THE DRAFT

by Peter Snoad

Al saw a buddy blown up in front of his eyes by a booby-trap bomb; the image still haunts him more than 40 years later. Tom talked his way out of a lynching by college students who called him a “commie faggot’ for organizing to stop the war. Jay went into self-imposed exile in Canada. Randy went to jail for refusing to cooperate with the draft system. Frank got a medical exemption – with the help of a fake X-ray...

Al saw a buddy blown up in front of his eyes by a booby-trap bomb; the image still haunts him more than 40 years later. Tom talked his way out of a lynching by college students who called him a “commie faggot’ for organizing to stop the war. Jay went into self-imposed exile in Canada. Randy went to jail for refusing to cooperate with the draft system. Frank got a medical exemption – with the help of a fake X-ray from a sympathetic family doctor – and became a draft counselor to other working-class kids who had seen friends go “over there” and come home in a box or a wheelchair. Penny saw the suffering and the carnage first-hand as a nurse in a field hospital in Vietnam.

“The Draft” is an interweaving of the real-life stories of 10 young Americans – eight men and two women – whose lives were shaped and forever changed by the military draft during the Vietnam War (or “The American War”, as the Vietnamese call it.) The play examines the choices they made when confronted with the draft and the personal impact of those choices then and since. With the U.S. embroiled in ongoing military campaigns overseas, “The Draft” asks provocative and relevant questions about moral choice, the meaning of patriotism, and the impacts of war and militarism.

www.vietnamdraftplay.com

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THE DRAFT

Recommended by

  • John Minigan: THE DRAFT

    This ensemble play captures not just the history but the personal crises--ethical and emotional--of so many who lived through the era, weaving multiple threads in ways that bring what is for some an unknown past to life in compelling ways. The play resonates today, capturing the effect of national division on the individuals and on the country. Complex, engaging, and provocative work.

    This ensemble play captures not just the history but the personal crises--ethical and emotional--of so many who lived through the era, weaving multiple threads in ways that bring what is for some an unknown past to life in compelling ways. The play resonates today, capturing the effect of national division on the individuals and on the country. Complex, engaging, and provocative work.

  • Susan Middaugh: THE DRAFT

    Outstanding play that offers personal stories about the Vietnam War from many points of view: men and women who served, those who resisted, conscientious objectors, parents. Peter weaves these stories together in a very compelling and dramatic way.

    Outstanding play that offers personal stories about the Vietnam War from many points of view: men and women who served, those who resisted, conscientious objectors, parents. Peter weaves these stories together in a very compelling and dramatic way.

Development History

  • Type Reading, Organization Smith College, Northampton, MA, Year 2013

Production History

  • Type Professional, Organization Hibernian Hall, Boston, MA, Year 2015
  • Type Professional, Organization Onwards Productions/Academy of Music, Northampton, MA, Year 2015
  • Type Professional, Organization Onwards Productions/Trinity College, Hartford, CT, Year 2015
  • Type Professional, Organization Onwards Productions/Westfield State University, Westfield, MA, Year 2015

Awards

  • Best New Work (Small Stage)
    Independent Reviewers of New England (IRNE)
    Finalist
    2015
  • Best New Work
    ArtsImpulse
    Finalist
    2015
  • Best Ensemble in a Play
    ArtsImpulse
    Winner
    2015