Life-altering impact of war subject of multimedia performance at CCA

A multimedia documentary theater piece about the life-altering impact of war on veterans and their families will be performed at 8 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 29, at the Collins Center for the Arts at the University of Maine.

BASETRACK LIVE is a viscerally powerful collaboration between the award-winning theater company En Garde Arts and corpsmen from the 1st Battalion, 8th Marines from Camp Lejeune.

Two actors play the real-life characters of AJ and Melissa Czubai, a young Marine and his wife. The raw, warm, humorous piece follows the couple’s journey through AJ’s deployment to Afghanistan, the birth of their child while AJ is overseas and the injury that sends him home.

American Theatre called BASETRACK LIVE — which shows the transformation of ordinary people fundamentally changed by the extraordinary experience of fighting a war — “boundary breaking.”

A live musician plays an electroacoustic score throughout the show. And in the background, award-winning photography and videos from embedded photographers show the landscape of Afghanistan. Skype interviews with spouses present a realistic portrait of what life is like for families left behind.

“This show is as much about families as it is veterans,” says CCA executive director Danny Williams. “It is particularly relevant given Maine’s sizable population of military families.”

For more information and to purchase tickets, visit collinscenterforthearts.com.

Tickets are $24–$29 for the general public and $15–$20 for active and retired military members and their families. Call 207.581.1755 for the military discount and to request a disability accommodation. In addition, $6 tickets are available for high school students. Orders that include student tickets must be purchased in person or by phone and may only be picked up at the box office the night of the show.

The University of Maine Cultural Affairs/Distinguished Lecture Series Fund provided support for the BASETRACK LIVE performance.