The Veterans Project

The Veterans Project is an international performance-oral history research initiative that uses performance to foster dialogue among military veterans and the civilian communities in which they live. Since 2013 The Veterans Project has been performed over ten times in the US and UK, with veterans from the US Army, US Navy, US Marine Corps, US Air Force, Royal Army, and Royal Air Force. The veterans have served in conflicts ranging from Vietnam to Kosovo, Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Falkland Islands.

​Concept by Erika Hughes and Boyd Branch
Directed by Erika Hughes
Design & media by Boyd Branch

-

Arizona State Museum. Tucson, AZ
This performance at the Arizona State Museum in Tucson, AZ featured three veterans - two male, one female - who had all served in the US Army, and who were all 'airborne' (parachute jump certified). The conflicts they witnessed and discussed included the Vietnam War, the Gulf War (Operations Desert Storm and Desert Shield), and the War in Afghanistan.

Combine Studios Art Gallery. Phoenix, AZ
This performance at the Combine Studios in Phoenix, AZ featured three male veterans, two of whom had served in the US Army and one who had served in the Marines. One veteran had been a commissioned officer, and another had been a military police officer. They discussed life during deployments in Japan and the Middle East.

Lyceum Theatre. Tempe, AZ
This performance, staged in the Lyceum Theatre on the campus of Arizona State University in Tempe, AZ, featured four veterans - two male, two female - who had collectively served in the US Army, Air Force, Marines, and Navy. They discussed differences among cultures of the different branches through stories of training, community, education, recruitment, and post-service civilian life.

FilmBar Theatre. Phoenix, Arizona
This performance, staged at FilmBar Theatre in Phoenix, Arizona, featured four veterans - two cisgendered women, one cisgendered man, and one transgender man - of the US Armed Forces. The performance was staged the day after the 2016 US presidential election, and the discussion was about patriotism in the shadow of the right-wing government that had just been elected.

Lyceum Theatre. Tempe, Phoenix, United States
This performance featured veterans - one female, three male - from the US Army, Navy, and Air Force. Two of the veterans onstage were a married couple. One veteran was an activist with Veterans for Peace. The discussion centred on questions of gender equality and political activism and engagement during training and deployment.

Eldon Screening Room. Portsmouth, United Kingdom
This performance featured three male veterans, two of whom had served in the Royal Air Force and one who served in the Royal Army. Two of the veterans onstage were chaplains and one was a medic; the discussion centred on questions of service, witnessing the horrors of war and its aftermath in civilian engagement, and differences among the branches in terms of training and culture.

StoryCircle. Gosport, Hampshire
This StoryCircle, held at the Sharpe’s Cafe managed by veterans’ charity FirstLight Trust in Gosport, Hampshire, was an open forum for veterans of the British Armed Forces to share oral histories and stories of service. Stories included family histories and legacies of military service, disability in the military, and the difficulties of returning to civilian life.

University of Portsmouth. United Kingdom
This performance featured five male veterans, two of whom had served in the Royal Air Force and three who served in the Royal Army. Two of the veterans onstage were chaplains in the Middle East and the Falklands, two had been medics in Bosnia-Kosovo, and one was in the special forces in Northern Ireland; the discussion centred on questions of service, witnessing the horrors of war and its aftermath in civilian engagement, and differences among the branches in terms of training and culture.

• https://www.erikaehughes.com/the-veteran...
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X6vF-qvl...
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlZX3HNX...