The Back-Story from director Shaw Pong Liu: "Soldiers' Tales Untold" was inspired by a performance of Igor Stravinsky's "The Soldier's Tale", in a prestigious New York City concert hall in late 2007. Based on a Russian folktale, Stravinsky's WWI-era musical fable uses narration and music to tell of a simple soldier who gets tricked by the Devil. I found the music powerful but the context of the performance disturbing. The isolation of the concert hall magnified the societal ignorance of the ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Nobody on stage or in the audience seemed to think it necessary to acknowledge that there were real soldiers with real stories fighting for our country at that moment, some fighting and dying, some fighting and coming home to an uncertain after-life. In that moment, the idea of juxtaposing excerpts of Stravinsky's "The Soldier's Tale" with actual veterans' stories came to me as a way to challenge this casual disconnect between the art music world and the world outside. To bring social, political and individual realities into the sanctified concert space and transform both in the process. "Soldiers' Tales Untold" is the genesis of a struggle to be a conscious artist, to make socially-relevant work, and to meld the constructive forces of art, education, community and dialogue. Months of research in published veterans' oral histories and interviews led me to believe that our societal silence or ignorance about the life-long impact of wartime trauma needs to be broken -- by as many forms and means as possible. This project specifically targets community venues in an effort to bring wider awareness to the stories that usually remain unspoken, and unheard. "Soldiers' Tales Untold" premiered in April 2008 with three narrators and three musicians performing at local colleges, schools, churches, and community centers in Greater Boston. Recent incarnations of this ever-evolving project including a nine-performer cast with five narrators (two of whom are veterans) and four musicians; a performance in Montreal as part of a conference on oral history and arts; and a mobile workshop residency. We are currently exploring the next stage of direct interviews and collaborations with veterans in Boston, MA and Dayton, OH. Thanks for your interest. We welcome you to explore, and to be in touch with ideas, comments and questions. Warm regards, Shaw Pong Liu Creator and director, "Soldiers' Tales Untold" |
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