Date/Time:
09/11/2014 - 09/13/2014 | Thursday | 8:00 pm - 10:00 pm
Location:
McCullough Theatre
2375 Robert Dedman Dr
Austin,TX
Categories
WORLD PREMIERE
Texas Performing Arts opens the 2014-2015 Season with the world premiere engagement of BASETRACK, a multimedia experience that delves into the human cost of war.
In the current decade, more American soldiers have returned home from war than we have seen in a generation. They face an uphill battle reintegrating into a society where less than 1% of the population shares the experience of serving in the military, and even well-regarded cultural representations of war – such as The Hurt Locker – reinforce fictional stereotypes. Despite significant nationwide support for veterans of the post 9/11 era, an absence of genuine understanding contributes to isolation, depression, and other obstacles that challenge successful reintegration into civilian life.
In 2010, while embedded with the First Battalion, Eighth Marines in southern Afghanistan, a group of photojournalists led by Teru Kuwayama started a revolutionary online project called Basetrack. Connecting battalion members with their families and others around the globe, the web platform became an indispensable tool of citizen journalism, documenting a range of perspectives on the emotional tolls of war. The photographs and videos posted set into motion a social media effort that attracted over 5,000,000 hits.
Inspired by Kuwayama’s project, BASETRACK is an ambitious collaboration between award-winning theatre company En Garde Arts and corpsmen from 1st Battalion/8th Marines. Developed by Edward Bilous and directed by Seth Bockley, it is a gripping show that confronts the complex truths and ambiguities of modern military experience. Live music, film, and a cascade of images from independent photojournalists in Afghanistan punctuate a performance drawn from genuine social media exchanges and interviews, immersing audiences in the experiences of contemporary military service personnel and their families. Without representing these characters as either heroes or victims, BASETRACK tells a dynamic, contemporary story of ordinary people fundamentally changed by the extraordinary experience of fighting a war.
Entertaining, compelling and free of political posturing, BASETRACK serves both veteran and civilian audiences and encourages genuine, mutual understanding as US troops return from the longest war in American history.
This multimedia work features stunning images and video footage from the Basetrack archives. Accompanied by Michelle DiBucci’s electro-acoustic score, actors and an on-stage band give voice to the Marines and their families—based on interviews adapted by Jason Grote.
“An artistic approach can speak to the heart and the soul in ways that speaking to the head does not.”
Retired Army Chaplain (COL) David Forden
For more info and to buy tickets: http://texasperformingarts.org/season/basetrack-live-austin
