Warrior Words: Writing Workshop for Veterans of any U.S. War
The Greater Grand Forks Community Theatre was recently awarded a North Dakota Humanities Council grant to fund “Warrior Words,” a monologue-writing workshop for veterans in four North Dakota cities. Conrad Davidson, College of Arts and Sciences dean, will teach the Minot workshop with the first session on Feb. 4 in Hartnett Hall from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Tentatively, the workshop will consist of six to eight sessions.
The workshop is open to veterans of any American war or conflict who have an interest in creating work based on their experiences as soldiers. The three other workshops will be taught by college and university professors: Sherry O’Donnell in Grand Forks, Nita Ritzke in Bismarck and Peter Grimes in Dickinson.
“We anticipate that there will be stories about sacrifice, but we also expect to see a blend of humor, as well, as veterans of different generations share stories about their experiences on topics such as drill sergeants and food rations,” said Kathy Coudle-King, The Greater Grand Forks Community Theatre executive director. “The workshop is a way to collect and archive the experiences of veterans living in North Dakota and to bring together service men and women from various generations to craft then share their stories.”
Each participant who creates a polished monologue will receive a stipend. They will also have the opportunity to read it aloud before an audience in their workshop city and see it performed in Grand Forks during the run of the Community Theatre’s production of “The Last of the Boys,” Stephen Dietz’ play, in April. “Last of the Boys” revolves around two Vietnam veterans and the ghosts who haunt them, including Robert McNamara.
Workshop writers will be invited to Grand Forks for a collective reading in May.
To enroll in the Minot workshop, veterans can contact Davidson at 858-3159 or conrad.davidson@minotstateu.edu.
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| Published: 01/09/14 |
