Culture Project (Allan Buchman, Artistic Director) has announced that it will host three special post performance discussions following the Tuesday, September 23rd, Thursday, September 25th and Tuesday, September 30th performances of In Conflict, the Award-winning portrait of Iraq war veterans that begins performances tonight (9/18/08), marking the beginning of Culture Project’s fall season.
The first discussion welcomes Yvonne Latty, who wrote the book from which In Conflict was adapted, in conversation with author and screenwriter James McBride (The Color of Water,
Spike Lee’s upcoming The Miracle at St. Anna). They will discuss African Americans in the military and how the legacy of Black veterans of World War II still relates to soldiers of color today. Following the Thursday, September 25th performance, Latty is joined by Ty Simmons, a veteran of Vietnam and the current Iraq war, to discuss his experiences as a veteran of both conflicts, and the changing nature of service in America. They will be joined by In Conflict cast member Tom Rader, who portrays Simmons in the show. Tuesday, September 30th, activist Jennifer Hogg will lead a panel discussion on the military’s Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy. She will be joined by former Marine Jeff Keys, In Conflict cast member Tim Chambers and others to discuss the misconceptions surrounding the policy.
Based on Latty’s acclaimed 2006 book of the same name and adapted and directed by three-time
Helen Hayes Award-winner
Douglas C. Wager, In Conflict captures the unheard voices and unpredictable experiences of 15 Iraq War veterans whose lives have been changed forever. Featuring men and women from all branches and ranks, Republican and Democrat, straight and gay, immigrants and natives, hailing from all parts of the country, these remarkable veterans represent America and its complexity. In Conflict answers the question so often asked of soldiers when they return home: What happened? Their honest answers and extraordinary accounts will affect the way we think about war.
After premiering last year at Temple University in Pennsylvania (where Philadelphia Weekly named it Best New Play of the Year), In Conflict traveled to Edinburgh Fringe Festival and recently played the Philadelphia Fringe Festival, before finally having its much anticipated Off Broadway premiere at
Culture Project. The cast of 11, all young actors who have been with the show for its entire journey, are the same age as the majority of today’s troops and casualties -- a generation that is paying the highest price for this war.
The cast of In Conflict features Tim Chambers, Stan Demidoff, Ethan Haymes, Amanda Holston, Suyeon Kim, Sean Lally, Joy Notoma, Sam Paul, Danielle Pinnock, Tom Rader and Damon Williams.
The design team for In Conflict includes Andrew Laine (Set Design), Marian Cooper (Costume Design), J. Dominic Chacon (Lighting Design), Warren Bass (Video Design), Gary Yong (Video Assistant), Christopher Cappello (Sound Design), Paul Winnick (Music Advisor) and James McCaffrey (Stage Manager).
Culture Project's mission is to bear witness to injustice, to stimulate challenging conversation about the most profound and urgent matters of our time and to convert interest, energy and engagement into a motivational demand for progressive change.
Culture Project has premiered celebrated shows including The Exonerated,
Sarah Jones’ Bridge & Tunnel, Guantanamo, Lawrence Wright’s My Trip To Al-Qaeda, Tings Dey Happen, the
Lucille Lortel Award-winning World Premiere of
George Packer’s Betrayed and most recently, Lenelle Moïse’s Expatriate.
In Conflict begins performances today (September 18, 2008), with an official opening set for Wednesday, September 24, 2008. The show will be performed in rotating rep with The Atheist, beginning October 7, 2008. Performances of In Conflict are (every other week) Tuesday – Thursday at 8:00 p.m., Friday at 9:00 p.m., Saturday at 4:00 p.m. & 9:00 p.m. and Sunday at 4:00 p.m. The preview performance schedule varies. Tickets are $25 for preview performances and $35 for regular performances and are available by calling 212-352-3101 or visiting
www.cultureproject.org. Student tickets ($15) are also available for all performances.
Culture Project at the Barrow Street Theatre is located at 27 Barrow Street at 7th Avenue.
Yvonne Latty is the author of In Conflict: Iraq War Veterans Speak Out on Duty, Loss and the Fight to Stay Alive (Polipoint Press 2006), and the critically acclaimed We Were There: Voices of African American Veterans, from World War II to the War in Iraq (Harper Collins/Amistad 2004). In Conflict inspired and was featured in Voices In Conflict, a Wilton High School play that was banned by the school's superintendent and went on to be performed Off-Broadway. Latty worked for the Philadelphia Daily News for 13 years where she was an award winning reporter specializing in urban issues. She was featured in two History Channel’s Documentaries – “Honor Deferred” and “A Distant Shore: African Americans at D-Day.” Born and raised in New York City, she earned a BFA in Film/Television and later an MA in Journalism from New York University. She is a journalism professor at New York University. Her nonfiction short stories have been published in It’s A Girl: Women Writers On Raising Daughters (Seal 2006), The African American History Bibliography (Oxford Press 2008) and Callaloo, the premier African American literary magazine. Her work has appeared in the Washington Post, USA Today, Chicago Sun Times, BET.com and numerous other media outlets.
