Opera Saratoga & Words After War to Host Writing Workshop Alongside THE LONG WALK

Opera Saratoga, in partnership with the literary organization Words After War, will present a writing workshop to civilians, veterans and military families on July 11 and July 12, 2015 at The New York State Military Museum in Saratoga Springs, NY. The two-day event will be held in conjunction with the world premiere of The Long Walk, by Composer Jeremy Howard Beck and Librettist Stephanie Fleischmann. The opera is based upon the critically acclaimed memoir of war and homecoming by Brian Castner.

The two-day intensive writing workshop will focus on stories of the military, conflict, and coming home from overseas. Authors Brian Castner and Matt Gallagher will guide participants through multiple writing and feedback sessions. The Long Walk is a deeply personal exploration of Castner's return from Iraq where he served as an officer in an Explosive Ordnance Disposal unit and his battle with what he calls "the Crazy" as he tried to reintegrate into his family life upon returning from the war. After leaving the active military, Castner became a consultant and contractor, training Army and Marine Corps units prior to their tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. His writing has appeared in a number of national and regional publications, including Wired, The New York Times, The Daily Beast, The Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, Foreign Policy, Publisher's Weekly, and Garry Trudeau's The Sandbox anthology. Matt Gallagher, the workshop co-presenter, is the author of the Iraq memoir Kaboom andco-editor of, and contributor to, the short fiction collection Fire & Forget: Short Stories from the Long War. He holds an MFA in fiction from Columbia University and lives in Brooklyn. His novel Youngblood is forthcoming from Atria/Simon & Schuster. Both authors will provide feedback and guidance to the participants.

Opera Saratoga Artistic and General Director Lawrence Edelson said, "We are honored to host Brian and Matt for this incredible workshop, which will provide writers the opportunity to work with two extraordinary mentors. Both Brian and Matt have been able to successfully share their deeply personal stories of war, through writing, with audiences around the world. Their writing has helped to build a bridge of empathy and understanding between veterans and civilians. We look forward to hosting these talented authors as they share their gifts with our community, and their guidance and encouragement with others who have stories to share."

All civilians, veterans, military spouses, gold star children, as well as those currently serving on active, reserve or guard duty are eligible to participate. Those wishing to apply should provide two pieces of fiction, nonfiction or memoir (no more than 10,000 words total) that they wish to workshop as part of the class, as well as a short statement of purpose (no more than 250 words), explaining who they are and why they wish to participate. Deadline for applications is June 19, 2015. Space is limited to 16 students, who will be notified immediately if they have been accepted. The workshop is provided at no cost to those selected. Applications should be submitted to: info@wordsafterwar.org.

Workshop participants will be expected to submit their work for feedback, and to spend time outside of class closely reading their colleagues' work in preparation for each session. In addition, workshop participants will be provided with tickets for the opera adaptation of The Long Walk presented by Opera Saratoga, on either July 10th or July 13th, based on their personal availability.

Funding for this writing workshop has been generously provided by OPERA America / The Opera Fund. Lead Funding for the world premiere of The Long Walk has been provided by The MAP Fund, supported by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Aaron Copland Fund for Music.