'Telling' helps heal scars of war

Media Credit: Benjamin Brayfield Joshua Coombs rehearses a scene from "Telling," a production by members of the Veterans and Family Student Association. [Click to enlarge]

Media Credit: Benjamin Brayfield Brothers Joshua (left) and Jeremy Coombs perform a scene involing a drill sergeant and a defiant Marine. The brothers are former Marines who served in Iraq. [Click to enlarge]

Media Credit: Benjamin Brayfield Shane Addis, left, and Jeremy Coombs assume the position on imaginary outhouses during a rehearsal of the play "Telling," which opens Feb. 8 at the Veterans Memorial Hospital in Eugene. [Click to enlarge]

Media Credit: Benjamin Brayfield "I usually don't curse this much," Joshua Coombs says while impersonating a Marine drill sergeant. Coombs is a student at the University and a former Marine who spent seven months in Iraq. [Click to enlarge]

Media Credit: Benjamin Brayfield From left, Shane Addis, Shirley Cortez and Jeremy Coombs explain military idosyncrasies as Joshua Coombs does push ups. [Click to enlarge]

Shane Addis, a dark-haired University student, smirked as he stepped forward on the stage, remembering the night Strawberry Shortcake came to Iraq. The care packages received by service members often contain everyday essentials and pick-me-ups like snacks and DVDs. Sometimes, the care packages have random surprises, such as pillows featuring Strawberry Shortcake, a popular 1980s cartoon character with a floppy pink hat and a cat named Custard.

Addis recalled biding his time and waiting for some of his fellow Marines to fall asleep. Once he was sure one was out for the count, he carefully lifted his head and placed the pillow underneath before snapping several pictures and cracking himself up.

This weekend, Addis will share his military experiences in "Telling," a witness production in which members of the University's Veterans & Family Student Association perform military-themed skits juxtaposed with their own anecdotes, both funny and somber.

In witness theater, cast members share real and often traumatic stories from their own pasts in order to create a connection with the audience, and put events into historical, political, social or interpersonal contexts.

"(The balance) was on purpose, but that's what it was," said "Telling" co-authorJonathan Wei. "Military experience is not about war; it's about three, up to 10 or 11 years of someone's life."

As former coordinator for the University's Nontraditional Student Programs, Wei met many student veterans, which was his inspiration for "Telling." Along with Max Rayneard, a South African Fulbright scholar pursuing a doctorate in the University's comparative literature program, Wei authored the play based on interviews with VFSA members.

"For all the vets on stage, it's been a huge leap of courage to share these stories that were so hard to come to terms with for themselves and be able to present that to the public," said University student Sean Jin, who participated in "Telling" as a cast member and a public relations officer.

Rayneard added, "That's the incredible thing about this performance: It's their own story. These are performances, but they're not only performances; they're heart."

Jin is not yet a veteran. Following his graduation next winter, Jin will attend Officer Candidate School in Newport, R.I., before serving four years in the Navy. Despite the negatives, none of the VFSA members would take back time spent in the service, which made Jin more excited than anxious about starting his military career.

"Those experiences really shaped them into the people they are now," he said. "That's something I'm good with going into."

A former theater major, VFSA Treasurer Justin Love left the University to serve in the Oregon National Guard and the Air Force. For Love, a senior who changed his major to sociology upon returning, participating in "Telling" was like coming full-circle.

"It's been really helpful for me," he said. "When I came back from the service, I had the naive idea that I'd be the same person I was before I left."

Within the 11-member cast, Love is the only Air Force veteran. The diverse cast also includes three Marines; two Army veterans; three Navy veterans and one recruit; and a military wife.

Rayneard said the diversity wasn't intentional, but it can debunk the stereotype of the military's homogeny.

"It's not just young Republicans; Veterans are not just homeless men," he said. "It's across the board. Now, it doesn't surprise me how diverse the group was."

For Jin, "Telling" was more of a challenge than he had expected.

"It's really rewarding to have it coming to fruition," he said. "Things that are hard work tend to be a lot more rewarding."

mobrien@dailyemerald.com

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