The Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Fund's Arts in Health initiative supports organizations that use the arts to address health issues, with a particular focus on mental health stigma, trauma, and age-related diseases. The Illumination Fund collaborated with Theater of War Productions to create a trailer about our long-standing partnership.
Theater of War Productions is a social impact company that works with leading film, theater, and television actors to present dramatic readings of seminal plays-from classical Greek tragedies to modern and contemporary works-followed by town hall-style discussions designed to confront social issues by drawing out raw and personal reactions to themes highlighted in the plays. The guided discussions underscore how the plays resonate with contemporary audiences and invite audience members to share their perspectives and experiences, and, helping to break down stigmas, foster empathy, compassion, and a deeper understanding of complex issues.
The Illumination Fund has been a supporter of four Theater of War projects:
➤ The King Lear Project
➤ Theater of War Frontline
➤ The Suppliants Project
➤ The Nurse Antigone
The King Lear Project presents streamlined dramatic readings of scenes from Shakespeare’s King Lear to engage diverse audiences-including older adults, caregivers, and family members-in open, healing, constructive, discussions about the challenges of aging, dementia, and caring for friends and loved ones.
Theater of War Frontline is an innovative project-developed by *Theater of War Productions, the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics and the Johns Hopkins Program in Arts, Humanities & Health -that presents dramatic readings by acclaimed actors of scenes from ancient Greek plays for audiences of frontline medical professionals to open up powerful dialogue about difficult subjects, fostering a sense of connection and promoting health-seeking behavior. By presenting ancient plays to doctors, nurses, EMTs, respiratory therapists, and the frontline community about emotionally-charged, ethically complex situations, Theater of War Frontline aims to create a brave space for open, candid dialogue and reflection, fostering compassion, a renewed sense of community, and positive action.
The Suppliants Project tells the timeless story of fifty female refugees seeking asylum at a border from forced marriage and domestic violence. The play not only depicts the struggle of these women to cross into safety, but also the internal struggle within the city that ultimately receives them. Using a 2,500-year-old tragedy by Aeschylus as a catalyst for powerful gatherings and crucial conversations, The Suppliants Project engages diverse audiences in humanizing, constructive dialogue about the challenges and impact of war, migration, and seeking asylum.
A groundbreaking project by and for nurses, The Nurse Antigone presents dramatic readings of Sophocles’ Antigone on Zoom-featuring professional actors and a chorus of frontline nurses-to help frame powerful, guided discussions about the unique challenges faced by nurses before, during, and after the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to Artistic Director Bryan Doerries, “The experience is not complete after the play is over, The key to the model happens after the performance.”
In 2022, Theater of War Productions premiered a wellness project by and for nurses that presents scenes from Sophocles’ Antigone. The experience features professional actors together with frontline nurses to help frame guided audience discussions. Antigone shares the story of a young woman who puts everything on the line to do what she believes is right, which dramatizes the heavy cost of silencing and marginalizing caregivers, especially during times of crisis. The idea was to focus on nurses, “since they were bearing the disproportionate burden for the medical community itself during COVID,” Doerries said.
This video includes excerpts from a November 2023 performance at NYC Health + Hospitals/ Harlem for nurses from the hospital and for participants in a convening of grantees from the Illumination Fund’s Arts in Health initiative.
Cast members included:
Kathryne Erbe (Law & Order: Criminal Intent)
Jumaane Williams (NYC Public Advocate)
Andrea Patterson (Manifest)
Craig Manbauman (Nurse, poet, US Air Force Veteran)
They were joined joined by nurses from Harlem Hospital as members of the Greek chorus: Arlene Garcia (RN Head Nurse, Medical/Surgical Unit), Trisha and Nova Talaboc (RN Assistant Director Of Nursing, Maternal Child Health), and Alizia McMyers (RN Care Management).
Visit Theater of War at theaterofwar.com/
and see more videos at @theaterofwarproductions
#SocialImpact #Theater #artsinhealth
27 сен 2024
