Joyce Guy, an African-American theater pro who acts, writes and dances, has reached back into her own life for the basis of her solo show, War Stories. Guy was born into a military family; her father was a career soldier, a staff sergeant in the Army mail system who was posted overseas most of the time. Thus, Guy spent her childhood in places like Taiwan and Japan, an experience that left her unprepared for the kind of racism she encountered when she returned to the USA for high school. As she recalls, "I had to learn to be Black when I came back from Asia."
War Stories, then, is less about war, more about trying to find a place for herself in an oft-hostile America. Guy still has problems fitting in here, finding a true home for herself.
Guy mixes l6mm footage, photographs, poetry and dance to help dramatize her unique personal odyssey. She has also incorporated passages from Gail Buckley's "American Patriots: The Story of Blacks in the Military from the Revolution to Desert Storm." The result is a unique take on a corner of American history that has largely been ignored until now.
Guy's father, an upright, honorable man, received commendations for his work in the army but was denied promotion, if only because the postal system was considered a "frozen field" by Uncle Sam. He remained a sergeant until his retirement, at which time he went to work for the Federal postal system and became, as parlance has it, a "double-dipper." In Guy's eyes he was a hero but an unsung one -- that is, until now. Thanks to her wide-ranging, passionately written, well-performed play, credit is paid to the late Staff Sgt. Frank Guy and all the other African-American men and women like him who have been denied their place in the sun.
War Stories is skillfully directed by Gregg T. Daniel and helped immeasurably by the on-stage cellist/composer, Peter
Walden.
