Wednesday, November 2, 7:30pm Bowker Auditorium
General Admission: $15; FC, GCC, STCC and 17 & under $10
In this masterwork of contemporary literature the author Tim O’Brien shares his experiences surrounding the Vietnam War. He presents a blurred line between truth and reality, fact and fiction that makes his journey unforgettable.
This Literature to Life original features sixty minutes of verbatim performance from a unique and important piece of American Literature. Having been developed and premiered at Playhouse Square in Cleveland in collaboration with Mr. O’Brien, the actor leads us through five of the short stories from the book including The Rainy River and The Man I Killed.
In the book, The Things They Carried, the protagonist, Tim O’Brien, catalogs the variety of things his fellow soldiers in the Alpha Company brought on their missions. Several of these things are intangible, including guilt and fear, while others are specific physical objects, including matches, morphine, M-16 rifles, and M&M’s candy.
The Things They Carried is the 2011
On the Same Page Northampton book selection, a series of public events based on the themes of O’Brien’s work.
The Things They Carried stage presentation is supported in part by the Veterans Education Project .
I cried for the vets who went through Viet Nam and I cried for the vets in Iraq and Afghanistan and for those who still will be deployed.
I thought that it was a stunning performance on several levels. First, the time, effort, dedication and determination that goes into simply memorizing an hour’s worth of dramatic lines was clearly evident. Second, the ability to transform the words from the page into a living, breathing and very, very believable character. Extraordinary. Finally, the universality of the “things they carried” metaphor. And the potential for many meanings to that phrase. For some, what they carry could be a weight too great to bear and the succumb to its gravitational pull. To others, what they carry could be a source of pride and gratification. Much of the discussion centered around the need to listen to individual narratives and not make judgements about those narratives. But nations, societies and communities “carry things” as well….I believe one of the reasons why many young people do not know let along understand the War in Southeast Asia lies in the reality that that chapter of our national narrative is too painful, too subversive to the consensus narrative that we turn away from it. That burden to our national narrative is simply incapable of being digested. But we still carry it, and it continues to weigh on us whether we like it or not.
I was a university student from 1965 – 1972. I was very political and very anti-war. I lived in Canada and helped smuggle resisters get to Canada. The first scene of the play, on the border, brought back many of the conversations I had with resisters in the late 60’s and the scenes from Viet Nam reinforced for me the insanity of being there and the respect for those who went.
This play was especially poignant because, for the second time in a generation our government lied us into a war that has needlessly killed American boys/men as well as countless brown and yellow people.
The performance was remarkable. Rarely can one visualize actual places and events
without stage props.This is truly a wonderful way to touch heart,soul, and mind.