Tennessee Shakespeare Co. - 2024-2025 Playbill

45 2024-2025: SEASON SEVENTEEN FEAST OF CRISPIAN-SOUTH The Feast of Crispian-South is the only Shakespeare program working with V.A. Medical Center in-patients in the country. FoCS has invited over 1,000 military Veterans in the past eight years into the world of Shakespeare. By investigating his plays and language, Veterans are given the opportunity to communicate the impact of post-deployment issues and work through difficult thoughts and feelings. With a combination of performance and creative writing prompts, we exercise collaboration and community in a brave and supportive environment. The program is conducted at the Memphis V.A. Medical Center. Our newest program for Veterans, active duty members, and their families is called Valiant Players . This program brings the work from the V.A. Medical Center to TSC’s own facility once a week at night. These sessions focus on building community with Veterans at-large in our area, while providing opportunities for expression through exploration of Shakespeare and creative writing. This program is funded in part by FedEx, AutoZone through an ArtsZone grant, and the Tennessee Arts Commission through an Arts Access Grant. It is also funded in part by a Creative Forces Community Engagement Grant, which is part of the National Endowment for the Arts’ Creative Forces® initiative, in partnership with Mid-America Arts Alliance. “These classes are a reprieve. A lot of the days in-program, we are faced with the heaviness of our addictions. It’s a breath of fresh air to be able to come here (FoCS class) and laugh and talk in a different way.” - participating Veteran at the V.A. Medical Center Two of our inaugural Valiant Players participants with Teaching-Artist Curtis Jackson.