The official blog of the Dramaturgy Department at Baltimore's CENTERSTAGE. For posts related to our current and upcoming shows, click the links to the right. Alternatively, you could begin at the beginning, and explore our posts in chronological order.
npr:
During the 2012 Sea Turtle Triathlon in Pensacola, a young boy’s prosthetic limb broke during the run. Local Marines who had volunteered to help monitor the course picked him up and carried him the rest of the way.
via Marines help a young boy finish a triathlon - CNN iReport
For the latest on ReEntry and its tour of US Army Europe, and other current and pending projects.
From the NYTimes. Heartbreaking, and far too common. As it happens, a company of actors is currently touring US Army facilities in Europe with performances of ReENTRY, a documentary play that shines a light on stories just like these—one of numerous productions of the piece playing around the States and now internationally (following a powerful run here in Baltimore last fall), produced by American Records Theater.
There’s some video of the piece here.
Some recent updates from the ReEntry crew on their tour of military facilities in Europe, including selected responses from recent conversations in response to the piece (which is primarily compiled from interviews with returning USMC vets of Afghanistan and Iraq, and their families):
· An update from ReEntry at US Army Europe
Our post-show discussions have been eye-opening. We begin with four panelists: A Chaplain, an NCO combat veteran, a spouse and a mental health provider. Each speaks candidly about the issues in the play and then I open the discussion to the audience at large. The discussions focus on suicide prevention and intervention, but within the framework of deployment health. Here are few sound-bites from those discussions:
A spouse described the notion of a soldier needing to “suck it up” and be strong and not need help as a myth. She said, “When you talk about what you’re going through, the power of those lies are broken.”
A single female soldier talked about coming home when you have no family: “Those cargo doors open, and all the wives and kids rush in and everyone’s hugging and you’re standing there, completely alone. You go from great pride to great loneliness in like two seconds.”
A Staff Sergeant said “I was one of the first to get wounded, way back in the invasion, and everyone wanted to shake my hand, everyone wanted to know about my wounds, how I got hit. Now, that doesn’t happen. Now all they want to know is, ‘did I kill someone.’”
A Commander told me, “I can lead men in battle, I can do all these things in theater, then I get home and the running joke is: ‘Daddy can’t find the forks’” He laughed, “I’m so disoriented at home, I just can’t remember where anything is.”
A female soldier, who’s married to another soldier talked about dual duty: “You both get deployed, and what do you do with your kids? Now after so many deployments, our families’ they’re burnt out, they can’t take our kids anymore. Then what do you do?”
Nine performances completed. It’s Sunday and we’re heading to Grafenwoer, then Vilseck and we’ll wrap up in Italy. Stay tuned.
Battling PTSD, One Play at a Time
Veterans Dealing with Suicide, PTSD and TBI Represented in Play “Re-Entry” - ABC News)
In the 2 short years I’ve been exposed to the Marine Corps, I believe I’ve met at least 7 of these characters.
TIME blog on military affairs and news bites.
Now THIS is a motivational moment! Limited Service Volunteers of the New Zealand military “perform” a signature Haka, based on traditional Maori war chants.
Marine reservists from Lima Company, 3rd Battalion, 25th Marines react after being released from formation during a homecoming celebration at the unit’s reserve center October 7, 2005 in Columbus, Ohio. Lima 3/25 was returning from a seven-month deployment in Iraq where one in three of the company’s 140 men were killed or injured.
A note sent to the cast and crew of ReEntry, after its recent engagement at Parris Island, performing for USMC recruits.
Dear Cast of ReEntry,
Honestly, I did not want yesterday to end. Perhaps you’ve had many experiences like that in theatre. I still am trying to figure out why but I think that it has to do with the relationships formed in such a short time, the raw truth being shared and the noble cause of people desiring to help other people. I saw all of this in you and your performance.
It was awesome - awe inspiring and I thank you.
I know that numbers are not important but from my estimation we had 300 people at MCAS base theatre on Thursday 750 people at MCRD Recruit Chapel on Friday morning and 150 people at MCRD Recruit Chapel for Friday evening
Lives were touched because of you and a conversation has been started here.Please know of my continued support and prayers not only for the ReEntry “project” but also for you individually in your careers and also in your lives.
Very Respectfully,
Deputy Regimental Chaplain
MCRD Parris Island
