Play at Clarice Smith Center looks at trauma of Marine returning from Iraq
The physical and psychological effects of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are likely to be felt for a long time and in many places, including theaters. Locally this season alone, we've had "Black Watch," a searing look at a Scottish regiment deployed to the Afghan conflict, presented at the Harmon Center by the Shakespeare Theatre Company; and, at Center Stage, "ReEntry," a drama built out of interviews with Marines adjusting to the return from war.
Now comes "Welcome Home, Jenny Sutter," a work by Julie Marie Myatt focusing on a Marine who comes back, minus a leg, from serving in Iraq. The character of Jenny Sutter finds herself in a spot called Slab City, a former Marines barracks in California.
Myatt's play, produced by the University of Maryland's School of Theatre, Dance and Performance Studies, is
"Welcome Home, Jenny Sutter," directed by Leslie Felbain, was first produced at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. For the UM production, the cast was put through some drills by a Marine sergeant during the rehearsal period (the "ReEntry" project likewise involved similar efforts at putting actors deeper into the world of veterans).
The audience is invited to stay for discussions with the director and cast members after the performances on Wednesday and Thursday this week.
PHOTO BY STAN BAROUH
Comments
As a Marine and Vietnam Veteran the theme of this play is outstanding - war doesn't end when the battles are over. In fact, the "Demon's of War are Persistent". Which after 35 years is the title of a short story I wrote to help veterans break the stigma of PTSD and seek medical help, instead of suicide. [on my website]
Again, I applaud the theme of "Welcome Home, Jenny Sutter,", and hope all our messages will reach both the young, and older veterans who have lived with the pain over many years.
Posted by: AW Schade | February 14, 2011 6:35 PM