Strike a Chord: Veterans Take the Stage

After returning from wartime, veterans often face an onslaught of challenges integrating back into civilian life.

Eric Tucker, artistic director of the New York theatre company Bedlam, was formerly in the Navy reserve and decided to start a free acting class for veterans. He wanted to give an opportunity for non-actors and actors to work through some of their emotions that they couldn't place into their own words.

"They can feel things that they're feeling through someone else's words," Tucker said. "Sometimes that allows them to reach that catharsis or at least tap into something. Just begin to tap into something by having another text." Every Monday night, the class of veterans performs different selections from Shakespeare. Participants sometimes write their own material to show the group as well.

Tucker said the class not only gives veterans consistency of a set routine, but also a sense of community.

"Every Monday, they know I can show up there and sit in this circle with people who have shared my experiences," he explained. "The thing that's really important about veterans to know is that they experienced something that civilians will never understand."

According to the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, as many as 20 percent of veterans experience post-traumatic stress disorder. Tucker said that feelings of depression and being overwhelmed are very common when returning from a service tour. Still, he hopes that Bedlam gives veterans a nonjudgmental space to talk about their feelings with people who know exactly what they're going through.