‘A Shot Away’ off-target

If the victim reports receiving a poetic letter from his or her attacker following a sexual assault, the U.S. military considers it a sign the victim is lying.

“A Shot Away,” advertised as “shock and awe of a different kind,” sheds light on many aspects of how the military treats sexual assault.

I imagine those involved in the Aux Dog Theatre production consider the play to be a surprising revelation to an American audience. Perhaps the reason the audience is not shocked is an overexposure to the ills of the world, both in daily news articles chronicling the latest civil disturbances and in fictional mass media.

The script is derived verbatim from interviews with sexual assault victims in the military. Such a concept should have launched an affecting piece, but somewhere in the execution, such as the interpretive dance choreography or the playwright’s leaps between seven stories, the sentiment is lost.

The play opens at the home of a female soldier who allegedly committed suicide after being raped. Her mother and sister recount the events leading up to her death, a story punctuated by the other experiences of four women and two men. The play makes sexual assault seem commonplace in the military and also implies the behavior is institutional.

One soldier said, “You get the mentality that they’re in charge and they’re in the right.” Soldiers, male or female, are threatened if they consider reporting the assault, accounting for the rate of unreported incidents.

The power structure allows for soldiers to be manipulated, and the dialogue reflects conflict between their desire to succeed in the military and to attend to their own needs.

Between their decision to join the military and the scarred lives they struggle through after discharge, the audience is subjected to every graphic detail of the soldiers’ lives.

I considered the atrocious crimes against humanity these soldiers suffered. I did my best to imagine myself in their position and soon I felt I was trying harder than some of the actors.

Granted, the cast gained momentum as the soldiers’ dreams became twisted nightmares, but I couldn’t help feeling they didn’t all connect with their part. The few exceptions picked up the slack, but it wasn’t enough for me.

Stories like these deserve to be told in a way that draws the audience in so close they feel violated themselves. More than the actors, I blame the playwright. Sharing their experiences in a documentary would have been more appropriate, for who is more capable of bringing to life the words of a wounded soldier than the soldiers themselves?

A Shot Away
by Donna Flumano-Farly

Aux Dog Theatre
3011 Monte Vista Blvd. NE
Until Jan. 29
Fri. and Sat. 8p.m.
Sun. 2pm.
General Admission: $16
Students, Seniors, and Military: $12