For Immediate Release: February 18, 2005
Media Contact: Patricia Dill, Delaware Theatre Company, 302.594.1104 x228

Delaware Theatre Company is pleased to present the panel discussion Wartime Realities: Veterans' Voices and Stories on Saturday, March 5 at 4:30PM. The discussion will immediately follow the matinee performance of Michael Healey's acclaimed The Drawer Boy, a play about two friends and World War II veterans, and how the story of their wartime experience impacts their lives. The panel is free and open to the public.

The panel will focus on the wartime experiences of veterans, and how they relate those experiences through their stories, as well as how said stories do not always match up with the reality of their experiences. It will explore such questions as are the changing nature of these experiences "a lie" or are they a necessary step towards making the experience palatable, a necessary action by the storyteller to enable him/her to live their life? What is the reasoning behind shifting the reality of the wartime experience? What are its costs and its effects on both the storyteller and those listening? Does there come a time where facing and telling the absolute truth is a necessity?

The panel for Wartime Realities: Veterans' Voices and Stories will include local veterans and Mark Kaufki, Ed.D., a psychologist specializing in combat-related trauma. The discussion will be moderated by McKay Jenkins, Tilghman Professor of English at the University of Delaware. Dr. Jenkins is a former staff writer for the Atlanta Journal Constitution, as well as the author of several books, including The Last Ridge: The Epic Story of the U.S. Army's 10th Mountain Division and the Assault on Hitler's Europe.

Preview performances for The Drawer Boy are February 23, 24 and 25 at 8PM. The play opens Saturday, February 26 at 8PM and runs through March 13. Evening performances are Wednesday through Saturday at 8PM, and matinee performances are Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday at 2PM. Ticket prices are $23, $33, $40, and $43, depending on the performance day and time, with special discounts for students, seniors, and groups of 10 or more.

To order tickets call (302) 594-1100 or online at http://www.delawaretheatre.org.

Delaware Theatre Company's season is sponsored by Bank One. This program is made possible, in part, by grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Delaware Division of the Arts, a state agency committed to promoting and supporting the arts in Delaware. The Delaware Division of the Arts provides technical and financial assistance to artists and arts programs and serves as a clearinghouse for information on the arts.

Delaware Theatre Company, 200 Water Street, Wilmington, is Delaware's only professional theatre company, located on Wilmington's exciting new Riverfront within walking distance from the Amtrak station. Delaware Theatre Company is a member of the League of Resident Theatres, Theatre Communications Group, Theatre Alliance of Greater Philadelphia, and the Arts Consortium of Delaware.

Go to News Releases»