It's time to speak. It's time to listen.
“Over the past few decades, thousands of veterans have returned from wars to live in San Antonio. They all have stories, but few of us get to hear them. Playwright Jonathan Wei has come up with an innovative way to help us. He turns veterans into actors, and their stories into theater. We talk to Wei and one of his veterans/actors to learn about “Telling: San Antonio” and its impact.”
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9/29/2014 – from The Rivard Report, written by Lily Casura
Catharsis is a word with ancient Greek roots, meaning a purging of strong emotions, often through art. In today’s post-draft, all-volunteer era, where fewer than 1% of Americans serve in the military, it’s interesting that the expressive arts have become an important arena for veterans to connect with civilians.
“The Telling Project,” opening Wednesday night at the Tobin Center for the Performing Arts, and featuring 10 San Antonio-area veterans and family members, from Vietnam to Iraq and Afghanistan, is one such opportunity. When the play first opened in the nation’s capital, the Washington Post reviewed it saying, “If you see nothing else this weekend, see this.”
[For the full text, click here.]
We’re so excited to be presenting “Telling: San Antonio,” for so many reasons. It’s our first partnership with PBS – with KLRN, which has been an absolutely fantastic collaborator. We’ll be performing at the absolutely stunning Tobin Center for the Performing Arts as one of the first engagements in the brand new Carlos Alvarez Studio Theater. We’re working for the second time with one of our favorite people, Stacey Shade Ware (director, “Telling: Austin, TX”). And we have just a totally blow you away cast of performers. October 1-5 – can’t wait to see you there!!! Tickets here.
We love Baltimore! We had such a superb experience working with a fantastic group of vets and the then brand new Veteran Artist Program in 2011 when we did our first production there, and we are thrilled to be back, this time with VAP and the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health. With an opening at JHU and a run later this year in the Head Theater at Center Stage, we’re very excited to see the next chapter of this important conversation unfold.
Opening on September 11, 2014, “Telling: Albuquerque,” partners the Museum of the American Military Family, The Telling Project and the Bob Woodruff Foundation to bring the stories of Albuquerque veterans and military family members to their community. Free and open to the public, shows will run through September 21. We’ll see you there!
In May of this year, The Telling Project for the first time extended its work overseas, through the production by Per Rutedal of ‘prosjekt: fortelle” – Telling: Norway. We’re incredibly excited to see this happen, and are looking forward to extending and deepening our relationship with our Norwegian counterparts, partners in other parts of Scandinavia, throughout Europe and around the world. Many thanks to Per for the attached description of the project.
Our fantastic designer/photographer and promoter for “Telling: Portland, OR 2014,” Amanda Cherry has innovated an approach to information and outreach – a web program. We will still have paper programs available at the performances, but we will also have an app that will allow audience to view this web version via their smartphones, if they would rather save the paper. Plus, if you’re curious about the show, you can get an advance look. It’s a great idea and beautifully executed – check it out right here.
Sign up now for our October-November production of “Telling: Austin 2014.” Interviews will take place September 16-19 (we can flex this as necessary), and then rehearsals will take place over the week of October 19-25 as part of the Austin Arts and Service Celebration. We will open our performances on October 25, 2014 at the B. Iden Payne Theater at the University of Texas, and then have a run from November 7-9 at the Austin Playhouse. This is a really exciting opportunity for Austin area veterans and military family members to have their stories heard. For more information or to sign up: info@thetellingproject.org. We look forward to working with you!!
We’re incredibly excited to be partnering with Veteran Artist Program, Austin Community College, Texas Writers League and Texas Performing Arts to present the first Austin Arts and Service Celebration – a multi-media veterans in the arts conference. Workshops, professional panels and public events will offer veteran artist participants expert instruction, networks and pipelines to educational and professional opportunities in the arts, including Digital Arts, Literary, Visual and Performance. Participation is free to all military veterans.
Workshops have limited numbers of spots, and are filled on a first come, first serve basis. For information and details, click here to go to the AASC website. We will be creating a ‘Telling’ performance over the course of the week, to be performed at the B Iden Payne Theater on the campus of the University of Texas as the closing night event. If you are interested in participating, please email us at: info@thetellingproject.org.
Tickets for “Telling: Portland, OR 2014,” at the Brunish Theater in the Portland Center for the Performing Arts are on sale here. There will only be four shows at the Brunish, so get yours soon. This is going to be a fantastic cast, with extraordinary perspectives, experiences and reflections. We are so excited to be working with Portland’s A Rock or Something to produce this exceptional performance.
The Telling Project 