Theater of War@UVa explores the price that military service can demand

While many have spent the past months fighting over health care, there is a new project that addresses the health care needed from fighting.

The University of Virginia is bringing that project to Charlottesville with a series that looks into the human costs of war. Theater of War@UVa actually is two free programs that, in part, explore the challenges and needs of soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.

Of course, this is much more than a modern debate. The folks at UVa sent a press release explaining that the “human costs of war have been known since time began.”

The Greek playwright Sophocles — who, as a general some 2,500 years ago, knew about those costs — went on to write about those “consequences for audiences that consisted largely of citizen soldiers.”

Theater of War@UVa is taking Sophocles’ message to a modern audience.

Bryan Doerries, who created the Theater of War project, will be here to lead discussions at both UVa events. The New York-based director created Theater of War, which also is known as the Philoctetes Project.

Basically, he produced new translations of Sophocles’ writings about wounded warriors. He then brought in professional actors to stage the readings for military and medical audiences. He said it was geared for those who “recognize in the dramas their own struggles, choices and responsibilities.”

Well, Doerries is coming to town for the local version — only this time, UVa is tapping into the local acting talent. Betsy Tucker, the director of UVa’s drama department, has put together a cast of local actors to bring Sophocles’ words to life.

In the meantime, students from UVa to Virginia Military Institute in Lexington have been reading Sophocles’ plays in conjunction with Theater of War@UVa’s upcoming event.

“Theater of War@UVa addresses important human problems for our society today,” said Marcia Childress, a professor of medical education in UVa’s School of Medicine’s Center for Biomedical Ethics and Humanities. Childress organized the Theater of .

“These ancient dramas show us how to help reintegrate war veterans into civilian life with recognition of warriors’ struggles with both physical wounds and the mental and emotional challenges of post-traumatic stress disorder,” she noted.

The staged readings with discussion by Doerries will take place over two days at two different venues on campus, Cabell Hall and Jordan Hall.

The first, “How Do We Address the Human Costs of War?,” features scenes from Sophocles’s “Ajax” and “Philoctetes,” followed by a panel and discussion. Panelists will include Iraq and Vietnam war veterans, a veteran’s spouse and professionals who work with post-traumatic stress disorder.

The second event, “How Do We Care for Our Wounded Warriors?,” is one of the Medical Center Hour events. It will include scenes from “Philoctetes” and responses from health professionals.

The audience is welcome to join in the discussions at both free readings.

“The reintegration of returning soldiers has a profound effect on our society families, communities, health care systems, schools and social service agencies and religious organizations are all touched by what occurs on the battlefield,” Childress said.

Check it out for yourself.

drama, discussion

How Do We Address the Human Costs of War?

7 p.m. Tuesday

Cabell Hall Auditorium

How Do We Care for Our Wounded Warriors?

12:30 p.m. Wednesday

Jordan Hall Conference Center Auditorium

Free

924-5974