Local military veterans and their families will have an opportunity to tell their communities about their experiences when a unique project gets under way next month in partnership with the University of Missouri–St. Louis.

“Telling: St. Louis” invites local veterans and their families to share their experiences on stage. Interviews for the June 2016 performances will take place in January on a first-come-first-served basis. (Image courtesy The Telling Project)

The Telling Project, founded in 2008 to provide veterans and family members a forum for sharing their personal, military-related stories, is coming to St. Louis. Having previously staged performances in 35 cities and 19 states, the organization is partnering with the Bob Woodruff Foundation and with UMSL in 2016.

“I am very excited to collaborate across disciplines at UMSL to bring The Telling Project to St. Louis,” said Associate Teaching Professor Jim Craig, chair of the Department of Military and Veterans Studies. “‘Telling: St. Louis’ will use the performance medium of theater to deepen our understanding of military, veteran and family experiences in our community – and, it will strengthen our connection to those neighbors. UMSL, with our community focus, is the perfect partner for this.”

The project aims to ease veterans’ transitions, give communities an opportunity to benefit from the skills and experience that veterans bring home, and deepen the understanding and connection between veterans and the communities in which they live.

Interested veterans and military family members will be interviewed Jan. 26 to 28, with the interviews then transcribed and shaped into a performance script by The Telling Project staff. (Interviewing does not commit applicants to performance.)

After the script is refined to the specifications of interviewees, the veterans and family members featured will take performance training, rehearse with local theater artists and ultimately step onto stage to tell their stories directly to the St. Louis community next summer. The performances will be free and open to the public at the Kranzberg Arts Center.

Local veterans and family members may register for one of 10 interview slots by emailing info@thetellingproject.org and writing “St. Louis” in the subject line.