Bob Celli, Thaddeus Daniels
Down Range
A nytheatre voices cyber-interview
Bob Celli and Thaddeus Daniels are friends and have worked together several times. Bob is an actor who has been seen on stage, in film, and on T.V. He is also part of the producing company for this production. Thaddeus is also an actor both on stage and T.V. The original inspriation for this play came from discussions between Bob and Thaddeus.
Pictured: Thaddeus Daniels, Bob Celli
You are both appearing in a new play entitled Down Range. Could each of you give your own version of what you think the play is about and why it is important for audiences to attend, especially what makes this play different than other war related plays?
Daniels: To me Down Range is about the multiple battles a soldier must fight. Amidst deployments and the times in between them, battles are often fought to maintain a family. A trememdous amount of sacrifice is given by all family members. Down Range touches on this world that few know about, by following two military families for close to two decades and looking at their conflicts at various stages.
Celli: The play is about how war imprints itself on all those involved. How it irrevocably changes the lives of the soldiers and their families. I think this play presents the home front and how it is affected rather than just focusing on those who are deployed. It brings awareness to the sacrifices of an entire community.
This play came about specifically from ideas and thoughts you both had about the importance of writing a play on this topic. Could you give us some insight into the earliest discussions that led to the creation of the play?
Celli: The initial idea came to me while listening to a choral music concert. The idea was in part inspired by a documentary I had seen in which soldiers shared their experiences of combat, downtime, the army, and readjustment to civilian life. In particular, the story of a soldier escorting the body of a fallen comrade home for burial. As the trip progressed he felt as though he really got to know the man he was escorting and that not until the casket was laid to rest and was no longer moving, did he believe that the soldier was dead. I thought how fascinating it would be to show that journey and that relationship.
Having worked with Thaddeus, I approached him with the idea and we began talking about the concept and how to approach it. Who are these two men? What are their beliefs? Why are they in? Why do they stay in? What drives these individuals?
Once we had an outline I contacted a friend and playwright Jeffrey Skinner, to see if he would be interested in coming on board to write the piece. When I approached him with the idea, it so happened that Jeff was at that time immersed in interviewing members of Blue Star Mothers of Kentucky for a project of his own about life on the home front. It was a fit.
Daniels: Bob Celli and I have been friends for years. Two years ago we happened to be in an ensemble piece together and expressed a mutual desire to work on something together. As we discussed possibilities, a common thread was war and soldiers. The casualties from the Iraq war were spiking and I believe we both wanted to comment on it in some way. We both had our separate inspirations to get us there. For me, I was an army brat who had a compassion for soldiers and their suffering and the suffering and sacrifices of their spouses and children. I lived it to a degree. I had been listening to a John Legend song, "Coming Home", which I thought spoke on the topic beautifully.
It is somewhat unique for the impetus of a play to come from the actors who will appear in it. How did you help make this a reality and how much input did you have with the producer, director and writer as time progressed?
Celli: Jeff absorbed the ideas of Thaddeus and myself, went to work and then presented a first draft that, though it had elements of the original idea, was much expanded, and explored the relationships of these two men to their wives and the world at home as well as to each other. Thus the two projects folded nicely into one another.
For over a year and a half, Jeff, Thaddeus, Laura Delano and myself worked on Down Range in the following manner: Jeff would make revisions after hearing readings organized by the three of us with other actors who volunteered their time to fill out the cast and to read the stage directions.
In the autumn of 2008, Laura Delano and I asked Trish Minskoff if she would like to come on board to direct the play. Minskoff attended a reading of Down Range and was enthusiastic about taking the helm. She and Jeff then developed a good working relationship to fine tune and focus the play, using a weekend workshop with Thaddeus, myself and fellow actors in which Minskoff experimented with the order of scenes, discovering what made the play stronger and improved the pace. A former student of Skinner's, Lieutenant Colonel Christian Kubic, USA, who is currently stationed at West Point and has been in the army for twenty-seven years, has helped the project immensely. Kubic has offered technical advice, aid in finding the correct uniforms, and has answered the endless questions that have come up during the development and rehearsal process. The play continues to evolve during the rehearsal process with all involved being able to help shape and hone the play. It has been a truly collaborative venture.
Daniels: Once the topic was chosen, we reached out to Jeffrey Skinner, at the University of Louisville, who was a personal friend of producer, Laura Delano and we passed him detailed character sketches. As he was doing research at Fort Riley, KS, he happened upon a former student, now a colonel. This contact helped shape the early drafts, then through a series of readings, discussions and a weekend workshop where we intensely went about shaping it, a play emerged.
I read that you note that the after effects of war on returning soldiers is a silent topic that needs to be discussed. Yet there are many cases of politicians and organizations taking up this topic. Why do you feel that the theatre and this play in particular can aid in bringing the issue to the forefront when the work of those I have mentioned above has not?
Daniels: I would just say that every voice helps, be it a politician, an organization or a theatre. Each entity can reach a different audience. This is so important because soldiers and their families can not voice all of the things that are unfortunate about the military for fear of court martial, or not making rank or various other forms of retribution. Therefore anytime someone can hold a mirror up to their conditions so that others may see it is a positive thing.
Celli: Sometimes art and theater can reach the public in a way that politicians and organizations can't. It is a topic that we as a nation, as a world community can easily disregard, if we are not personally being touched by it. By tackling the subject through the arts, I am hoping that people will be more appt to absorb the information.
This play addresses something that is happening around us, everyday. Soldiers are returning from the two wars we are fighting at this time and for them, the struggles continue at home. Any understanding, any perspective I can bring to the very difficult subject of war and its after effects is an important endeavor. Whether we agree with our government's decision to go into these wars or not, we owe the men and women fighting in our country's name our gratitude and respect.
As long as wars continue to be fought, these problems will continue to exist. Do you have any thoughts as to what the military should/could do to better assist/prepare members of the armed forces for a better/easier return to civilian life?
Daniels: I am not sure there is an answer. Any experience an individual has good or bad shapes them, so it is inevitable that war will shape soldiers. They will always come home changed people. Even if they don't come home with a physical scar, they generally have an emotional one. The only thing I could say is that if you know what war is and what it does to your citizens, you should use it only as a last resort. Politicians should be careful not to be hawkish because they are stunting the growth of young men and women and those that love them.
Celli: How does one prepare men and women for experiences they will encounter in battle? Then, how do we erase those experiences when they return? I wish I did have the answer to that. I do believe that it is imperative the politicians think long and hard and exhaust all other peaceful options before sending brave men and women into any conflict.
However, I believe that through awareness comes change. And through that awareness, the men and women who are far more capable in those areas than I, will hopefully come up with solutions to better help our veterans and care for those who sacrifice so much. The nation as a whole needs to make sure there are resources of every kind available to them. We'd like every person who sees this play to come away with a new awareness of the struggles that continue after one's time at war is over and to find a way, however small, to help.
What does the near future have in store for both of you?
Celli: Right now all focus is on Down Range. Because of the dedication of so many involved in bringing this story to the stage, I would ultimately love to see it move into a longer run. I am honored and humbled by the talent that has signed on to be part of the production.
Daniels: I just plan to keep looking for things that move me and finding creative ways to comment on them.
October 14, 2009
