Sherrod Taylor, J.D., Vietnam veteran, Adler School Institute on Social Inclusion Faculty Fellow, and Theater of War panelist
While the concept of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) did not become widely known until after World War I, when it was known as shell shock, it’s in fact been recognized since the time of Sophocles in Ancient Greece. Sophocles was a Greek military general as well as a playwright, in an age when war was waged over many years. His play “Ajax” particularly highlights some of the issues that returning soldiers and veterans face as a result of war.
The story focuses on the title character, a soldier in the Trojan War, plotting to murder the Greek generals who have disgraced him. Under a trance by the goddess Athena, he slaughters farm animals he thinks are officers. Ajax’s concubine and other soldiers are depicted as trying to bring him to his senses; the pivotal scene shows Ajax in agony, committing suicide.
Although Sophocles wrote this play nearly 2,500 years ago, it remains an accurate depiction of the anguish and turmoil that modern-day soldiers experience. In fact, nearly one in five troops is diagnosed with PTSD, and suicides are climbing at unprecedented rates.
For this very reason, modern theatre director Bryan Doerries believed the Greek drama could offer something worthwhile to the modern world. Thus, the Theater of War was created.
The Theater of War is a nationally recognized independent production company that performs stage readings from Sophocles’ plays. So far, the company has performed more than 190 times across the United States, Europe and Japan. Last week, the company’s work came to Chicago in the first of two performances of AJAX—The Female Warrior Program,” presented by Goodman Theatre and Rivendell Theatre Ensemble in association with Theater of War.
The Adler School of Professional Psychology has co-sponsored special panels and town-hall discussion after the productions, Jan. 18 and again this week on Jan. 25, which focus on women and the impact of military combat. Through the discussions, veterans, soldiers and other audience members speak out on and their experiences. The play—and the discussions—offers insight to the 99% of Americans who have never served on the battlefield.
Among the Adler School panelists and veterans leading discussion is Sherrod Taylor, J.D., faculty fellow of the Adler School Institute on Social Exclusion (ISE). A combat veteran who served with the 366th Tactical Fighter Wing in Vietnam, Taylor practiced law for 28 years near Fort Benning, Georgia, where he often represented clients with post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury. He also is a former director of the National Head Injury Foundation.
During last week’s Theatre of War post-reading discussion, he described the barriers faced by returning soldiers in individual and collective mental health contexts. The individual mental health aspects are perhaps the more well-known: the diagnoses such as PTSD, traumatic brain injury (TBI), or depression. The less obvious context is what not only affects veterans as a group but also detrimentally impacts society: Veterans return to a poor job market, systematic unemployment, home foreclosures, structural racism and a host of macro-level problems.
Taylor also pointed out other major barriers faced by those invested in the “warrior culture,” such as stigmatization. Soldiers throughout history have been challenged to be completely independent, to “stand on their own two feet,” and never ask for help. In fact, as Taylor pointed out from his own combat experience, building an inflated ego is part of military training. This training and the stigma associated with requesting mental health services often prevent soldiers and veterans from seeking the therapeutic help they need.
Taylor’s work and that of the ISE is not only focused on promoting positive mental health for individuals but also on population mental health as well. The concept is consistent with Bryan Doerries’ vision for Theater of War productions, which he sees as a public health project to function not necessarily as a therapeutic session alone but instead as a public health campaign.
We invite you to join us this week for Chicago’s second production of AJAX—The Female Warrior Program, followed by discussion with Taylor and fellow panelists including Joseph E. Troiani, PhD, Adler School core faculty coordinator of the School’s Military Clinical Psychology track and retired U.S. Navy Commander; and Tammy Duckworth, former assistant secretary for public and intergovernmental affairs, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs; former director of the Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs; Iraq War veteran.
The production is at 7 p.m. Jan. 25, at the National Veterans Art Museum, 1801 S. Indiana Ave. in Chicago. To reserve your free tickets, visit RivendellTheatre.org or call Rivendell’s box office at 773.334.7728.
