Monthly Archives: November 2015

CINCINNATI, OH  – The Cincinnati Arts Association (CAA) is pleased to present the Griffin Theatre Company’s production of LETTERS HOME on Friday, December 4, 2015 at 7:30 PM at the Aronoff Center’s intimate Jarson-Kaplan Theater.  Ticketholders are invited to a 6:30 PM pre-show lecture by William Massolia (artistic director, Griffin Theatre Company) about adapting LETTERS HOME for the stage, followed by a Q&A with the audience. The show is part of CAA’S 2015-16 Season, celebrating the 20th Anniversary of the Aronoff Center.

Tickets are $30 and are on sale now at www.CincinnatiArts.org, (513) 621-ARTS [2787], and the Aronoff Center Ticket Office.  Group discount tickets for 10 or more are available by calling (513) 977-4157.

LETTERS HOME puts the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq front and center by bringing to life actual letters written by soldiers serving in the Middle East. The production is inspired by The New York Times Op-Ed article “The Things They Wrote” and the subsequent HBO documentary Last Letters Home, and additionally uses letters and correspondences from Frank Schaeffer’s books, Voices From the Front, Letters Home From America’s Military Family, Faith of Our Sons, and Keeping Faith. Without politicizing, the play gives audiences a powerful portrait of the soldier experience in our ongoing wars. The initial production was critically acclaimed and was nominated for a Joseph Jefferson Award for “Outstanding New Play.”

Although the title of the play implies that all the letters are from soldiers, the piece includes a small number of correspondences from parents – their words being no less important. These letters were written under the most difficult of circumstances – the disorientation of training, deployment, separation from family and loved ones, combat, and occupation duties in Afghanistan and Iraq. One theme seems to unite the diverse voices: the belief that the person standing beside you is more important than you are. The letters help define for the audience the meaning of patriotism and what it means to serve our country today, through acts of bravery, compassion, social responsibility, a sense of community, and brotherhood. Collectively, the production gives a voice to a generation that went to war against terror in Afghanistan and to war in Iraq for reasons that are still being debated. More importantly, the play reveals the humanity that lies within the war as seen through the eyes of the men and women who are still fighting and dying in those wars today.

The production uses minimal props and set pieces to dramatize the letters. It employs the use of images and video projected behind the actors as they perform the letters as dramatic monologues. The photos and video used in the production are taken directly from actual soldiers’ blogs and websites such as Myspace and Facebook. To enhance the theatrical experience of the play, all performances are followed by a post-play discussion.

Griffin Theatre Company 
The mission of the Griffin Theatre Company is to create extraordinary and meaningful theatrical experiences for both children and adults by building bridges of understanding between generations that instill in its audience an appreciation of the performing arts. The Griffin achieves this mission and vision through artistic collaboration and produces literary adaptations, original work, and classic plays that challenge and inspire, with wit, style, and compassion for the audience. The company is supported by an ensemble of Artists in Residence with a range of disciplines include acting, designing, directing and production.

Over the last twenty-five years the Griffin has provided a wide range of work, including world and mid-west premieres of acclaimed scripts, critically lauded productions of Shakespeare, and original adaptations of novels. Many of the Griffin’s 100-plus productions have appeared on Chicago-area critics “Best of the Year” lists. The Griffin is the recipient of 46 Joseph Jefferson Award nominations for theatre excellence in Chicago and numerous other awards and citations for its work. Last year, the Griffin Theatre had the pleasure to perform its touring productions for more than 100,000 young people and adults nationwide.

For more information about the Griffin Theatre Company and LETTERS HOME, visit www.GriffinTheatre.com.

CINCINNATI ARTS ASSOCIATION SPONSORS

• SEASON SPONSORS:  AMERITAS (Founding Season Sponsor), FIFTH THIRD BANK (Lifetime Endowment Partner), FURNITURE FAIR,LOCAL12 WKRC, The P&G FUND of The Greater Cincinnati Foundation
• SEASON PRESENTING SPONSORS:  21C Museum Hotel, Cincinnati Herald, CityBeat, Garfield Suites Hotel, Heidelberg Distributing,Hilton Cincinnati Netherland Plaza, Pepsi, Skyline Chili

Founded in 1992, the Cincinnati Arts Association (CAA) is a not-for-profit organization that oversees the programming and management of the Tri-state’s finest performing arts venues – the Aronoff Center for the Arts and Music Hall – and is dedicated to supporting performing and visual arts. Each year, CAA presents a diverse schedule of events; serves upwards of 700,000 people in its venues; features the work of talented local, regional, and national artists in the Weston Art Gallery (located in the Aronoff Center); and supports the work of more than one dozen resident companies. Since the inception of its acclaimed arts education programs in 1995, CAA has reached more than 1.4 million students.

For more information, visit www.CincinnatiArts.org.