Richmond, VA – This March, The Virginia War Memorial Foundation will present four one-act plays written by Virginia veterans, which will be professionally produced and performed with leadership from Virginia Repertory Theatre, under the program title, War in Pieces.
This co-production has grown out of the VWMF’s free veterans writing program, “The Mighty Pen Project,” which offers 12-week long classes throughout the year to encourage Virginia veterans to commit to paper their memories and reflections. Now in its tenth year, the MPP has helped veterans navigate their personal histories and form a living documentary of American military service. New York Times bestselling author David L. Robbins leads this program, and will direct two of the one acts.
“When the opportunity came to collaborate with Virginia Rep, we jumped at it. I’ve worked with Virginia Rep on mainstage productions and new works,” Robbins said. “I’m confident that having them as co-producers will take War in Pieces to new levels, everything from on-stage production to even dreaming of expanding this veterans’ playwrighting festival to a national audience.” Robbins added, “The veteran writers in The Mighty Pen have put some powerful stuff on the page. These one-acts have been adapted by four veterans from their true stories written for the class. Breathing life into them for the stage has yielded some powerful, memorable theater.”
In 2017, Virginia Rep opened the World Premiere of David L. Robbins’ The End of War. Set in embattled Berlin in the final days of WWII, the play examined the fears and atrocities of war from the perspective of a brilliant young cellist whose mother is harboring one of the city’s last Jews, and two Red Army soldiers fighting their ways through the hellish Easter front.
The plays are made possible by a generous grant from the Carpenter Foundation and will be presented in the VMI Alumni Hall at the Virginia War Memorial, which seats 90 people for these performances. There will be 7 performances, each of which includes all 4 plays together. Tickets are $25.00 per person (General Admission) and $20.00 for Military Veterans. Tickets can be purchased at virginiarep.org or by calling the Box Office at (804) 282-2620.
Play Titles and Descriptions:
The God of Baghdad (by Philip Trezza) – A young Army medic, the first to respond to a car bombing in Baghdad, finds himself playing God, determining which victims may live and who cannot be saved.
Directed by David L. Robbins.
Dress Code (by Joseph Maslanka) – Recently out of the Marine Corps, Joe returns to work in the family bar in Philadelphia. A couple of patrons push his buttons, and he has to figure out if he’s ready to be an ex-Marine.
Living on a Prayer (by Rev. Laura Bender) – A twenty-five year Navy/Marine chaplain answers the call for everyone in need, the wounded, the bereaved, the homesick and the frightened. But who does she talk to?
Directed by David L. Robbins.
King Baby (by Daniel Barotti) – Crossing The Line is a time-honored seaman’s tradition whenever a vessel crosses the equator. But this time, a leviathan Chinese destroyer shadows a U.S. Navy ship, putting the celebration at risk of an international confrontation at sea.
