"Speed Killed My Cousin" is a brutally honest work on PTSD and the difficulties military personnel feel when returning to civilian life.  An intense one act play, “Speed Killed My Cousin” is the story of a young, African American woman veteran of the Iraq War and her struggle with moral injury and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). A third generation soldier, the central character courts death by vehicular suicide. "Speed..." explores multiple issues related to war, including racism on many levels, the experience of women in combat, and the historical intergenerational struggles that all veterans feel, from all wars and conflicts.  Playwright Linda Parris-Bailley also appeared in several roles within the play, recently presented at the Orlando Museum of Art.

The play was followed by an active talk back that clearly revealed the immediate impact of the play.  The audience spoke to the new understanding they had for military servicemembers, veterans, their families, and the profound struggles to reconcile service with reentry and reintegration into civilian life.  The audience expressed shock at the rate of suicide for military servicemembers:  22 soldiers commit suicide each and every day.  The civilian/military divide was bridged during the performance and initiated a passionate conversation that can only be felt when experiencing the power of live performance.

"Speed Killed My Cousin" was performed in conjunction with The Alternate Roots Regional Gathering in partnership with the annual Zora Neal Hurston Festival in Orlando, Florida. The play is a touring production of Carpetbag Theatre, Inc. and was directed by Andrea Assaf, founding Artistic Director of Art2Action.  "Speed Killed My Cousin" was made possible with funding by The New England Foundation for the Arts' National Theater Project.  Art2Action and The New England Foundation for the Arts are listed in the National Initiative for Arts & Health in the Military's Directory at Americans for the Arts.

Watch Linda Parris-Bailey and Andrea Assaf on the "Engaging Military Veterans in Your Community through the Arts" panel livestreamed from the 2014 Americans for the Arts Annual Convention.

For more information:

"Speed Killed My Cousin"/The Carpetbag Theatre, Inc.

Engaging

Photo by James Geiger 2012