TELLING:AUSTIN,TX @Mexican American Cultural Center

This performance piece written by Jonathan Wei and produced by the Creative Writing Department at ACC with The Telling Project is well performed, intelligent and emotionally powerful.  Eight Austin military vets and some family members stage the telling of their stories.  I knew one of the actors personally, and knew that when she decided to join the Army in between her Jr. and Sr. year of college in order to handle student debt, she had an incident where she was treated terribly by a  professor.  He closed the door on her when she came to say good-bye dressed in uniform.  I heard about that on NPR when she wrote a poem about the incident.  I always remembered that and wanted to honor her service.  And last night was a perfect opportunity.  All of the performers are articulate, literary and very connected to the impact the military has had on their inner worlds and how they've handled their challenges.  Some of the stories of rape and sexual abuse will enrage you and might make you cry.  I left feeling I was in the presence of survivors who were not afraid to share their struggles.  We have no idea the enormous sacrifice made by people who enlist in the armed forces.  There are 3 more performances May 2-May 4.  Don't miss this.  It will enhance your understanding of what happens to our soldiers.