Four plays about life experiences as a war veteran are coming soon to a stage in Richmond.
The Mighty Pen Project is a program that supports and helps Virginia veterans write their stories. Now some of those stories have been adapted for the stage. War in Pieces is a production made up of four one-act plays.
“There’s no through line other than service and how that service changes you as an individual,” says Christopher Taylor, an Army vet who’s acting in one of the plays, and directing another. He says they run the gambit from realism to fantastical, even a poetry slam.
“What’s exciting about this project as a veteran is the camaraderie of working with other veterans who bring their experiences to the stage,” Taylor says. “And these conflicts they’ve experienced range from the Vietnam War to the War on Terror.”
The four plays are being put on by Virginia Repertory Theatre and performed at the Virginia War Memorial in Richmond.
“It’s not really often that veterans are able to share their experiences overseas with those back home, let alone showcase them in this way. There’s just not the shared vocabulary,” Taylor says. “But when you get a group of veterans together those rules quickly change, everyone kind of has a shared experience and knows where the other person’s coming from.”
Opening night for War in Pieces is Friday March 17th. There will be performances this weekend as well as next week beginning on Thursday.
You can find details and ticket information here.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