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Nationally recognized ‘Theater of War’ in Chicago: Adler School panelist & veteran discusses the macro mental health issues
Sherrod Taylor, J.D., Vietnam veteran, Adler School Institute on Social Inclusion Faculty Fellow, and Theater of War panelist
While the concept of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) did not become widely known until after World War I, when it was known as shell shock, it’s in fact been recognized since the time of Sophocles in Ancient Greece. Sophocles was a Greek military general as well as a playwright, in an age when war was waged over many years. His play “Ajax” particularly highlights some of the issues that returning soldiers and veterans face as a result of war.
The story focuses on the title character, a soldier in the Trojan War, plotting to murder the Greek generals who have disgraced him. Under a trance by the goddess Athena, he slaughters farm animals he thinks are officers. Ajax’s concubine and other soldiers are depicted as trying to bring him to his senses; the pivotal scene shows Ajax in agony, committing suicide.
Although Sophocles wrote this play nearly 2,500 years ago, it remains an accurate depiction of the anguish and turmoil that modern-day soldiers experience. In fact, nearly one in five troops is diagnosed with PTSD, and suicides are climbing at unprecedented rates.
For this very reason, modern theatre director Bryan Doerries believed the Greek drama could offer something worthwhile to the modern world. Thus, the Theater of War was created.
The Theater of War is a nationally recognized independent production company that performs stage readings from Sophocles’ plays. So far, the company has performed more than 190 times across the United States, Europe and Japan. Last week, the company’s work came to Chicago in the first of two performances of AJAX—The Female Warrior Program,” presented by Goodman Theatre and Rivendell Theatre Ensemble in association with Theater of War.
The Adler School of Professional Psychology has co-sponsored special panels and town-hall discussion after the productions, Jan. 18 and again this week on Jan. 25, which focus on women and the impact of military combat. Through the discussions, veterans, soldiers and other audience members speak out on and their experiences. The play—and the discussions—offers insight to the 99% of Americans who have never served on the battlefield.
Among the Adler School panelists and veterans leading discussion is Sherrod Taylor, J.D., faculty fellow of the Adler School Institute on Social Exclusion (ISE). A combat veteran who served with the 366th Tactical Fighter Wing in Vietnam, Taylor practiced law for 28 years near Fort Benning, Georgia, where he often represented clients with post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury. He also is a former director of the National Head Injury Foundation.
During last week’s Theatre of War post-reading discussion, he described the barriers faced by returning soldiers in individual and collective mental health contexts. The individual mental health aspects are perhaps the more well-known: the diagnoses such as PTSD, traumatic brain injury (TBI), or depression. The less obvious context is what not only affects veterans as a group but also detrimentally impacts society: Veterans return to a poor job market, systematic unemployment, home foreclosures, structural racism and a host of macro-level problems.
Taylor also pointed out other major barriers faced by those invested in the “warrior culture,” such as stigmatization. Soldiers throughout history have been challenged to be completely independent, to “stand on their own two feet,” and never ask for help. In fact, as Taylor pointed out from his own combat experience, building an inflated ego is part of military training. This training and the stigma associated with requesting mental health services often prevent soldiers and veterans from seeking the therapeutic help they need.
Taylor’s work and that of the ISE is not only focused on promoting positive mental health for individuals but also on population mental health as well. The concept is consistent with Bryan Doerries’ vision for Theater of War productions, which he sees as a public health project to function not necessarily as a therapeutic session alone but instead as a public health campaign.
We invite you to join us this week for Chicago’s second production of AJAX—The Female Warrior Program, followed by discussion with Taylor and fellow panelists including Joseph E. Troiani, PhD, Adler School core faculty coordinator of the School’s Military Clinical Psychology track and retired U.S. Navy Commander; and Tammy Duckworth, former assistant secretary for public and intergovernmental affairs, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs; former director of the Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs; Iraq War veteran.
The production is at 7 p.m. Jan. 25, at the National Veterans Art Museum, 1801 S. Indiana Ave. in Chicago. To reserve your free tickets, visit RivendellTheatre.org or call Rivendell’s box office at 773.334.7728.
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