“A fearless experimental theatre company.” —Culturebot
“Then you get out of the military and you try to integrate back—you do integrate back into the civilian world, but you quickly realize that nobody else is thinking that way, nobody else is thinking that everything they do is for a team.” —Smith&True, 2014
Less than one half of one percent of U.S. citizens currently serve in the armed forces, creating an experience gap between Veterans and civilians. Goat in the Road has spent the last two plus years connecting with military Veterans, families, and medical experts to build this fast-moving, darkly funny play about the daily life of the returning Vet.
Performers and Creators William Bowling, Shannon Flaherty, Denise Frazier, Darci Fulcher, Jeremy Guyton, Dylan Hunter, Leslie Boles Kraus
Composer Peter Bowling
Director Chris Kaminstein
Design Team Nicolas Benacerraf, Joshua Courtney, Owen Ever, Kyle Sheehan,Kit Sternberger, Kaci Thomassie
Post Show Conversations
Post show conversations will follow Friday night’s performance and Sunday’s matinee. CAC Senior Curator of Performing Arts, Laurie Uprichard, is moderating Friday’s conversation. On Sunday, CAC Director and CEO, Neil Barclay, will lead the discussion.
Participant Bios
Friday Participants
Nick Rizzo enlisted in the Air Force and was trained to be a field medic, skydiver, survivalist, scuba diver, mountain climber, weapons expert, and tactician for his role in the special operations community as a Pararescuemen (PJ). PJs are trained to rescue people in the most austere environments, combat or otherwise. Their motto is: these things we do, that others may live. He currently works for a tech start-up in NYC and remains active as a guardsmen with a PJ Unit in Alaska. Prior to his time in the military, Nick lived in India for a year and spent 75 days walking across the northern part of the country by himself. Nick holds a degree in Anthropology from Harvard University.
Gala True, PhD, is a social scientist with over 15 years of experience conducting health services research with vulnerable populations. Over the past 8 years, she has employed participatory action research methods to collaborate with Veterans and other key stakeholders on identifying barriers to post-deployment care and proposing solutions for improving community reintegration after separation from military service. Dr. True serves on the Advisory Board of several national organizations focused on the role of arts and creativity in promoting recovery from trauma. She has consulted and partnered on projects with numerous arts organizations including the Rosenbach Museum and Library, the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, Warrior Writers, and Combat Paper Project. She is an invited speaker at national and international conferences focused on the role of the arts and humanities in healing from war trauma.
Ray Facundo is an Army veteran and a social worker who is passionate about helping other veterans and their families heal and make meaning out of their experiences through art and expression. Ray built a transition and support organization at Portland State University in Oregon, where he connected folks to services and programs to aid and support them through the transition from military life to the civilian world. He came to New Orleans as the program manager for a study on the psychosocial impact of this transition for Veterans with traumatic brain injuries and those who provide care for them. Ray also co-hosts End All Wars with Ariel and Ray at 102.3FM WHIV-LP New Orleans on Tuesday's from 5-6pm, where veterans talk about their experiences, anti-war efforts and social justice across the US.
Sunday Participants
Ariel David is a public health researcher, specializing in the behavioral health of unique sub-populations. She is also a combat veteran, who served 9 years in the Navy and was deployed "boots on the ground" as a weapons operator, as an Individual Augmentee/Joint Forces.
Madeline Uddo, Ph.D. is a clinical psychologist who has been working with Veterans with PTSD since 1988. Dr. Uddo has extensive clinical experience in treating PTSD and trauma-related disorders as well as involvement in PTSD research and program development. Areas of research and clinical interest include mind-body interventions to treat symptoms of post-traumatic disorder. Dr. Uddo received a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Louisiana State University in 1989.
Michelle Hamilton, Ph.D is a clinical psychologist with over 20 years of experience working with veterans with trauma related disorders including PTSD. Dr. Hamilton uses EMDR as well as mind body medicine skills groups with clients who have been exposed to trauma. She is interested in the arts as a method of healing for veterans.