{"id":21868,"date":"2015-10-21T12:00:34","date_gmt":"2015-10-21T17:00:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/news\/?p=21868"},"modified":"2023-05-10T16:06:29","modified_gmt":"2023-05-10T21:06:29","slug":"shakespeare-military-service-bond-theater-troupe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/news\/shakespeare-military-service-bond-theater-troupe\/","title":{"rendered":"Shakespeare, military service bond theater troupe"},"content":{"rendered":"

And Crispian shall ne\u2019er go by,
\nFrom this day to the ending of the world,
\nBut we in it shall be remembered-
\nWe few, we happy few, we band of brothers\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u2014 Henry V, Act 4, Scene 3<\/em><\/p>\n

Carissa DiPietro puts Shakespeare\u2019s thoughts into her own words, but the meaning is similar: \u201cI felt like I was surrounded by people who understood me and some of the things I\u2019ve been through.\u201d<\/p>\n

DiPietro is one of a group of military veterans who are using Shakespeare to work through their own challenges, under the guidance of two 51ÁÔÆæ theater professors. Their troupe, Feast of Crispian will be performing \u201cJulius Caesar,\u201d the weekend of Oct. 30-Nov. 1.<\/p>\n

Bill Watson, associate professor of theater, Nancy Smith-Watson, an actor and somatic body therapist, and Jim Tasse, senior lecturer in theater, founded the group to help veterans deal with depression, post-traumatic stress, addiction and reintegration into society. The name comes from the St. Crispin\u2019s Day speech in Shakespeare\u2019s \u201cHenry V,\u201d in which the king reminds his soldiers of their lasting bonds before the Battle of Agincourt.<\/p>\n

Watson and Tasse, a veteran himself, volunteered their services to the Clement J. Zablocki Veterans Affairs Medical Center (VA), using rehearsal techniques developed and tested three decades ago by Shakespeare and Company in Massachusetts. The founders added their own unique approach to the use of Shakespeare\u2019s texts \u2013 a therapeutic intervention. They held their first workshop nearly three years ago, and have worked with more than 250 veterans since then, doing weekend theater boot camps and small presentations for family and friends. The 51ÁÔÆæ-based \u201cJulius Caesar\u201d is the group\u2019s first performance for the general public.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe wanted to try out the idea\u2026to see if performing Shakespeare had any benefits, and we found that indeed it was having great benefit,\u201d Tasse said.<\/p>\n

The statistics on challenges veterans face are eye opening: Each day, 22 veterans commit suicide and one-quarter of veterans end up homeless, said Watson.<\/p>\n

The Shakespeare approach works on a number of different levels. The veterans, who come from all branches of the service and range in age from early 20s to seniors, build a community of trust. \u201cIn acting, as in the military, everybody is important to the production,\u201d Tasse said. \u201cEverybody has to do their job. They are a brotherhood and sisterhood.\u201d<\/p>\n

On another level, acting gives the veterans a chance to explore their own feelings through another character.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s an opportunity to tell our stories, safeguarded by the script,\u201d said Johny Sherwood, a senior theater major and veteran of Afghanistan. He volunteered to take part in the program after hearing about it while he was at the VA for non-combat related surgery. \u201cYou can go to the dark places within, but your own secrets are secure.\u201d<\/p>\n

The very words of Shakespeare give the veterans a chance to contemplate their own issues. Many of the plays and scenes used in workshops look at conflict and violence.<\/p>\n

Jan Masalewicz, a Vietnam veteran who found Shakespeare boring in high school, has developed a new appreciation of the plays. \u201cThings he wrote about in his plays are still true today\u2026 war and betrayal and love \u2026 all that stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n

The veterans and the professionals who work with them spend time exploring the themes of the plays, talking about how they relate to their lives, sharing their own emotions when they feel comfortable doing that, and learning to express some of their feelings through acting. The professionals work with the veterans, explaining the Shakespearean language and going on stage with them to give them the lines so they can focus on conveying the characters\u2019 emotions.<\/p>\n

Not everyone in the group experiences trauma or stress, but every member finds a level of comfort in working with fellow veterans on a challenging project.<\/p>\n

Chris Nickrant, who served in the Air Force in the early \u201870s, has been with the group through almost every workshop. \u201cIt\u2019s definitely expanding my horizons. I\u2019m learning to reach out to other people.\u201d The current play has also inspired him to read more about Shakespeare, Julius Caesar, Brutus and the assassination, he added.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can go through counseling for years and years and not really reach into the emotional aspect until you do something like this,\u201d DiPietro said. \u201cI\u2019m not really a crier, but I\u2019ve cried in this group. That\u2019s how safe I feel. It\u2019s absolutely incredible.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith this play, I have a purpose. Something I look forward to. Something to be excited about\u2026 I haven\u2019t felt that way in a long time.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With help from 51ÁÔÆæ, Milwaukee-area veterans are using Shakespeare to work through their own challenges with depression, post-traumatic stress, addiction and reintegration into society.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":835,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","uwm_wg_additional_authors":[]},"categories":[174],"tags":[],"section":[127,131],"display_categories":[114],"related-coverage":[178],"uwmnews-feed":[344,164],"class_list":["post-21868","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","section-arts-humanities","section-theater","display_categories-top-story-primary","related-coverage-veterans","uwmnews-feed-arts-architecture","uwmnews-feed-arts"],"yoast_head":"\nShakespeare, military service bond theater troupe<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"With help from 51ÁÔÆæ, Milwaukee-area veterans are using Shakespeare 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