MARINE CORPS AIR STATION MIRAMAR, Calif. -- The Theater of War Productions out of New York City traveled to Marine Corps Air Station Miramar to put on dramatic readings of scenes from the 2,500 year old plays “Ajax” and “Philoctetes” March 12.
The readings were given by actors Francois Battiste, Keith David, Maria Dizzia and Bill Camp who depicted two ancient warriors’ psychological wounds which many service members face today.
The actors recited three scenes from both plays. The first play told the story of Ajax, a warrior who fights during the Trojan War and commits suicide because he suffers from post traumatic stress. It also features his family and troops who try to intervene but are unable to stop him.
“Everyone has a breaking point,” said Army Master Sgt. Creed McCaslin, the senior enlisted at the Defense Center of Excellence for Physiological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury. “Everyone has a threshold.”
The second play features Philoctetes who is also a warrior during the Trojan War. He suffers an injury and his comrades abandon him as a result.
“The play brought so clearly the dynamics of [Post Traumatic Stress Disorder],” said Robert Lloyd, a counselor with Marine Corps Community Services. “It really spoke to me about psychological pain and how it can be more hurtful than physical pain.”
Following the readings, a panel including McCaslin, Lloyd, Kim Ruocco, a military wife, and Shannon Duncan, also a military wife, told their different experiences involving PTSD.
Ruocco spoke about her husband, a Marine Corps pilot who committed suicide while suffering from PTSD. Duncan spoke about the effects of PTSD on her father, a Vietnam veteran, and her husband who is currently serving in Afghanistan on his fourth deployment.
After the panel, Bryan Doerries, the translator and director of the play, held a period for the service members to speak about their own experiences and about the play.
“The message that we want to send out is that you are not alone,” said Doerries. “I had a Vietnam veteran come up to me once and say, ‘Bryan, this makes me feel less alone in the world.’ We want service members to see that seeking help is a sign of strength. We want them to see how courageous it is.”
The Theater of War Productions has put on the readings of “Ajax” and “Philoctetes” at military installations since 2008.
Thousands of service members today suffer from PTSD. The Theater of War gave many service members here a chance to speak out and realize that even across time, they are not alone.
For more information about the Theater of War, visit the Web site www.philoctetesproject.org.
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