Transitioning home: Veterans performing self in Contact! Unload

Abstract:
This presentation shares research from an initiative where researchers in group counseling and theatre education collaborated with military veterans to produce the play Contact! Unload. Community members participated with returning veterans in a series of drama-based workshops that led to the production. The collective process was an expressive vehicle for military men to publicly reinterpret their struggles and experiences of transitioning from active service overseas to civilian life in ways that build resilience. Their stories are vividly brought to life in Contact! Unload, a theatre piece that features four veterans performing. The Veterans Transition Program (https://vtncanada.org/) is at the heart of this project, in that the goal of this work is about men (veterans) helping men to transition healthily to civilian life. Note that there is some strong language in the piece.
Presented in collaboration with John Oliffe, School of Nursing, Marv Westwood, Counseling Psychology Program, and George Belliveau, Theatre Education.
This free public event has limited seating. Please reserve your tickets early at: http://contactunload.eventbrite.ca
Early showing: 3:30 pm – 5:00 pm, doors open at 3:15 pmLate showing 7:30 pm – 9:00 pm, doors open at 7:15 pmPonderosa F, Room 103, 2008 Lower Mall, Vancouver, BC