STUDY GUIDE OCTOBER 30– NOVEMBER 15, 2014 THEATRE FOR YOUNG AUDIENCES GENEROUSLY SUPPORTED BY This guide compiled by George Buri for Royal MTC, September 2014. Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre Presents By Colleen Murphy Director – Robb Paterson Set & Costume Designer – Jamie Plummer Lighting Designer – Larry Isacoff Sound Designer – Michael Wright Apprentice Director – Tatiana Carnevale Stage Manager – Kathryn Ball Apprentice Stage Manager – Airyn Lancaster THE CAST (IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER) Corporal Michael Armstrong – Justin Otto Halley Armstrong – Heather Russell 1 THEATRE ETIQUETTE “The theater is so endlessly fascinating because it's so accidental. It's so much like life.” – Arthur Miller Arrive Early: Latecomers may not be admitted to a performance. Please ensure you arrive with enough time to find your seat before the performance starts. Cell Phones and Other Electronic Devices: Please TURN OFF your cell phones/iPods/gaming systems/cameras. We have seen an increase in texting, surfing, and gaming during performances, which is very distracting for the performers and other audience members. The use of cameras and recording devices is strictly prohibited. Talking During the Performance: You can be heard (even when whispering!) by the actors onstage and the audience around you. Disruptive patrons will be removed from the theatre. Please wait to share your thoughts and opinions with others until after the performance. Food/Drinks: Food and hot drinks are not allowed in the theatre. Where there is an intermission, concessions may be open for purchase of snacks and drinks. There is complimentary water in the lobby. Dress: There is no dress code at the Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre, but we respectfully request that patrons refrain from wearing hats in the theatre. We also strive to be a scent-free environment, and thank all patrons for their cooperation. Leaving During the Performance: If an audience member leaves the theatre during a performance, they will be readmitted at the discretion of our Front of House staff. Should they be readmitted, they will not be ushered back to their original seat, but placed in a vacant seat at the back of the auditorium. Being Asked to Leave: The theatre staff has, and will exercise, the right to ask any member of the audience to leave the performance if that person is being disruptive. Inappropriate and disruptive behaviour includes, but is not limited to: talking, using electronic devices, cameras, laser pointers, or other light- or sound-emitting devices, and deliberately interfering with an actor or the performance (tripping, throwing items on or near the stage, etc.). Talkbacks: All Tuesday evening performances and final matinees at MTC feature a talkback with members of the cast following the show. While watching the performance, make a mental note of questions to ask the actors. Questions can be about the story, the interpretation, life in the theatre, etc. Enjoy the show: Laugh, applaud, cheer and respond to the performance appropriately. Make sure to thank all the artists for their hard work with applause during the curtain call. 2 ABOUT THE AUTHOR Colleen Murphy is an award-winning playwright, librettist and filmmaker based in Toronto. She was born in Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec and grew up in Northern Ontario. After winning prizes in CBC Literary Competitions in 1985 and 1990 for her radio plays Fire Engine Red and The Pumpkin Eaters, Murphy went on to have her first stage play, All Other Destinations are Cancelled, produced at the Terragon Theatre in 1987. Her other plays include Pig Girl, Beating Heart Cadaver, The Goodnight Bird, The Piper and The December Man, for which she won the 2007 Governor General's Literary Award for Drama as well as the Carol Bolt Award and the Alberta Theatre Projects Enbridge playRites Award. Since the 1990s Murphy has directed a number of short and feature length films and has written two full-length librettos. Armstrong's War was first mounted as a workshop play in 2013 at the Finborough Theatre in London, England and had its world premiere in Vancouver in the fall of that same year. SETTING & PLOT Armstrong's War involves two characters and takes place in the rehabilitation wing of a hospital in Ottawa, Canada, from late February to mid-April in 2007. The two meet in the same room over a series of six visits, one week apart. Halley Armstrong is a precocious and energetic 12-year-old Pathfinder who wants to earn her Community Service badge by reading to someone in a hospital. She chooses injured Afghan war veteran Corporal Michael Armstrong because they share the same last name. However, Michael first responds to her energy and optimism with scorn. He declares that he does not want to be read to and angrily sends her away. Undeterred, Halley returns the next week, determined to earn her badge. She manages to find a book that interests Michael: The Red Badge of Courage, a novel about a soldier fighting in the American Civil War. Michael is drawn to the tale of a soldier coping with both the excitement and fear of going to war and asks to keep the book to read on his own. Halley is pleased with Michael's appreciation of the book and tells him the story of a skiing accident that placed her in a wheelchair. Matreya Scarrwener and Mik Byskov in the 2013 world premiere of Armstrong’s War at Arts Club. Photo by David Cooper. 