Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Suicide, and the Lessons of War

The Play

Created by Penny Coleman, Elana Michelson, and Patricia Lee Stotter
Based on the book, Flashback, by Penny Coleman

   EVENTS:

June 12, 2010
Flashback was last performed as part of the Saratoga Arts Festival,
directed by Beverly Brumm
(with much appreciated support from
The Empire State College Foundation)

June 25th and 26, 2010
"Flashback"  directed by Beverly Brumm
is The Clockwork Theatre Company's choice for their 2010 Play Reading Series.

  The Clockworks Theatre
Theatre Row, Studio Theatre,
410 W 42st St. in NYC
Box office: 212- 279 4200
Admission is free, but reservations advised.

"Flashback" is a drama structured as an encounter between the widow of a Vietnam veteran suicide and a veteran who served with her husband and remained a friend until his death. Woven through their efforts to sort out feelings of guilt and responsibility, five other widows speak, with exquisite personal detail, about their attempts to cope with both psychic and social injuries before and after the deaths of their husbands. Their words reach out to a broad cross-section of Americans, both those who support and those who disagree with our current military ventures.

"Flashback" was originally developed though a series of readings at Ensemble Studio Theater and West Side Theater in New York City under the direction of Abigail Zealy-Bess.

In November, 2009, we were invited to perform the play, under the direction of Beverly Brumm, as part of the "Remembering War, Genocide and Other Human Rights Violations: Oral History, New Media and the Arts Conference" at Concordia University in Montreal.

"Flashback" uses the unique power of theatre to help ensure that the tragic story it tells - of heartlessness, isolation, guilt, and shame -- never happens again. "Flashback" can help raise awareness in communities where veterans live, in religious and civic organizations, and among the educational and service professionals who interact with veterans and create communities. If you would like the play performed by your organization or would like to be part of this important and meaningful project, help with this important endeavor, please contact Elana.Michelson@esc.edu.

See images of "Flashback" the play:

Carol Jacobanis as Joyce Garcia, West End Theater, April 2007 - click for larger image
Carol Jacobanis* as Joyce

Karen Young* as Penny

Annie O'Sullivan* as Debby

William Watkins as Lanz

Ilene Kirsten* as Maryallyn and
Alia Monte Brown as JeanMarie

All images by Penny Coleman: Taken at West End Theater, April 2007 ~ * member, Actors Equity