WAR IN PIECES

a Festival of One Act Plays Written by Veterans

A Reflection on a Theater Experience by Julinda D. Lewis

Presented By: The Firehouse Off-Site

At: Virginia War Memorial’s VMI Alumni Hall, 621 S. Belvidere St. Richmond VA 23220

Performances: April 4-13, 2025

Ticket Prices: $15 – $35

Info: (804) 355-2001 or firehousetheatre.org

This is not the first War in Pieces festival – I believe the first program of four one-act plays written by Virginia veterans who participate in the Virginia War Memorial’s  Mighty Pen Project took place in 2021. The Project is a 12-week long writing workshop taught by David L. Robbins, a best-selling author and professor of writing who founded the program in 2015.

The Mighty Pen authors create works that are (a) creative, (b) artistic documents of military service and history, and (c) form a living documentary of the individuals and conflicts of the US military. Now, it is customary for the pre-show curtain talk to end with an invitation to “enjoy the show,” and after the show, people often ask, “did you enjoy the show?” I am firms convinced that people say/ask this because – like those who ask how you’re feeling when you go to the doctor or hospital – they just don’t know what to say! I can appreciate the message of these plays; I can recognize the artistry of the actors; I can be deeply affected by the message and emotion of the production; but no, I would not use the word “enjoy” to describe what I experience when watching these plays.

First up was Kaho’olawe, by Harry Mayer (United States Marine Corp & United States Navy). Kaho’olawe is an uninhabited island in the Pacific Ocean, and at 11 miles long by 6 miles wide it is the smallest of the eight main volcanic islands of the Hawaiian Islands. During World War II it was used as a US military training ground and bomb range. In Mayer’s play, Slick, a young bomb technician (played by Colin Barnes), comes upon a bomb on this island and finds that it is armed. He calls for help, but no help is available, and he is forced to use make-shift tools to disarm the bomb. But this is no ordinary bomb! It begins to talk to him, mocking him, doubting his ability, and questioning his skill, indeed his very confidence.

The bomb speaks first in its own voice, and then in the voices of Aunt Pearl and Miss  Crabcakes. I had assumed these voices in his head were recorded but no, after the show, director David L. Robbins informed me there were three live actors (Matt Meixler, Donna Marie Miller, and Hayley Cartee) speaking these lines with impeccable timing from their offstage locations. The tension is palpable, but in the end, Slick survives. Whew!

Next up is Shani Miller’s War’s Teeth, a heart-rending story in which Shani, played by Donna Marie Miller, reenacts an encounter with another, older vet, Ed Brown. Miller, the actor, not the author, strategically gives voice to both characters. Miller, the author, served as an Air Force Intelligence Officer, with multiple deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. Her experience led to her memoir, currently a work in progress, in which she write about finding her lost sense of belonging after being deployed with the help of travel and the birth of her children (three under age six and a fourth on the way).

The second half of the program began with A Couch by Cam Torrens, an Air Force veteran with more than 30 years of service. In A Couch, Cam, an officer, chooses his command over his family, and gets sent to the couch by his wife – who, by the way, outranks him. “Don’t come home,” she says, illustrating the difficult choices that must be made, and how our military families are placed under stress when forced to choose between loyalty to family or loyalty to the mission and their country. Colin Barnes and Hayley Cartee skillfully walked this tightrope as the married couple.

The program closed with The Salute by Larry Meier (United States Army, and recipient of the Bronze Star with Palm for service in Vietnam). The cast of four, consisting of parents Eleanor and Bobby (Lyddall Bugg Brown and Matt Meixler), a support officer (Colin Barnes), and a Pastor (Benedict Burgess) takes the audience on a reluctant tour where we see the effects of war on an ordinary couple as they prepare to bury their son. What makes Meier’s story so powerful, for me, is that the focus is not just on the parents, but also on the young Captain who is sent to provide support for the family. The pastor notices, and offers him comfort, but the burden he carries may already be more than he can bear.

The thing that remains with me, however, is the mother’s reaction. At their son’s funeral, the tension builds until, upon receiving the folded flag from the young Captain, Eleanor springs up from her seat and speaks, in a voice that quickly escalates from a soft plea to a primal scream, “Ya’ll took my little boy, and you give me this – A FLAG!”Tossing the flag on the floor, she storms out of the chapel. There are no words of comfort. Nothing can fix this. It is haunting. This, all of this, is War in Pieces.

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Julinda D. Lewis is a dancer, teacher, and writer who was born in Brooklyn, NY and now lives in Eastern Henrico County. When not writing about theater, she teaches dance history at VCU and low impact dance fitness classes to seasoned movers like herself and occasionally performs.

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WAR IN PIECES

Four One-Act Plays by Virginia Veterans

Kaho’olawe written by Harry Mayer

Directed by David L. Robbins

CAST

Slick                ……….           Colin Barnes

Bomb             ……….           Matt Meixler

Aunt Pearl     ……….           Donna Marie Miller

Miss Crabcakes ……           Hayley Cartee

War’s Teeth written by Shani Miller

Directed by David L. Robbins

CAST

Shani              ………            Donna Marie Miller

A Couch written by Cam Torrens

Directed by Andrew Gall

CAST

Linda              ……….           Haylee Cartee

Cam                ……….           Colin Barnes

Jefe/Planner ……….           Lyddall Bugg Brown

Tav/Planner ……….           Benedict Burgess

Lips                 ……….           Matt Meixler

The Salute written by Larry Meier

Directed by Daniel Moore

Pastor            ……….           Benedict Burgess

Eleanor          ……….           Lyddall Bugg Brown

Captain          ……….           Colin Barnes

Bobby            ……….           Matt Meixler

Production Team

Executive Producer             ……….           David L. Robbins

Stage Management             ……….           Dennis Bowe, Grace Brown LaBelle

Sound/Projection Design  ……….           Grace Brown LaBelle

Costume Design/Coordination …           Tallie Pugh   

Run Time: About 2 hours; there is 1 intermission

Tickets: $15 to $35

Info: (804) 355-2001 or FirehouseTheatre.org

Performance Schedule:

Friday, April 4                       7:30PM         

Saturday, April 5                  7:30PM

Sunday, April 6                    2:00PM

Thursday, April 10               7:30PM

Friday, April 11                    7:30PM

Saturday, April 12                2:00PM

Saturday, April 12                7:30PM

Sunday, April 13                  2:00PM

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PHOTOS: from the Firehouse Facebook page