Day 6 of the Tour: 9-13

Tucson High School:
We performed for three classes today, two in the morning, and one after lunch. We had two hours with the first class, which was luxurious--enough time to do the full performance and settle into an open dialogue afterwards. The kids responded. The other two classes were short, 84 minutes with role call and introductions. We ran an abbreviated version of the play to have time for 15-20 minutes of talking afterwards. Not quite enough time to experience the full range of characters and open conversation, but time enough to have an impact and an exchange.

Veterans Kim and Jamie joined us for the day, and co-adaptor Shannon Cain came for the last period.

Here is what some of the Tucson High School students had to say:

"This play made me feel the sorrow and anger felt by the women soldiers."

"I feel really frightened by this play. When I first walked through these doors I was interested, maybe inspired, to join the military, now I'm afraid."

"I can feel each pain and struggle these women have been through! I felt as if i was there when I heard each story. I have a brand new respect for military women and it has opened my eyes about wanting to go to Westpoint after high school."

"I feel sad not only because my mother is in the army and I wish she could be here with me, but because its not easy to be a woman soldier. It motivates me to want to be in the military even more. I feel grateful for our women who serve in the military."

"I would not want to join the army ever."

"I feel strong-hearted because I feel I was there and experiencing everything. Now that I have seen this [play], I now know what my sister has experienced."

"This play opened my eyes to an issue that I had never really thought about."

"The talk about rape horrified me."

"Why do they treat women so horrible in the military? Nothing like that movie "GI Jane."

"It reminds me of the Holocaust."

"After hearing all those stories, you don't exactly know how to feel. You are sorry for the girls, but at the same time somewhat mad at the Army, Navy, etc, for putting such harsh loads on them. Though the play gave you a good feeling of what girls and others go through in situations like this, I personally don't know if I should thank these people for what they do for us or be mad at them because of either what they do to others or to themselves."

"I feel honored to have such brave women in the military. All the things that they go through surprised me since no one has ever talked to me about this."

"I think women need more rights!"

"I feel a deep power from within, hearing a tale of . . . women in the army. It takes away the simplistic views I had about the army and threw them in the trash. I see that the army is fear, it is sadness, it is loneliness. The army, especially for a women, is a complex world."

"I feel that women always have to try twice as hard as men to get the same recognition. Even though it frustrates me, I feel our strife betters us."

"They [the military] only thinks of women as an object and a little slave they can use and just do whatever they want with."

"I feel inadequate. I feel small."

"I feel that women always have to try twice as hard as men to get the same recognition."

"Women in the military go through one shit storm after another!"