The Mission:
The Telling Project is a national performing arts non-profit that employs theater to deepen our understanding of the military and veterans’ experience. Greater understanding fosters receptivity, easing veterans’ transitions back to civil society, and allowing communities to benefit from the skills and experience they bring with them. Through this understanding, a community deepens its connection to its veterans, itself, and its place in the nation and the world.
The Work
The most direct path to understanding veterans’ experience is person-to-person contact. With the dramatic decline in the numbers serving in the military – less than one percent of the population over the last eleven years of war – this contact will not happen through day-to-day life. It must be created and supported. Through performance, The Telling Project puts veterans and military family members in front of their communities to share their stories. We give veterans and military family members the opportunity to speak, and their communities the opportunity to listen.
History
Since 2008, The Telling Project has produced 40+ original performances, put over 180 veterans and family members on stage and performed in 16 states across the nation. It has been featured by PBS, the Associated Press, New York Times, Washington Post, MSNBC, NPR, Inside Higher Ed and others, and supported by the Bob Woodruff Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Library of Congress, The Smithsonian Institution and others. In 2009, The Telling Project, which is based in Austin, TX, received 501(c)(3) status as a non-profit.
Telling Project Reviews:
“I cannot begin to put into words how important this experiencehas been for me. I could not recommend it enough for any veteran in America. We all have our own stories to tell, and the nation needs to hear them.” – John K., Veteran
“Telling was a life changing experience. It gave me strength and courage to share my story and a platform to heal.” – Salina L., Veteran & Military Spouse
“My unspoken truth kept me in dark places in my head, and the Telling Project shed light into that, which set me free. I could not heal alone.“ – Dee B., Veteran & Military Spouse
“No words can describe the brilliance of this performance. My heartfelt gratitude to the tellers. All your stories are so intellectually and emotionally honest and compelling. I salute you. You have given the public such important perspective.” – Janis J., Audience Member
“The Telling did what theater at its best does: Start a conversation. The performances were very true and compelling, and the impact on the audience was extraordinary.” -Martha S., Audience Member
“We need these in every neighborhood, for every veteran…I know the needs vets have from the inside, and I know that your project meets one of our deep needs.“-Harlan W., Veteran
Who We Are:
Jonathan Wei – Founder, Executive Director
Jonathan Wei is a writer, director and producer. His work has appeared in The Village Voice, The Iowa Review, The North American Review, Glimmer Train and other publications and he is a past fellow of the Vermont Studio Center and the Atlantic Center for the Arts. Jonathan’s work has been staged at the Guthrie Theater, the Library of Congress, Maryland Center for the Performing Arts and others, and featured by the New York Times, Washington Post, the Huffington Post, MSNBC, NPR and others. Jonathan founded The Telling Project in 2008, and continues to serve as executive director.
Max Rayneard – Director of Research and Outcomes
Dr. Max Rayneard, co-creator of The Telling Project process, is a South African Fulbright Scholar who has written, produced and/or directed for The Telling Project on a dozen productions.He has presented papers regarding his Telling Project work at both national and global conferences, and has been published in peer-reviewed academic and creative venues. He is a research affiliate of the Peace and Conflict Studies Program and the Program of Theater in the Department of English at Colgate University and holds a PhD in Comparative literature from The University of Oregon.
Julie Coan – Director of The Telling Project Institute
As Director of TPI, Julie Coan works with community leaders across the nation to build stronger connections to local veterans and military families through regional Summits. Prior to the Telling Project, Ms. Coan spent twenty years in Public Television in production and communications. For her work, she has won over 30 national, regional and local awards for community engagement and journalistic excellence, including seven Emmy Awards. Most recently Ms.Coan served as Senior Vice-President and Chief Operating Officer at KLRN in San Antonio. During her tenure she developed and led the station’s acclaimed VETERANS VOICES project, a multi-year initiative to serve transitioning military, veterans and their families through programming, convening and events. She has been asked to speak at several national and regional meetings on the topic of serving veterans and military families through innovative programming. Since 2004, Ms. Coan has served on the Lone Star Emmy Chapter’s Board of Governors and was recently elected to represent the chapter as a Trustee to the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, which recognizes excellence in television programming through the prestigious Emmy Award. Originally from the Boston area, Ms. Coan graduated from the University of Massachusetts at Boston with a degree in Political Science. She resides in Houston, Texas with her husband Patrick, a United States Air Force and Navy Reserve veteran.
Process:
Collaboration
In all productions, The Telling Project collaborates with local community organizations and individuals. These collaborations are structured to the needs and resources of the community partners. The Telling Project has worked with repertory groups, university theatre departments, veteran service organizations, community associations, governmental and professional organizations and private individuals.
Interviewing/Scripting
The Telling Project interviews veterans and family members about their experiences with the military. All interviews are video-recorded, and The Telling Project then transcribes the interviews verbatim and constructs a script from the transcripts. Performers have the opportunity to think about, revise and shape the script at the beginning of the rehearsal process.
Performance Training, Rehearsing and Performing
When the interview process is complete, veterans and veterans’ family members interested in performing begin working with an experienced theatre director The prospective performers will undertake an 4-8 week course in performance. When The Telling Project completes and hands over the script, performance training transitions to rehearsal. 4-8 weeks of rehearsal follow, culminating in performances of “Telling.”
Promotion/PR
Each performance is supported by a full-scale campaign to build interest and audience. This campaign can be undertaken by The Telling Project, in collaboration with The Telling Project, or by the host community.
Production
Production involves logistics and administration for the performance itself. This can be undertaken by The Telling Project, in collaboration with The Telling Project, or by the host community.
We are honored to be supported by the Bob Woodruff Foundation, allowing us to create more performances, reach more communities, and allow more veterans and military family members to tell their stories. The Woodruff Foundation’s mission is to ensure injured veterans and their families are thriving long after they return home. That’s why they find and fund innovative programs in communities where veterans, their families and caregivers live and work. That’s how The Woodruff Foundation tackles the problems that can prevent our veterans from fulfilling their dreams for the next chapter of their lives.
The Telling Project 