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Theater of War Seeks Hardcore Audience
By
John Del Signore
Published Jan 23, 2008
Modified Mar 7, 2008
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By
John Del Signore
Published Jan 23, 2008
Modified Mar 7, 2008
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On your faces, maggots. Iraqi war vet (and former SLC punk) Jason Christopher Hartley (pictured) has collaborated with The International WOW Company to create one hell of an interactive theatrical experience. Called SURRENDER, audience members sign up as active participants in simulations of counterinsurgency operations.
Upon arriving at the Sanford Meisner Theater, you’ll be issued boots, a uniform and a replica M-4 assault rifle. You’ll train with Hartley for 100 minutes in basic combat techniques, including rifle handling, room clearing and engaging the enemy. Then you raid rooms full of insurgents and round up detainees. There’s no raping teenage girls, waterboarding or building naked prisoner pyramids, but during the post-show discussion Full Metal Jacket fans are free to ask, “How can you shoot women and children?” (Answer: “Easy! You just don’t lead ‘em as much!”)
Hartley, the author of Just Another Soldier, trained members of the theater company in combat techniques when the troupe filmed Memorial Day, the company’s first feature film, which comes out this May. Half of his book is culled from a blog he started while on post-9/11 National Guard duty near Ground Zero; the blog was subsequently shut down by the Army.
This Sunday is your last chance – for now – to do your duty for God, Country and Theater; call (718) 841-7517 for reservations, which cost $10. The workshop production, which is part of the Above Ground Zero festival, will be staged on a larger scale this summer, starting July 4th. More details. [Via Culturebot.]
Tagged
Above Ground Zero festival
Full Metal Jacket
ground zero
Jason Christopher Hartley
Just Another Soldier
memorial day
national guard
round up
Sanford Meisner Theater
Surrender Project
The International WOW Company
theater
This Sunday
war simulation
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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