The Letters Project
ArtsUP! LA and Returning Soldiers Speak believe in the transformative power of story. Through dialogue, workshop, and performance, veterans, first responders, and their families gain new understanding about themselves and the world around them. Empowered, they seek integration back into the community and at the same time the community gains new perspective and understanding about what it means to serve.
Our intent is to give voice to veterans who have experienced war as well as to show how the different wars affected and continue to affect their relationship to the military. In addition, it is our hope that the audience will gain new understanding about our veterans and what it means to serve in uniform.
ACROSS TIME: LOVE AND HUMANITY DURING WAR
Act One
Coming Home: Chapter 1 by Doug Gabrielle with Joe Luis Cedillo
Vietnam I Army
Sgt Walker - Vince Wainwright
Chorus - Miguel Berlingeri, Mathias Blake, Anthony Garcia, Nina Rancel Sl Staffer - Maggie Dewan-Smith
CO - Jonaton Wyne
Dreamland in Eagle's Nest by Leilani Squire with Glenn Schiffman
World War 11, The European Theater I Army
Al - Mathias Blake
Marge - Nina Rancel
Eulogy for Gerald by Ken Klemm
Gulf War I Army
Mary - Maggie Dewan-Smith
Father Sullivan - Jonaton Wyne
Gerald - Miguel Berlingeri
The Pardon by Melvin Ishmael Johnson
Civil War I Army
George A. Caldwell - Vince Wainwright
Government Official - Miguel Berlingeri
Bullets and Seashells by Miguel Berlingeri
Philippine-American War I Army
Edward - Mathias Blake
Jessica - Denah Angel
Michael - Anthony Garcia
Prisoner -Nina Rancel
Missed Connections by Ralph Carlson
World War 11, The Pacific I Army
Paul - Miguel Berlingeri
Judy - Maggie Dewan-Smith
Larry - Jonaton Wyne
Coming Home: Chapter 2 by Doug Gabrielle with Joe Luis Cedillo
Vietnam I Army
Sgt Walker - Vince Wainwright
Hippie - Anthony Garcia
Son - Hudson Wainwright
Wife - Denah Angel
Act Two
Coming Home: Chapter 3 by Doug Gabrielle with Joe Luis Cedillo
Vietnam I Army
Sgt Walker - Vince Wainwright
Therapist - Maggie Dewan-Smith
Son - Hudson Wainwright
Wife - Denah Angel
Waiting by Gwyn LaRee
The War on Terror I Army
Kate - Denah Angel
Brad - Anthony Garcia
Steve - Vince Wainwright
My Korean Soldier by Lester Probst
Korean War I Army
Henry - Mathias Blake
Linda - Nina Rancel
Mom - Maggie Dewan-Smith
The Path at Belleau Wood by Benjamin Fortier
World War I I Army
Eugene - Vince Wainwright
George - Anthony Garcia
Narrator - Jonaton Wyne
Wind and Sand by Kathleen Moorhead
Cold War - Vietnam I Air Force
Older Ruth - Maggie Dewan-Smith
Younger Ruth - Denah Angel
Tony - Mathias Blake
Pilots - Anthony Garcia and Vince Wainwright
Thank you for joining us for our full production of Across Time: Love & Humanity During War. The performances brought each story of those who wrote the letters to life with wit and passion. We caught a glimpse into what it means to go to war and what it means to remain at home and wait for the return of loved ones. We felt the love they shared and their yearning to hold each other once more. We reflected on the responsibility of what it means to wear the uniform and to protect our freedoms. We shared feelings and thoughts and experiences and gained something more than just going to see a play in the theater—we gained insights into the past that resonate in the present. Thank you for sharing all of this with us!
It is often said that a photograph can say more than words...
Curtain Call with The Ensemble
August 30, 2024
"Overall, this has been an amazing experience working with talented veteran writers. It has sparked my passion and excitement to create further stageplays that explore the nuances of the human condition." — Benjamin Fortier
"One of the biggest benefits for me was the collaboration, and hearing the works of some of the other writers as they progressed along their journeys." — Ken Klemm
Read more from each of these veteran writers, as they share their experiences as first-time playwrights for Across Time: Love & Humanity During War, in the Returning Soldiers Speak journal. Links to each of their stories is below.
May 11, 2024
Returning Soldiers Speak and ArtsUP!LA proudly announce the cast for The Letters Project, Across Time: Love & Humanity During War.
DIRECTOR
- Doug Gabrielle (Army, Vietnam)
CAST
- Denah Angel
- Miguel Berlingeri (Marines, First Gulf War)
- Mathias Blake
- Anthony Garcia
- Nina Rancel
- Maggie Dewan Smith (Air Force, First Gulf War)
- Vince Wainwright (Marines, War on Terror)
- Hudson Wainwright
- Jonaton Wyne (Army, Vietnam)
Through this live performance, audiences will witness the myriad of humanity encapsulated in these historical letters, original plays, and monologues written by living veterans of the United States Armed Forces. This production offers a unique perspective complexity on the human aspect of war, spanning from the Civil War to the beginning of The War on Terror.
May 11, 2024
ACROSS TIME: LOVE & HUMANITY DURING WAR. An original theatrical production inspired by letters from past wars and conflicts that provide a poignant window into the hopes, fears, and experiences of those who served.
Join us June 7 @ 8pm at The Blue Door Theater in Culver City, CA for opening night! Performances to run June 7 through June 16.
Click here to purchase tickets.
April 11, 2024
ArtsUP! LA and Returning Soldiers Speak are holding auditions for their upcoming play, Across Time: Love and Humanity During War. This play is the creation of a Veterans Empowerment Theater production of The Letters Project.
Click here for more information about the casting call, rehearsal and performance schedule, compensation, and auditions
April 4, 2024
Returning Soldiers Speak and ArtsUP!LA proudly announce our Veteran Playwrights for The Letters Project!
Drawing from the rich and complicated tapestry of history, the correspondences between those deployed and those at home serve as the inspiration behind an original theatrical production, Across Time: Love and Humanity During War. These letters, spanning from past wars and conflicts such as the Civil War to Operation Freedom’s Sentinel (1 January 2015 to 30 August 2021), provide a poignant window into the hopes, fears, and observations of those who served.
Selected letters courtesy of the Center for American War Letters Archives, Leatherby Libraries at Chapman University.
MEET OUR VETERAN PLAYWRIGHTS
Our veteran playwrights, each with their own experience in the United States Armed Forces, bring authenticity and depth to the stories of their fellow veterans through their visions and playwriting. Spanning across different conflicts and wars, our veterans infuse their personal experiences and insights into their respective narratives:
- Civil War:
- Melvin Ismael Johnson (Marines, Vietnam)
- Philippine American War:
- Miguel Berlingeri (Marines, Desert Storm)
- World War I:
- Benjamin Fortier (Marines, Operation Iraqi Freedom)
- World War II:
- Ralph S Carlson (Army, Vietnam) and Glenn Schiffman (CO, Vietnam War)
- Korean War:
- Lester Probst (Army, Korean War)
- Cold War–Vietnam:
- Kathleen Moorhead (Air Force)
- Vietnam:
- Joe Luis Cebillo (Marines)
- Operation Desert Sabre:
- Ken Klemm (Navy)
- War on Terror:
- Gwyn LaRee (Marines)
Through this live performance, audiences will witness the myriad of humanity encapsulated in these historical letters, original plays, and monologues written by living veterans of the United States Armed Forces. This production offers a unique perspective complexity on the human aspect of war, spanning from the Civil War to the beginning of The War on Terror.