“She Went To War” Transports Us to New Zones of Consciousness
Photo by Dragons Eye (Gaea Dill-D’Ascoli).
She Went to War is a unique and moving grouping of four women who have served in the military sharing some of their experiences. What’s unique about it is that there’s no trace of gender partisanship and wherever you stand on the morality of war, it is a piece that speaks with a universal sense of humanity. It runs just under an hour at the Guthrie’s Dowling Studio.
These Telling Project performers of different generations are not professional actors but women who have actually served in the military. Their observations, their perspectives, and their emotional connections come through with numinous power and polish.
Photo by Dragons Eye (Gaea Dill-D’Ascoli).
Command Sergeant Major Gretchen Evans offers a remarkably wide overview of military experience since the Reagan era. Sergeant Jenn Calaway provides a sense of her military service as a personal journey. Army National Guard Officer Tabitha Nichols gives a visceral account of the daunting problem of coming to terms with anger. SSgt Racheal Robinson reminds us how family circumstances can influence someone joining up and how, out of that, a whole new identity and purpose for living comes to be.
As Evans points out, military is about service and all four women have an intrinsic understanding of that service in a deeply profound way. Their experience is hard-earned and different from civilians. These are four wise women with viewpoints we all can benefit from hearing and which transport us to new zones of consciousness. Written and directed by Max Rayneard and Jonathan Wei.
She Went to War
Through April 2
Dowling Studio at Guthrie Theater, 818 S 2nd St., Minneapolis
612-377-2224
www.guthrietheater.org
