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A young U.S. Army medic is the first to arrive at the scene of a car bombing and must decide who of the victims can be saved; a recently discharged Marine returns to his family’s Philadelphia bar and uncivil patrons; a Navy and Marine chaplain who counsels the bereaved is unable to talk to anyone about her own traumas; and a Navy tradition of crossing the equator turns dangerous in the shadow of a Chinese warship.
These are true stories within a collection of four short plays written by military veterans, under the production title of “War in Pieces,” presenting seven performances from Friday, March 17, through Sunday, March 26, at the 90-seat VMI Alumni Hall at the Virginia War Memorial. The production is in collaboration with Virginia Repertory Theatre, and the works are from the Mighty Pen Project, now in its eighth year.
Bestselling novelist and playwright David L. Robbins founded the MPP, and he leads the 12-week workshops that encourage veterans to commit their experiences to paper. “These plays are adapted from the memoirs of these writers,” Robbins explains.
He directed three of the plays and co-directed a fourth with Chris Taylor, “Living on a Prayer” by Laura Bender, the Navy and Marine chaplain. “Laura’s had this incredible career,” Robbins says. “She was the first female chaplain allowed on the front lines and went in with the Marine Expeditionary Unit into Iraq. She was also the chaplain on the brand-new USS New York made out of 9/11 steel. She worked with the Wounded Warrior Regiment in Quantico, Virginia, and the U.S. Navy Nuclear Power School in Charleston.” One of the observations she makes in the play is how most people see post-traumatic stress as the result of a single, harrowing incident. But it’s the day-by-day situations that pile up that can cause difficulties for a person living in the aftermath. “It wasn’t just the tragedies that took their toll,” writes Bender.
Phil Trezza’s “The God of Baghdad” comes from the writer’s 14 years as an Army combat medic and the explosion on a street corner of an improvised explosive device. “Phil was the only one there for the first 15 to 20 minutes while his unit was cordoning off the scene,” Robbins says, “and he had to make some serious decisions about whom he could save.” Trezza surprised Robbins by writing the piece in verse. Robbins adds, “I didn’t expect that from Phil, but it’s incredible verse.”
“Dress Code,” by Joseph Maslanka, concerns his reentry to the non-Marine Corps world at his family’s Philadelphia bar. Maslanka wasn’t sure then if he wanted a return to civilian life even after a hitch that didn’t involve deployment. His interaction with some annoying patrons didn’t help matters. The piece turns on the way Maslanka chose to get on with his life and work.
Throughout time and in navies around the world, according to Robbins, when a ship crosses the equator, those aboard who have not ever traveled that route undergo a line-crossing ceremony. This occasion is the subject of Daniel Barotti’s “King Baby.” But the fun and games in this situation take a potentially dangerous turn in the South China Sea, when a Chinese Luyang destroyer hovers up to shadow the U.S. ship. “They don’t know if at any moment they’re going to have sound General Quarters,” i.e., prepare the ship to fight, Robbins says.
The actors in the four plays are Dan Barotti, Keith Burns, Ruben Cantu, Dustin Dunbar, Jim Dyk, Austen Linder, Stanley Lundberg, Josh Mullins, Caitlin Nolan, Lisa Robertson, Vincent Robertson, Chris Taylor, William Vaughn and David Watkins.
Tickets to “War in Pieces” are $25 for general admission and $20 for veterans. Showtimes are at 7 p.m., except for two 3 p.m. Sunday matinees on March 19 and 26. For more information, visit va-rep.org or call Virginia Rep’s box office at 804-282-2620.
