VOICES FROM THE BATTLEFRONT SCRIPT ADAPTATIONS

ABOUT THE PLAY

Voices from the Battlefront is performed as one part of a five hour workshop on domestic violence.  The entire workshop is conceived as performative.  Its order is as follows.

• All participants gather; informal greetings over coffee, tea, and juice. (15 minutes)
• Voices from the Battlefront begins. As prologue, in front of the play’s simple set, a middle-aged survivor of domestic violence tells her personal story in her own words.  She is followed by a young survivor of domestic violence who tells her personal story. As each completes her story, she takes a seat upstage left, separate from the set, to bear witness to the ensuing performance. (20 minutes)
• After the prologue, two Roadside Theater actor/singers and four community volunteer readers, who have rehearsed their parts, perform the play. (45 minutes)
• Lunch is served on-site. (45 minutes)
• All workshop participants reassemble and are broken into groups of 10.  Roadside Theater and Roadside-trained volunteers conduct story circles with each group. The personal stories that the participants tell about domestic violence are prompted by the earlier performance. The stories are told within a specific Roadside story circle structure that reinforces trust and builds empathy. (1 hour)
• Break. (20 minutes)
• Workshop participants reassemble and chosen representatives from each story circle present to the whole group thoughts and reflections generated by their group’s circle, followed by a facilitated discussion about what actions individuals and the community can take to end domestic violence.  (1hour)
• Informal goodbyes. (15 minutes)

PRODUCTION HISTORY

The performative workshop and play, Voices from the Battlefront, was first produced by HOPE House, a women’s shelter in Norton, Virginia, with a cast that included an older and a younger woman, each telling their personal story of domestic violence; two Roadside Theater performers; three staff from HOPE House women’s shelter; and a member of the HOPE House support group for survivors of domestic violence. 

The audience was composed of public school teachers, social workers, and law enforcement officers. 

Based on reports of its effectiveness, the workshop was then commissioned by the Virginia Department of Juvenile Justice for its state-wide in-service training for 100 police officers, lawyers, probation officers, judges, and social workers.  Roadside continues to produce the play and workshop.