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High School | Performance Guide
Letters Home
Inspired by The New York Times article, “The Things They Wrote,” and
the HBO documentary, Last Letters Home, this production is a powerful
presentation of actual letters written by soldiers serving in Afghanistan and
Iraq and their families. With minimal props and set pieces, Griffin Theatre
Company performs the letters as dramatic monologues, set against a
backdrop of imagery taken directly from soldiers’ blogs and websites.
Without politicizing, the play gives audiences an emotional and gripping
portrait of the soldiers’ experiences in the ongoing war. The performance
contains graphic depictions of war and strong language.
CCSS: RI.6- 8.3, 5 and 6; RI,6- 8.10 ;W.6-8.7, 8
& 9 ; SL.6- 8.1, 3, 4 and 5 ; L.6 - 8.3b, 5a and 5b;
RHS/S.6 - 8.1, 4, 5 and 7. L.9-10.1, 6, 9; RI.9-10.1,6,
7, 9; W.6.7, 8 and 9; W9-10.8; RHS/S.9-10. 1 and 9
Photo Credit:Michael Brosilow
The Sources
The playscript, Letters Home, was inspired by three sources. In 2004,
The New York Times Op-Ed page marked Veterans Day by publishing
letters from soldiers in Iraq. The series of Op-Ed pieces were titled The
Things They Wrote. Also, in 2004, HBO created a deeply moving tribute
to American soldiers killed during Operation Iraqi Freedom through
the documentary, Last Letters Home, based on the letters of American
Troops from the battlefields of Iraq.
In their letters to their families, soldiers wrote from their hearts and
expressed their experiences in the war with immediacy. They wrote
about conflict in dangerous circumstances. They wrote about the rigors
of training, the loneliness of separation from family, and the risks and
uncertainties of deployment. They also wrote about acts of courage,
compassion and comradeship.
In addition, the script uses letters from Frank Schaeffer’s books, Voices
from the Front and Faith of Our Sons.
The Performance
The script of Letters Home was created from primary documents that are
often used to learn more about historical events, letters. The characters
include young Marines, ages 18 and 19 years, veteran soldiers
in the Army, Air Force and National Guard, and civilians. Two themes
unite the individual voices, the theme of loyalty to fellow soldiers, and
deep patriotic commitment. Their letters evoke sympathy and
Letters Home / Performance Guide
understanding as they describe what it means to serve their country.
The play reveals the human side of war as seen through the eyes of
the men and women fighting it. The production uses minimal props
and set pieces. Video projections behind the actors show images
from soldiers’ blogs and websites. The performance makes use of a
presentational style that includes theatrical conventions like direct
address to the audience, doubling, and freezing the body in a still
picture. (See Vocabulary, page 3). The performance concludes with
a Question & Answer session led by the artists from Griffin Theatre
Company, inviting students to discuss and reflect on the play’s themes.
The Artists
Griffin Theatre Company, Chicago, performs for more than 100,000
students and adults on tour each year. They present world premieres of
new plays, performances of Shakespeare’s plays and original adaptions
of literature. The company is supported by an ensemble of artists in
residence who excel in performance, design, directing and producing in
the theater. Many of the company’s productions have appeared on
Chicago area critics “Best of the Year” lists and The Griffin is the
recipient of 35 Joseph Jefferson Award nominations for theatre
excellence in Chicago.
Learning Activities
Structure in Writing
Writing from Letters
Structure is important in writing. To share
> Ask students to research and collect
> Use concrete words and phrases from the
a hundred letters there are many options
letters from famous Americans/soldiers.
letters to convey sensory details.
for the order in which the letters might be
> Create a dramatic monologue by
> Sequence the events.
presented. The skill of the playwright lies
structuring content from the letters into a
> Provide a conclusion that follows
in thoughtfully choosing the sequence,
200 word monologue.
naturally.
juxtaposition and selecting just the right
> Establish a situation and introduce one of
> Read the writing aloud and revise.
part of each letter. Thoughtful choices
the letter writers as narrator.
> Rehearse the dramatic monologues in
makes the audience feel this is the only way
> Organize an event sequence that uses the
small groups by reading aloud and listening
the letters could be presented. Artists also
words and events of the letters.
to others read.
make all the effort invisible.
> Use narrative techniques to develop
> Group dramatic monologues unifying or
an experience: humor, inner thoughts,
contrasting the American voices implied in
comparison, contrast.
the letters.
