Willimantic, Conn. – The ECSU Foundation, Inc. was awarded a $9,983 Connecticut Humanities (CTH) Planning Grant to create a script that will be performed in Eastern Connecticut State University’s Fine Arts Instructional Center in spring 2017. The Connecticut Humanities website indicates, the play is “about the role Connecticut played in World War I, writing from a military dog’s point of view to explore several themes about the effect of the war on Connecticut’s citizens and the world. This whimsical approach is intended to teach audiences about the logistics of the war as well as less-concrete themes of patriotism and loyalty.”
Four Eastern professors are teaming up to create the upcoming production: Barbara Tucker, director of the Center for Connecticut Studies; Edmond Chibeau, professor of communication; Leslie Ricklin, professor of education; and Ellen Faith Brodie, director of the theatre program. Chibeau, who will be writing the script, discussed his intention of having the play performed from a canine’s perspective. “The dog is a perfect theatrical coupe in that he can appear in all sorts of places and offer a dog’s perspective on the politics, emotions, horrors and absurdity of ‘The War to End All Wars.’ The characters in the play cannot understand the dog but the audience and Robert Conroy, his owner can. This gives us the chance to write humor, insight, exposition and plot for the dog.”
After the show is performed at Eastern, it is planned to be staged at middle and high schools around Connecticut. Chibeau states, “I believe that middle school and high school students are capable of beginning to understand the relationships between politics, sociology and war. Although the script will deal with the realities of war, the ideas expressed and the vocabulary used to express them will hopefully be uplifting and insightful. Students will learn a lot about American history from this production.”