About the project
![Actor Adam Driver Performs Rum And Vodka Credit Lance Cpl Sarah Wolff Diaz](/uploads/_hiRes/Actor-Adam-Driver-Performs-Rum-and-Vodka-credit-Lance-Cpl.-Sarah-Wolff-Diaz.jpeg)
Rum and Vodka
Dramatic Reading of Rum and Vodka, by Conor Mcpherson
Directed by Bryan Doerries
Bringing to life Conor McPherson’s one-man play that speaks to the devastating effects of alcohol abuse, a dramatized reading by professional actors provokes discussions about addiction within diverse communities, including military installations, aircraft carriers, university campuses, and VA hospitals.
The part that struck me was the moment on the floor in his child's room. As a new father, that moment really hit me.
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About the play
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Rum and Vodka by Conor Mcpherson
Rum and Vodka tells the story of a 24-year-old man living in Dublin, whose life is falling apart, in large part due to his drinking. But drinking, he believes, is the only way he can cope with his shame, anger, and an overwhelming feeling of being trapped in a life he did not choose for himself. The story follows the young man on a three-day bender, during which time he loses his job, cheats on his wife, and nearly destroys his family.
Rum and Vodka Highlights
Alex Morf delivers Rum and Vodka by Conor McPherson
United States Naval Academy / 2023
Image curtesy USNA by Kolkowski.
Panelists respond to Rum and Vodka
United States Naval Academy / 2023
Image curtesy USNA by Kolkowski.
CDR Jason Duff, Psy.D., MSN, MS, USN
United States Naval Academy / 2023
Our immense gratitude goes to CDR Jason Duff for his vision, leadership, partnership, and for bringing us back to Annapolis with a trio of projects: Rum and Vodka, Theater of War: Ajax, and Tape. Image curtesy USNA by Kolkowski.
Bryan Doerries facilitates Rum and Vodka
United States Naval Academy / 2023
Image curtesy USNA by Kolkowski.
Audience of Rum & Vodka
United States Naval Academy / 2023
Image curtesy USNA by Kolkowski.
Panelists respond to Rum and Vodka
United States Naval Academy / 2023
Image curtesy USNA by Kolkowski.
![Robertson 2](/uploads/_lg/Robertson-2.jpg)
Alex Morf delivers Rum and Vodka by Conor McPherson
United States Naval Academy / 2023
Image curtesy USNA by Robertson.
![Robertson 13](/uploads/_lg/Robertson-13.jpg)
Audience Member responds to Rum and Vodka
United States Naval Academy / 2023
Image curtesy USNA by Robertson.
![Robertson 5](/uploads/_lg/Robertson-5.jpg)
Bryan Doerries facilitates the discussion about Rum and Vodka
United States Naval Academy / 2023
Image curtesy USNA by Robertson.
![Robertson 9](/uploads/_lg/Robertson-9.jpg)
Panelists respond to Rum and Vodka
United States Naval Academy / 2023
Image curtesy USNA by Robertson.
![Robertson 6](/uploads/_lg/Robertson-6.jpg)
Panelists respond to Rum and Vodka
United States Naval Academy / 2023
Image curtesy USNA by Robertson.
![Robertson 7](/uploads/_lg/Robertson-7.jpg)
Panelists respond to Rum and Vodka
United States Naval Academy / 2023
Image curtesy USNA by Robertson.
![Img 4090](/uploads/_lg/IMG_4090.jpg)
Performance aboard Navy aircraft carrier
USS George Washington / 2016
![Img 5635](/uploads/_lg/IMG_5635.jpeg)
Performance for Marine Helicopter One (HMX-1)
Marine Corps Headquarters, Quantico, VA / 2018
Explore Projects
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Pandemic & Climate CrisisPoetry for the Pandemic
Using poetry as a catalyst for an Intergenerational performance and discussion during the Covid-19 pandemic.
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Natural DisasterBook of Job
The Book of Job Project presents dramatic readings by acclaimed actors of The Book of Job as a catalyst for powerful, guided conversations about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic upon individuals, families, and communities. The Book of Job is an ancient Hebrew poem that timelessly explores how humans behave when faced with disaster, pestilence and injustice.
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Domestic ViolencePatient and Impatient Griselda
Theater of War Productions and Margaret Atwood return to the Toronto International Festival of Authors with an exciting new collaboration exploring power and control, domestic violence, and family dynamics by way of two versions of the same story, one written by Giovanni Boccaccio in 1348 during the bubonic plague and the other by Atwood in 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic. In Bocaccio’s version, a woman named Griselda remains in an abusive and controlling relationship, showing great patience and forbearance in the face of her husband’s sadism and cruelty. In Atwood’s version, Griselda takes matters in her own hands and, with the help of her sister, turns the tables on her husband.
This free, public event featured a live, dramatic reading of the “Patient Griselda” story from Boccaccio's Decameron by Jesse Eisenberg (The Social Network, Fleishman is in Trouble), Maev Beaty (Beau is Afraid, Mouthpiece), and Araya Mengesha (Tiny Pretty Things, Nobody). Then, in response, Margaret Atwood performed “Impatient Grisleda,” a story that is narrated to a group of humans in quarantine by an alien that looks like an octopus. The readings of both texts was followed by immediate responses by community panelists and culminated in a guided audience discussion, facilitated by Bryan Doerries (Artistic Director, Theater of War Productions).
Co-presented by Theater of War Productions and Toronto International Festival of Authors.
This hybrid presentation took place in person at the Toronto Harbourfront Centre Theatre and on Zoom Webinar on September 30, 2023.