3 At their next meeting, Michael tells Halley that he has finished The Red Badge of Courage by himself but suggests that they read their favourite parts to each other. Michael's familiarity with the book causes Halley to believe that he has in fact read it several times and his enjoyment of the book helps him to open up about his own war experience in Afghanistan. Michael surprises Halley at their next visit with a story that he has written entitled “Armstrong’s War”. This story, which Halley reads aloud, concerns his two “friends” Aidan and Danny who pledged each other that, if either was so severely wounded that they would not be able to live a normal life, the other would "finish him off" by killing him rather than allowing him to live in that state. When Danny is wounded and loses his legs, Aiden carries out his promise. Halley is very upset by this story and tells Halley that she believes Aiden should not have killed Danny, regardless of their promise. She argues that Danny could still have recovered to live some sort of normal life and is outraged by Michael's opinion that Aiden made an honourable decision. Halley storms out of the room in anger but, to Michael's surprise, returns the next week, this time with her own version of Michael's story in which Danny lives, recovers somewhat and leads a happy and fulfilling life. Despite Michael's angry objection that her story is not realistic, he respects Halley's optimism and strength. Both characters find a new level of honesty and mutual respect between them. Halley tells Michael the real story of her accident. Michael admits the story about his "friends" is really about him and his friend Robbie and tells Halley for the first time what he really did when his friend was wounded. Michael prepares to leave the hospital and resume his life while Halley teaches him the Armstrong family motto, “I remain unvanquished.” CONTEXTUAL BACKGROUND Pathfinders The Pathfinders are part of the Girl Guides organization and cater to girls aged 12-14. They emphasize outdoor activities as well as community building. These activities are designed to foster self-esteem, respect for others and for the environment and allow girls to develop the skills necessary to make a positive difference in the world. Girl Guides emerged in the early 20th century as a response to the very popular Boy Scouts movement created by Lord Baden-Powell of England. A number of girls, who were not allowed to join the Boy Scouts, demanded an organization of their own and Baden-Powell encouraged his sister to start such an organization. The first Canadian Girl Guides organizations were founded in the early 1910s and have continued for more than one hundred years. 4 War in Afghanistan Corporal Michael Armstrong: We’re tasked with helping the government of Afghanistan serve the needs of their people by separating insurgents from the local populations – except you can’t defeat an insurgency, best you can do is marginalize it. Halley: Does that mean we’re not going to win? In 2001, shortly after the September 11th terrorist attacks carried out by Al Qaeda, the United States launched what President George Bush called the "War on Terror". This war included invasions of both Afghanistan and Iraq, although Iraq had no connections to the attacks. In order to facilitate such an ambitious military undertaking, the United States called on NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) allies, including Canada. Canadian politicians, not wanting to take part in an invasion of Iraq, chose to participate in the war in Afghanistan, where the United States removed the Taliban government, who were accused of sheltering Al Qaeda and its leader Osama Bin Laden. At the time, the Afghan war was considered to be more or less “over” and the plan for Canadian involvement in combat was to be minimal. The Taliban were quickly removed from power and an alliance of northern warlords friendly to the United States put in place. But the war lasted much longer than many Western observers predicted. As Foreign Affairs Minister Bill Graham stated, “I think everybody was convinced that Afghanistan was a lot further down the road to recovery than it really was." The Taliban government had drawn support from the majority Pashtun ethnic group and had been financed and supplied by factions within Pakistan.