Invitation Only
Theater of War: Philoctetes DAV
This event has ended.
View upcoming events.
Theater of War: Philoctetes will take place in front of the American Veterans Disabled for Life Memorial—featuring our acclaimed actors and a chorus of veterans—to help commemorate its 10th anniversary in Washington D.C.
Theater of War is an innovative project that presents acclaimed actors and Veterans performing scenes from Sophocles’ Philoctetes—an ancient play about a young man who is sent to betray a decorated warrior who has been abandoned on a desolate island—as a catalyst for facilitated discussions about healing the visible and invisible wounds of war. Using Sophocles’ play to forge a common vocabulary for dialogue, these events are aimed at generating compassion, understanding, awareness, and connection.
This special presentation will take place in front of the American Veterans Disabled for Life Memorial to commemorate its 10th Anniversary. Co-presented by Theater of War Productions and DAV (Disabled American Veterans).
Featuring performances by Chad Coleman (The Wire, The Walking Dead), David Strathairn (Lincoln, Good Night and Good Luck.), Ato Blankson-Wood (Hamlet, When They See Us) and a chorus of Veterans from the DAV community.
Translated, directed, and facilitated by Bryan Doerries.
About the play
-
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.
Cast Members
-
Ato Blankson Wood
-
David Strathairn
-
Chad Coleman
Explore Projects
-
Consent & Sexual ViolenceTapeTape has been developed as a sexual assault awareness and prevention training program that uses dramatic readings of Stephen Belber’s 1999 play to ignite powerful discussions about consent, sexual assault, rape, and power dynamics.
-
RacismAntigone in SavannahDramatic readings of Sophocles’ Antigone with live music to frame powerful dialogue about honoring the dead and healing historical wounds.
-
Pandemic & Climate CrisisThe Oedipus ProjectThe Oedipus Project presents acclaimed actors reading scenes from Sophocles’ Oedipus the King as a catalyst for powerful, constructive, global conversations about the climate crisis, ecological disaster, environmental justice, and healing online conversations about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic upon diverse communities throughout the world. Sophocles’ ancient play, first performed in 429 BC, just after the first wave of a plague that killed nearly one-third of the Athenian population, is a story of arrogant leadership, ignored prophecy, intergenerational curses, and a pestilence and ecological collapse that ravages the archaic city of Thebes. Seen through this lens, Oedipus the King appears to have been a powerful tool for helping Athenians communalize trauma and loss, while interrogating their own complicit role in the suffering, not just of those around them but of generations to come.