A stage of healing

By JUDITH DULBERGER
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
In 1968, when Sean Devlin did his first tour of duty in Vietnam as an 18-year-old recruit, David Vosburgh, then in his early 30s, was in New York City getting his theatrical career started.
Devlin made the military his career for more than 20 years and has committed much of his time recently to POW/MIA and other veterans issues as a member and officer of Rolling Thunder, a motorcycle and veterans advocacy group.
Vosburgh continued in the theater. Today he is president of the Arts Council of Youngstown and Mahoning County, adjunct faculty member at YSU's college of Fine and Performing Arts and director of The Actors' Project of Youngstown.
Surprising partnership
Despite their differences, Devlin and Vosburgh say they hit it off right from the start. They have teamed up to stage a new play.
"Welcome Home" is a story of a Vietnam veteran and his relationship with his wife and teenage son and the memories of the war that haunt him.
The play portrays the father's wartime experiences juxtaposed with the backdrop of the anti-war fervor of the Vietnam era and an otherwise "life-as-usual" existence on the home front.
The play's title speaks to the alienation felt by many Vietnam veterans returning to the states after their tours of duty. It was a "welcome home" with a question mark. Soldiers often were welcomed home not as heroes but as killers.
"Welcome Home" was written by Kathryn Schultz Miller of ChildrensTheatrePlays.com in Cincinnati. Schultz Miller has also developed a lesson plan to accompany the play for middle-school teachers who want to fit the play and related classroom activities into the social-studies curriculum.
Although originally intended for young audiences, the play's message and emotional appeal transcend age and historical time. It's really the story of the psychological impact of war on individuals and families.
Veterans advocacy
So where does Rolling Thunder fit into the picture?
Devlin, president of Rolling Thunder Inc. Ohio Chapter 4, says the group is underwriting the cost of the production.
Despite public perception, Rolling Thunder is not strictly a bikers organization. "Motorcycles become a large part in the public's eye," says Devlin, "because when you put motorcycles together it draws attention." For instance, 250,000 motorcyclists participate in Rolling Thunder's Memorial Day weekend pilgrimage to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., each year.
But the biker image has overshadowed the organization's purpose and contribution, he said. "We identify ourselves as a veterans advocacy group more than anything else, seeking the best interest of current and future POW/MIAs and helping American veterans and their families in need."
And the basis of the organization is public education, particularly in the schools.
A healing process
Devlin's local chapter has been raising money for three years to develop a major project to educate youths and benefit the community. Once Devlin presented the idea of the play to the chapter's board of directors, it took very little convincing that "Welcome Home" was the project they had been seeking.
Devlin stumbled upon the play more than a year ago while surfing the Internet. With no apologies, he said, "The first time I read it, I had a hard time getting through it without crying."
Since then, Devlin has become the play's producer, a role that makes him more than a little nervous.
But the play itself has become a healing process for Devlin, who suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, as do other Chapter 4 members who have contributed to the stage play as technical advisers.
In a way, the play has been a healing process for Vosburgh as well. Vosburgh's brother, a Vietnam veteran, died four years ago. Although not diagnosed as such, Vosburgh believes his brother died as a result of wasting away over the past 30 years from the psychological and mental consequences of participating in that conflict.
But Vosburgh agreed to direct the play also because it is a good script, and it's the kind of substantive subject matter that The Actors' Project likes to deal with.
At first, Vosburgh was a little reluctant to put on a play with a biker club, but Sean Devlin's sincerity proved the hook. And, he says, the play is not a polemic. It has no ax to grind. It is not pro- or anti-war. "It is pro-people. ... It is a very human story."
Final details
The play's soundtrack and '60s-era music add to the nostalgia and vivid memories that the play evokes for those who lived through the period. For younger audiences, sound and music add a realistic dimension to the story.
The set includes original props and costumes, including army-issue uniforms and demilitarized weapons. A 64-foot replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial has been constructed for the production.
The play's main cast members include John Cox and Nick Cordova, who have played opposite each other as brothers in Trumbull New Theatre's productions "True West" and "Death of a Salesman." Now they will be playing opposite each other as father and son.
Courtney Bartels, whose most recent role was as Daddy Warbucks' secretary in Easy Street's production of "Annie," portrays the wife and mother.