SCARS
a new play

Join us for a table reading of this new play on Tuesday August 2 at 7:00 PM, in the Community Meeting Room at Lakewood Center for the Arts, 368 S. State  Street, Lake Oswego, OR 97034

What is a table read?

A table read of a play takes place with actors around a table with no blocking.The stage directions will be read. This is an opportunity for the actors, playwright and producer to hear the play aloud with actor interpretations.

The cast for the reading includes:
The Chaplain (aka Stage Manager):  Stephen Morris
Eric: Blake Dunbar
Roberta: Pamela Bilderbeck
Sister Agatha: Barbara Fankhauser
Emilee:  Carmen Hinckley
Rodriguez:  Mark Ferris
Jason and stage directions: Jacob Lee Smith

About the script:

Project Information from Richard Berg, CSC

A few years ago I had the opportunity to interview nine active duty military men who were being treated for and diagnosed with post-traumatic stress (PTS) following combat in Iraq and Afghanistan. These men, in treatment here in Portland, included Army Rangers, a colonel, majors, sergeants, and specialists. I let them know of my intent to write a story and develop a program to help family members and the wider public better understand their personal suffering and the painful impact of PTS on their relationships. To a man, they were remarkably open with me about their mental and emotional scars.

I gave these interviews a great deal of thought and research. Clearly, we are dealing with more than the wounds of war here. Wounds heal. Scars remain. Protecting their confidentiality, I created a single fictional story incorporating as thoroughly as possible elements from their stories and my research. The result was my published book in 2013 titled SCARS. The book was well received and I was encouraged by a number of professionals to take this story to a wider audience.

John Beaulieu (producer) and Roccie Hill (script writer) have teamed up with me to bring the SCARS story onto the stage and possibly the screen. Ms. Hill’s theatrical script truly brings the characters in my short novel to life in a remarkable way. The Lakewood Theatre Company in Lake Oswego is exploring the possibility of staging SCARS for the public with the talented Nancy McDonald directing. She commented: “SCARS is not just a play; it is theater as a powerful tool.”  Among others, Robert King in Los Angeles, producer and screen-writer for The Good Wife and a number of films, commented on the script: “This should be staged in every city in our country.”

We have a twofold purpose for SCARS: (1) to provide assistance to families, friends and therapists with information and recommendations about the management of PTS. This nonprofit program will be accomplished with a DVD of the play and an accompanying resource booklet. The therapy program was successfully tested recently with soldiers in therapy at the local PTS hospital where my initial interviews took place. . (2) The second goal is to produce the SCARS story on stage, and possibly as a film