Photo Flash: HEALING WARS Opens at Arena Stage
By: Courtnie Mele Jun. 13, 2014
A pioneer in the world of contemporary dance, MacArthur "Genius Grant" recipient Liz Lerman's new theatrical dance piece Healing Wars examines healing in wartime, the nature of damage that continues when battles are over and the question of how individuals and societies absorb the pain and impact of war. The production features a company of performers in multiple roles, including Marjani Forte, George Hirsch, Tamara Hurwitz Pullman, Ted Johnson, Alli Ross, Samantha Speis, Keith A. Thompson, renowned stage and film actor Bill Pullman and a combat veteran to be announced at a later date. The limited engagement, world-premiere production of Healing Wars running through June 29 in the Arlene and Robert Kogod Cradle at Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater. Check out photos from the opening night below!
Through movement and dialogue set to a soundscape by Tony Award-winning Sound Designer Darron L. West and a haunting scenic environment and costumes crafted by David Israel Reynosowith lighting design by Heidi Eckwall and video by Kate Freer, Healing Wars vividly catapults audiences into the immediate aftermath of war. Soldiers, nurses, surgeons and spirits migrate between the American Civil War and conflict in Iraq and Afghanistan. This multidisciplinary work was conceived and directed by Lerman, with choreography developed by Lerman and Thompson in collaboration with the performers.
A truly collaborative endeavor, Healing Wars is part of The National Civil War Project and has involved the participation of veterans, artists, clinicians, medical historians and military experts. Healing Wars has been developed through major commissioning support from The George Washington University and various creative residencies at Harvard's Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts, the Maggie Allesee Center for Choreography at Florida State University, the Center for the Arts at Virginia Tech, Peak Performances at Montclair State University (NJ) and the Atlantic Center for the Arts.
Photos Courtesy of Arena Stage
Artistic Director Molly Smith and George Washington University President Steven Knapp with the company of Healing Wars at the opening night celebration at Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater June 12, 2014.
Company members Paul Hurley and Ted Johnson at the opening night celebration for Healing Wars at Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater June 12, 2014.
(L to R) Company members Keith A. Thompson and George Hirsch at the opening night celebration for Healing Wars at Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater June 12, 2014.
(L to R) Company members Samantha Speis and Marjani Forte at the opening night celebration for Healing Wars at Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater June 12, 2014.
(L to R) Diane Robinson Knapp, George Washington University President Steven Knapp, Tamara Hurwitz Pullman and Bill Pullman at the opening night celebration for Healing Wars at Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater June 12, 2014.
(L to R) Executive Producer Edgar Dobie, Artistic Director Molly Smith, director and choreographer Liz Lerman, CenterStage Artistic Director Kwame Kwei-Armah and George Washington University’s Barbara Porter at the opening night celebration for Healing Wars at Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater June 12, 2014.
Director and choreographer Liz Lerman and the company of Healing Wars at the opening night celebration at Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater June 12, 2014.
(L to R) Company member Paul Hurley and U.S. Army Captain Steve Scuba at the opening night celebration for Healing Wars at Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater June 12, 2014.
L to R) Artistic Director Molly Smith and director and choreographer Liz Lerman at the opening night celebration for Healing Wars at Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater June 12, 2014.
(L to R) Company members Samantha Speis, Bill Pullman, Alli Ross and Tamara Hurwitz Pullman at the opening night celebration for Healing Wars at Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater June 12, 2014.
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