterans go through, while still showing the nuances of war and battle as a whole. I actually think it’s more powerful that way. I’m very excited that this is a docuplay. I am a big fan of docu-plays and find them to be able to share stories in a very processable way. I hope that efforts are made to make this play available to those who really need to see it and that I’ll be able to see it myself at some point!
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