Photo Credit: Griffin Theatre Company
Theatrical Conventions
A playscript is the fundamental book of
instruction for all the artists involved in
producing and performing a play.
In Letters Home, the playscript uses the
theatrical convention of direct address
to the audience. Dramatic mologue is a
theatrical convention that makes strong
use of direct address. The performance
also uses the convention of freezing to
enhance focus on the primary character
of the moment.
Vocabulary
> Direct Address – In Letters Home, the
actors perform each letter in the form
of a dramatic monologue that directly
addresses the audience. The language is
spoken to the audience. The actor focuses
his face and eyes on the audience.
> Dramatic Monologue – A solo piece
of some length within a play or not. The
actor speaks at length so that a dramatic
monologue creates it’s own universe for a
moment. It can be direct address, speaking
inner thoughts or other dramatic options.
> Soliloquy – A soliloquy occurs at the
moment in a play when the character
removes himself from the action and
speaks his inner thoughts to the audience.
See Shakespeare’s Hamlet or Othello for great
soliloquies.
> Freezing – Actors hold completely still
on stage. The audience sees the actor,
but understands they are not part of the
action at that moment. In Letters Home,
actors takes turns performing a dramatic
monologue, while the others remain
motionless.
> Doubling – Actors often play more
than one role. Actors use changes in
costumes, posture, facial expression or
voice to convey different characters. In
Letters Home, 10 actors portray all the
characters in the script.
Read and discuss the vocabulary; plan
to look for the use of these conventions
in the performance. Reflect and assess
the effectiveness of these theatrical
conventions after the show.
[email protected] / www.waltonartscenter.org
Volume 10 Number 2
Colgate Classroom Series performances
help students meet Common Core
Standards.
Photo credit: Griffin Theatre Company
Learn more at:
www.waltonartscenter.org
Reflect and Assess
>Recall elements of the performance. Describe what you noticed about the
scenery and characters.
>How did the actors change their body and voice when they played different
characters? Can you think of other ways to play each of the characters?
What choices would you make and why?
>Think about what you saw, heard and felt during the performance.
>How do the various elements and your reactions relate to each other?
>What choices did the artists (playwright, actor, director, designer) make that
you noticed?
>How did the performance make you feel?
>What moment in the play do you remember most?
Learn More Online
Walton Arts Center
Learning & Engagement
Laura Goodwin, Vice President
Dr. Patricia Relph, Arts Learning Specialist
Katie Williams, Manager
Shannon Rolle, Schools Concierge
Contributors
Dr. Roger Gross - Dept. of Drama,
>Official website of Griffin Theatre Company.
University of Arkansas Emeritus
www.griffintheatre.com
Cassie LaFevor, TPAC Education,
> Learn more about sending letters to U.S. solders stationed abroad.
Tennessee Performing Arts Center
www.forgottensoldiers.org/write-a-soldier/
> Kennedy Center website on Arts Integration
http://artsedge.kennedy-center.org/content/arts-integration
Walton Arts Center 2012-2013 Learning
programming is generously supported by
these funders, sponsors and benefactors:
Education Benefactors:
Jack & Mechelle Sinclair
Ted & Leslie Belden
David & Candace Starling
Dr. J.B. & Rachel Blankenship
Jerry & Brenda Walton
David & Tina Bogle
Jim & Lynne Walton
Colgate-Palmolive
Education Grantors:
Ann & Gene Bordelon
John & Kitten Weiss
Crayola
Arkansas Arts Council
Judy Boreham
Edy’s Grand Ice Cream
The John F. Kennedy Center
June Carter
Season support provided by
Carolyn & Nick Cole
Walmart / SAM’S CLUB
®
J.B. Hunt Transport, Inc.
Kimberly-Clark
for the Performing Arts
Walmart Foundation
Prairie Grove Telephone Co.
Joanie & Jon Dyer
Malcolm & Ellen Hayward
Arkansas Arts Council is an
Procter & Gamble
Education Partners:
Johnelle Hunt
agency of the Department of
Pruitt Tool Company
Crystal Bridges Museum of
Pat Parsons
Arkansas Heritage and the
Mark & Lynn Richards
National Endowment for the
Mary Lynn Reese
Arts
Shipley Motor Co.
Tyson Foods, Inc.
American Art
NWAESC
Unilever
Jeff & Eileen Schomburger
Kenneth & Debra Senser
Name of Performance/ Performance Guide