THEATER OF WAR Presented At American Repertory Theater 2/28-3/7

The American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.) is pleased to partner with Theater of War Productions, a social impact company that presents readings of ancient Greek plays to military communities as a catalyst for town hall discussions, to present Theater of War on February 28 and March 7. Scenes from Sophocles' Ajax and Philoctetes directed by Ellen McLaughlin, translated and facilitated by Theater of War founder, Bryan Doerries, and produced by Theater of War producing director, Phyllis Kaufman, will be followed by panel discussions with active-duty military and veterans, their family members, and mental health professionals, concluding with a town hall discussion with the audience.

Both events will take place at the Loeb Drama Center, 64 Brattle Street, Cambridge at 7:00pm; they are free and open to the public.

DETAILS:
Monday, February 28 at 7 p.m.: Excerpts from Philoctetes and Ajax
Cast:
Athena in Ajax and Chorus in Philoctetes Kaaron Briscoe
Tecmessa in Ajax Linda Powell
Ajax in Ajax and Odysseus in Philoctetes Brent Harris
Chorus in Ajax and Neoptolemus in Philoctetes Nick Crandall
Odysseus in Ajax and Philoctetes in Philoctetes Ed Walsh
Panelists:
Ed Walsh, Iraq Veteran (U.S. Marine Corps)
Imelda Fisher, widow of a 10th Special Forces Green Beret, Army Community Service at Fort Devens
Chaplain Lieutenant Colonel promotable Ronald R. Huffman, U.S. Army Garrison Chaplain, Fort Devens
Bill Donoghue, Minister of the United Church of Christ, Vietnam Veteran (Navy Corpsman, U.S. Marine Corps), and father of a Marine currently serving in Afghanistan
Facilitated by Bryan Doerries

Monday, March 7 at 7 p.m.: Excerpts from Ajax
Cast:
Athena Kaaron Briscoe
Tecmessa Linda Powell
Ajax Brent Harris
Agamemnon Larry Coen
Chorus Nick Crandall
Teucer Nathan Darrow
Odysseus Ed Walsh
Panelists:
Lieutenant Colonel Warren Bacote, Commander of U.S. Army Garrison, Fort Devens
Evan Bick, First Lieutenant (MA National Guard), formerly infantry platoon leader (U.S. Army)
Gillian Sowden, Harvard Medical School student, married to Evan Bick
Bill Donoghue, Minister of the United Church of Christ, Vietnam Veteran (Navy Corpsman, U.S. Marine Corps), and father of a Marine currently serving in Afghanistan
Facilitated by Ellen McLaughlin

Tickets are free but reservations are required. Tickets can be reserved through the Box Office at 617.547.8300, in person at the Box Office located at 64 Brattle St., Cambridge, MA, or online at americanrepertorytheater.org/TOW.
The A.R.T.'s production of Ajax is directed by Sarah Benson, and runs February 12 - March 15 at the Loeb Drama Center. For further information about this production and the A.R.T.'s 2010-11 season, log on to http://www.americanrepertorytheater.org

About Ellen McLaughlin
Ellen McLaughlin's plays include Days and Nights Within, A Narrow Bed, Infinity's House, Iphigenia and Other Daughters, Tongue of a Bird, Helen, The Trojan Women, The Persians and Oedipus. Producing theaters include The National Actors' Theater, The Public Theater, New York Theater Workshop, Classic Stage Company, the Actors' Theatre of Louisville, the Intiman in Seattle, the Mark Taper Forum in L.A., Oregon Shakespeare Festival, the Almeida in London and the Guthrie Theater, MN. She is the recipient of grants from the Fund for New American Plays and the National Endowment for the Arts. She is the winner of The Great American Play Contest, the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize and the Writer's Award from the Lila Wallace-Reader's Digest Fund. Recent work includes Ajax in Iraq for the ART Institute, Penelope for the Getty Villa and Septimus and Clarissa for Ripe Time in NYC. She is also an actor, most well known for her role as the original Angel in Tony Kushner's Angels in America.
About Theater of War
Theater of War is an innovative, participatory event that is intended to increase awareness of post-deployment psychological health issues, disseminate information regarding available resources, and foster greater family, community, and troop resilience. To date, Theater of War Productions has delivered over 125 performances and discussions of Sophocles' Ajax and Philoctetes at more than 50 military sites throughout the United States and Europe. Nearly 25,000 service members, veterans, and their families have attended and participated in Theater of War.
Theater of War Productions, supported by a generous grant from the Stavros Niarchos Foundation in collaboration with the United Service Organizations, is partnering with ten prominent theaters and universities across the United States to present Theater of War for mixed audiences comprised of military service members and civilians. Using Sophocles' plays to forge a common vocabulary for openly discussing the impact of war on individuals, families, and communities, these events will be aimed at generating compassion and understanding between diverse audiences
Visit Theater of War's website: www.theater-of-war.com to find more information about the project, watch a short video of a performance, and find out about recent and upcoming performances. You can also find Theater of War on Facebook: www.facebook.com/TheaterofWar
About the Stavros Niarchos Foundation
The Stavros Niarchos Foundation (www.SNF.org), an international philanthropic organization, makes grants in the areas of arts and culture, education, health and medicine, and social welfare. While prominent in its support of Greek-related initiatives, the Foundation's activities are worldwide in scope. Since the beginning of its grantmaking efforts in 1996, the Stavros Niarchos Foundation has provided total grant commitments of $1,165,000,000 through more than 1,800 grants to nonprofit organizations in 90 nations around the world.
About the USO (United Service Organizations)
Founded in 1941, the USO (www.uso.org) works to support the military by providing morale, welfare and recreation to service members around the world. Since before the United States entered World War II, the USO has been the bridge between the American public and the U.S. military. In times of peace and war, the USO has consistently delivered its special brand of comfort, morale and recreational services to the military. Today, the USO delivers its programs and services at more than 130 locations around the world.

About the A.R.T.
The American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.) is one of the country's most celebrated resident theaters and the winner of numerous awards including the Tony Award, the Pulitzer Prize and regional Elliot Norton and I.R.N.E. Awards. In 2002 the A.R.T. was the recipient of the National Theatre Conference's Outstanding Achievement Award, and in May of 2003it was named one of the top three regional theaters in the country by Time magazine.
In 2009, the A.R.T. welcomed its new Artistic Director, Diane Paulus. Armed with the A.R.T.'s mission to expand the boundaries of theater, Paulus and her team have engaged thousands of new theatergoers at performances of Sleep No More, The Donkey Show, Gatz, Best of Both Worlds, Johnny Baseball and Cabaret as well as festivals like Emerging America. Critics and audiences have embraced the immersive environments that have become hallmarks of A.R.T. productions. The Theater has broadened its focus to include the audience's total experience, providing them with a sense of ownership in the theatrical event. Initiatives like the A.R.T.'s new club theater OBERON, which Paulus calls a "Second Stage for the 21st century", is an example of one initiative that has not only become an incubator for local artists but also has attracted national attention as a groundbreaking model for programming. Through all of its work, the A.R.T. is committed to building a community of artists, designers, technicians, administrators and audience.
The Loeb Drama Center, located at 64 Brattle Street, Harvard Square, Cambridge, is accessible to persons with special needs and to those requiring wheelchair seating or first-floor restrooms. Deaf and hard-of-hearing patrons can also reach the theater by calling the toll-free N.E. Telephone Relay Center at 1-800-439-2370.
Public transportation and discount parking are available nearby.