Open to Public
Theater of War Frontline: UCSF Health & Stanford Medicine
Free Event
Please RSVP through the link provided. The event Zoom link will be distributed via email, and available to registered attendees starting 2 days prior to the event.
Thu, May 27.2021
Virtual Event
Theater of War for Frontline is an innovative project that presents dramatic readings by acclaimed actors of scenes from ancient Greek plays to help nurses, doctors, first responders, and other health care professionals, along with concerned citizens and those impacted by COVID-19, engage in healing, constructive discussions about the unique challenges and stressors of the COVID-19 pandemic. Using Sophocles' Philoctetes and Women of Trachis to create a vocabulary for discussing themes such as personal risk, death/dying, grief, deviation from standards of care, abandonment, helplessness, and complex ethical decisions, Theater of War Frontline aims to foster connection, community, moral resilience, and positive action.s
This event is hosted by UCSF Health, and Stanford School of Medicine: Medical Humanities and the Arts Program (Medicine & the Muse). We are proud to open this event up to public, to bring the broader community impacted by COVID-19 and concerned citizens into dialogue with frontline medical professionals.
Featuring performances by Frances McDormand, Marjolaine Goldsmith, Frankie Faison, and David Strathairn.
Translated, and directed, and facilitated by Bryan Doerries
The event Zoom link will be distributed and available to registered attendees starting 2 days prior to the event.
All of Theater of War Productions' events follow the same format:
- The actors will read the play.
- Four community panelists will kick off the discussion with their gut responses to what resonated with them across time
- We will open the discussion to the audience, facilitated by Bryan Doerries. During the discussion, please raise your hand using the button at the bottom center of the screen. If called upon, you will be promoted to speak and you will be visible and heard by the entire audience for the duration of your comments. If you would prefer not to be seen, please disable your video when entering the event.
To experience this event:
Please download Zoom to your laptop or mobile device https://zoom.us/download
Support for our digital programming is provided, in part, by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
About the plays
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Philoctetes by Sophocles
Sophocles’ Philoctetes tells the story of decorated warrior who is abandoned on a deserted island because of mysterious chronic illness that he contracts on the way to the Trojan War. Nine years later, the Greeks learn from an oracle that in order to win the war they must rescue him from the island. When they finally come for him, the wounded warrior must overcome nine long years of festering resentment and shame in order to accept help from the very men who betrayed him.
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Women of Trachis by Sophocles
Sophocles’ Women of Trachis, tells the story of Heracles—the strongest of all Greek heroes—who has been unintentionally poisoned by his wife, Deineira, after she discovers that he has fallen in love with a younger woman. In an attempt to win back her husband’s affection mistakes a lethal toxin, which was given to her by a dying centaur years ago for a love potion. Deineira sends him a robe dipped in the liquid. When Heracles puts on the robe it immediately eats through his skin, muscle tissue, down through his bones to the marrow. Heracles falls to the ground, clutching his sides, crying out in pain, calling for his teenage son, Hyllus, to come to his aid and to help him put an end to the seemingly endless waves of pain.
Cast Members
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Frances McDormand
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Frankie Faison
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Marjolaine Goldsmith
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David Strathairn
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Nyasha Hatendi
Event Partners
Explore Projects
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GenocideThe InvestigationTheater of War Productions and the Museum of Jewish Heritage, in partnership with the National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene, present readings of scenes Peter Weiss' play The Investigation, a piece of documentary theater adapted from the Frankfurt Auschwitz Trials of 1963-1965. This project centers on guided discussions about mass murder and its lasting impact upon individuals, families, communities, and countries throughout the world. Performed by a diverse cast, including international performers from communities affected by genocide, The Investigation seeks to generate powerful dialogue across cultures and communities about the human capacity for evil, as well as the systems and hierarchies that create the conditions for unthinkable violence.
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Gun ViolenceHerculesDrawing from an ancient Greek tragedy about a vicious act of violence committed by an angry man with an invincible weapon, this project aims to generate powerful dialogue between concerned citizens, members of the law enforcement community, victims and perpetrators of gun violence, and the general public.
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Racism & Social JusticeThe Drum Major InstinctCommissioned by BRIC, The Drum Major Instinct engages audiences in dialogue about racism, inequality, and social justice. The performance features a dramatization of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s final sermon, embodied by prominent actors and supported by a large gospel choir, composed of singers, activists, police officers, and musicians from St. Louis, MO, and Brooklyn, NY.