Theater Group to Present on Military Sexual Trauma

The Telling Project, an Austin, Texas-based non-profit organization that has presented more than 20 grassroots theatrical presentations of veterans' military experiences nationwide since 2007, has announced a play focused on sexual assault in the military. Titled "Uniform Code," the play will premiere January 2014 at the Library of Congress' Coolidge Auditorium in Washington, D.C.

The group is currently fund-raising toward a $50,000 goal toward the play's production.

Organizers see the event as an opportunity to inform both the public and policy-makers: "The U.S. military has seen a thirty-nine percent rise in reported incidences of [Military Sexual Trauma, or M.S.T.] since 2010. Congress is currently deliberating on our nation's way forward in addressing this critical situation."

According to a project description on the crowd-funding website Indiegogo:

The Telling Project will bring a cast of [Military Sexual Trauma] survivors and survivors' family members to Washington, D.Cc to develop, rehearse and premiere UNIFORM CODE. UNIFORM CODE will be these individuals telling their own stories, a three-act, play constructed through interview, transcription and scripting, rehearsal and ultimately performance [...]

$50,000 will bring the cast and critical staff to Washington, D.C. for the two weeks necessary to assemble this performance. It will pay for the best artistic, production and promotion personnel that the vibrant District of Columbia theatre scene has to offer. And it will underwrite an outreach campaign through congressional offices, constituents and networks inviting, urging and, where necessary, pressuring congressional representatives to attend the premiere of UNIFORM CODE.

For more information and updates, visit the group's Indiegogo project page, or visit the Telling Project website.

In 2011, the Telling Project presented "Telling: Iowa City." In 2012, it presented "Telling: Des Moines." Iowa Public Radio interviewed a portion of the cast and crew here. One of three announced 2014 productions will be conducted at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis; details are pending.