James McBride’s memoir, The Color of Water, (Riverhead, Penguin Books) is an American classic, and is required reading in high schools and colleges across America. His
2002 novel, Miracle at St. Anna (Riverhead, Penguin Books) is the story of a friendship between a black soldier and an Italian boy in Tuscany, Italy during World War II. It is slated to open as a major motion picture on Sept. 26, 2008 (Disney/Touchstone), directed by
Spike Lee. It was filmed in Tuscany, Italy in fall 2007, with an international cast of Germans, Italians and Americans. James, with the generous guidance of Spike, wrote the screenplay for the movie over the course of a year. James is a former staff writer for The Washington Post, People Magazine and The Boston Globe. His work has also appeared in
Essence, Rolling Stone, and The New York Times. James is a native New Yorker and a graduate of New York City public schools. He received his Masters in Journalism from Columbia University in New York at age 22. He holds several honorary doctorates and is currently a Distinguished Writer in Residence at New York University.
Ty Simmons graduated from high school in 1968 and enlisted in the Army in December 1968. He attended Army Rotary Wing Flight School and upon graduation in 1970, was assigned to Vietnam. In 1978, Simmons graduated from the University of Illinois, with a Bachelors of Arts degree in Social Justice Administration and worked with the Illinois State Police in various assignments throughout the state as a patrol officer and undercover narcotics agent. In 2002, Simmons graduated from
Northwestern University’s School of Police Staff and Command and 2003, he returned to active military service and spent 18 months in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, serving in Balad, Iraq until July 2004. He retired from the military in 2004, after 36 years of service (8 years Active Duty, 28 years National Guard). He is the recipient of the Silver Star, Distinguished Flying Cross, 2 Bronze Stars, 4 Air Medals, the Army Achievement Medal and the Army Service Ribbon. He also received several awards from the Illinois State Police. He resides in Aurora, Illinois with his wife of 36 years.
Tom Rader is a 2008 graduate of Temple University, and holds a degree in Communications. He originally hails from Pottsville, Pennsylvania. In addition to acting, Tom also writes screenplays and records his own music.
Jennifer Hogg served as a 63Y Track Mechanic in the 152nd HHC New York Army National Guard from 2000-2005. She participated in the initial 9/11 activation and later saw her unit activated for OIF III (Operation Iraqi Freedom) although the mechanics and welders of her unit were deployed as Infantry, which barred her from deployment. Unable to further answer to her conscience due to the occupation and the treatment of minorities in the military, which she saw directly as a gay woman and indirectly in the racism that still exists, she accepted a discharge from the military as a SGT and is now active in veterans rights organizations. Jennifer is a co-founding member of SWAN, the Service Womens Action Network, and is a member of Iraq Veterans Against the War.
Jeff Key is a writer, actor, activist and philanthropist and Iraq War veteran. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Theatre from the University of Alabama. In 2000, at the age of 34, he became a reserve marine, and his unit was deployed to Eastern Iraq in March 2003. On March 31, 2004, Jeff appeared on CNN’s Paula Zahn Now to speak out in opposition to the occupation of Iraq, and to admit his homosexuality. He was discharged from the Marines for the admission. Jeff established The Mehadi Foundation, a non-profit organization to help Iraq War veterans of this war struggling with PTSD-related drug and alcohol abuse. Jeff Key is the subject of a Showtime documentary entitled Semper Fi: One Marine's Journey, and also wrote and performs his award winning and critically acclaimed one-man performance piece, The Eyes of Babylon, developed from his journal entries in Iraq.
Tim Chambers is a 2008 graduate of Temple University, earning a BA in both Theater and Psychology. Favorite roles include “The Tunge” in Azuka Theater’s Over the Line, Barker/The Chainletter in
David Mamet’s The Water Engine, Ren [Footloose], Cliff [Cabaret] and Joe in The Hardy Boys and the Mystery of Where Babies Come From. Tim has also appeared as an ensemble member in productions such as The Who’s Tommy, and Ragtime. Film credits include Luminesence [Forty Feet Below] and The Legend of Black Tom which was selected as Audience Choice at the Sedona International Film Festival. Tim has also directed and designed, and was selected by the Kennedy Center as an
Irene Ryan nominee for his performance in In Conflict.
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