The two windows

A war veteran smiled about her patriotism while paralyzed from losing her limbs, another war veteran traumatized by the killing of innocence, and another left in agony from losing his older brother during the war. I was among the many who watched the play In Conflict and was deeply touched by the ruthlessness of war. Opened at the Barrow street theatre, In conflict, was a series of interviews of war veterans expressing their views on war and their adjustments after exiting the war. Adapted from the book by Yvonne Latty, In conflict captured its audience with ambivalent feeling of bitterness and appreciation for soldiers whose life were in turmoil after the war.

To my disbelief all the cast members were students from Temple University instead of professional actors. I think that was why the play succeeded. The students, with their acting techniques not yet polished, introduced originality to the play because they were inexperienced, so were the soldiers, unprepared about their life after they come back home realizing that war wasn’t what they expected. Suyeon Kim recreated her role as Tammy Duckworth, who lost her limbs yet remained hopeful. It was her cheerful manner throughout her conversation that broke the stereotypical notion of injured war veterans feeling ostracized.

Yvonne Latty’s appearances through the television screen would have been much more compelling if her role as an interviewer could be acted. It was difficult for me to shift my attention to the screen as well as for audiences from the back while watching the play since the most important aspect of watching a play is to see it in action. The unnecessary addition of the screen not only took away the closeness between the interviewer and the war veterans but also suggested that the interviewer was superior to the war veterans.

Though I find the television screen as extremely inconvenient, the lighting was magnificent and the transitions between the sets were eccentric; the spinning of plastic walls and soldiers running around the stage dressed in heavy combat armors and AK47 as if they were under attack. The talkback after the play with Ty Simmons, a Vietnam war veteran, and Yvonne Latty was definitely worth the time and effort because they did not only answer the audience questions, they also gave examples from their personal experience.