A journey that started three months ago with a New York Times article about the town I grew up in, has taken me back to the scene of my childhood for a once-in-a-lifetime evening, the most moving and revelatory theatrical experience I have had in years.
In March of this year, the principal of Wilton High School in Wilton, CT told a group of students that they could not perform Voices In Conflict, a theater piece they were compiling based on letters and essays by Iraq War soldiers. To quote from a March 24 New York Times article that brought international attention to the matter:
The principal, Timothy H. Canty, who has tangled with students before over free speech, said in an interview he was worried the play might hurt Wilton families "who had lost loved ones or who had individuals serving as we speak," and that there was not enough classroom and rehearsal time to ensure it would provide "a legitimate instructional experience for our students."
I have been writing about the twists and turns of the Voices In Conflict saga ever since, and on Friday night I finally got to place faces to names as I attended the second public performance of the piece at the Fairfield Theater Company in Fairfield, CT.
I was expecting a moving evening -- before the play started I texted a friend that I was already verklempt -- but what I don't think I was at all ready for was what an amazing piece of theater it was. Expanded and streamlined by dramaturg Willy Holtzman from the sketchy notes I posted in March, the piece has grown by leaps and bounds, encompassing music, dance and words to deliver a moving and balanced portrait of the Iraq conflict.
Afterwards, a panel led by Connecticut ACLU chair John Simon (no relation to the critic, I assure you), led a panel that included Bonnie Dickinson, the teacher who directed and led the production, along with students Devon Fontaine, Alton Fleming and James Presson who spoke of the pressures they felt from fellow students after they decided to proceed with developing the production after the cancellation. It was pointed out that no one from the WHS school administration had attended either of the two Connecticut performances.
I was especially moved to once again shake hands with Craig Matheson, the retired co-founder of the Staples Players at Staples High School in Westport, CT. Forty years ago, my parents and I saw the Staples Players production of an anti-Vietnam war play, War And Pieces. As Matheson noted, that controversial play was staged with the full support of the Westport school administration. (I understand the current Staples principal was on the panel after the Wednesday performance, and said he would have approved the production.) So seeing this play last night was the culmination of a long journey both for Mr. Matheson and myself.
We have been instructed by Voices In Conflict, but more importantly we have been educated. Some teachers are only capable of instruction -- the one-way dissemination of facts -- while others have opened themselves to education, a process in which the teachers leanrs as much as the taught.
On Friday morning, an Army Reserve officer was sitting in a nearby diner when he read a Fairfield Weekly piece about the play, and called the FTC to see if he could get a seat. The performance has long since been sold out, but they got him in to the standing-room area wher he saw the play next to Ms. Dickinson. Afterward, he spoke as the very last commentator at the end of the panel, and said that the students has "abolutely nailed" what the Iraq experience was like for him and his fellow soldiers.
Bonnie,
Thank you and your students for one of the Greatest experiences of my life! I have never felt so much pride for having served in the military as I did when I left the theatre last night. You and your students have worked so hard and have endured so much in the way of hardship, censorship and ignorance in order to put this performance on and I am greatfull you did, because I left last night with a renwed sense of hope for our youth and the future of our country.
They reminded me of the pride I felt as I served and what it means to me to wear the uniform. They have personified the Army core values and through your leadership have put then into action in order to get to that stage and in my eyes that makes all of you true patriots. I speak for all in uniform when I say; "what you and your students have done is what we fight to protect" and if what I have done with my service in Iraq has helped ensure the right of you and your students to put on your production then it was all worth it and I would do it all again if I had to. Thank you !!!!
.....
Connecticut Army National Guard
p.s.
I would love to get back to see tonite's performance but I don't think I can make it in time for the 5 pm show. I have been trying to reschedule my afternoon with no luck so far and I think tonite is out for me. However I will be at the Sunday nite show with my wife as well as the one on the15th keep up the good work I am proud of you all.
Dear .....,
Sitting next to you last night at the play was the highlight of my entire career. My students are so grateful and in awe of you, a stranger and an Iraq vet--coming to our little play and speaking out in support of it. Please feel free to contact Rachel at the Vineyard Theatre if you would like see the play again tonite at 5PM in NYC--but don't feel obligated...
Will talk to you soon,
Best,
Bonnie and all the kids from VIC