Monmouth University is hosting a week-long series of arts events from October 1-5 honoring veterans. The events celebrate the veteran experience and story through visual, literary and theatre arts and are of no cost to veterans and their families.
From October 1 – 3 from 10am to 4pm in front of the Rebecca Stafford Student Center veterans and the general public are invited to partner with Frontline Paper (formerly known as Combat Paper NJ) to create hand-made paper out of military uniforms with Frontline Paper’s veteran artists. The transformative process of creating the handmade paper provides a platform for veterans and non-veterans to come together to share stories and engage in a transformative discourse about what it means to be a veteran now and the community’s role in coming home
On Thursday, October 4 at 4:30 pm in Pollak Theatre as part of Monmouth University’s Visiting Writer series, Odie Lindsey, author of the story collection We Come to Our Senses, will be reading from his work, which has been included on Best Of lists at Electric Literature and Military Times. Lacerating and lyrical, We Come to Our Senses centers on men and women affected by combat directly and tangentially, and the peculiar legacies of war. Following the reading, the work created in the Frontline Paper workshops will be on display in the Pollak Theatre.
The week’s events will culminate with a performance of one-man play The American Soldier: 1774-2015, an award-winning work written by and starring Douglas Taurel (Blue Bloods, Nurse Jackie) on Friday, October 5th at 8pm at Pollak Theatre. The performance offers a first local look at a powerful work that examines more than 240 years of American history through the eyes of the people on the front lines — both literal and emotional — of the conflicts that have framed and defined our nation’s history and place in the world. Drawn from first-person stories, journalistic accounts, and letters that span the centuries from the Revolutionary War through the present-day operations in Afghanistan, “The American Soldier” brings the audience face to face with the often overlooked warriors who answered the call to serve their country, as well as those who waited on the home front for the safe return of their loved ones.
A pre-show reception and viewing of the week’s artwork will take place in the Pollak Lobby prior to the performance at 6:30pm. All active and retired military and their families receive complimentary tickets to this event with military ID. For non-veterans tickets for The American Soldier are priced at $30, and can be reserved through the Monmouth University Performing Arts Box Office at 732-263-6889, or online at www.monmouth.edu/MCA
This event series is sponsored by Monmouth University’s Visiting Writers Series, Wayne D. McMurray School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Coming Home Project – School of Social Work, Veterans Services and the Center for the Arts. For more information on these events please visit www.monmouth.edu/MCA or call 732.263.5715.
