Six women with completely different backgrounds and motivations find something in common…their arrival in Vietnam at the height of the war. Shirley Lauro creates a graphic and complex picture of war as seen through the eyes of the nurses, volunteers, and performers whose visions of horror are real and untainted and remain with them long after they return home.

This talented cast includes Wesleyan students Meg Frey, Kelsey O'Sullivan, Erica Scanlon, Katie Ballentine, Andrea DiPietro, Leanne Mangano, and Kyle Snyder and will be performed February 21-24, 2002, at 8:00 p.m. in Jenkins Arena. An additional performance will take place on February 24 at 2:00 p.m.

Gripping, heart wrenching, and compelling, A Piece of My Heart recounts the tale of the women who fly to Vietnam on a wave of innocence and idealism only to have that idealism overwhelmingly replaced by panic. They are insufficiently trained and totally unprepared for the maimed bodies, the river of blood, and the illogic of the war itself. In the aftermath of the war, painful memories resurface as the women are alienated from friends and family, suffer indignities at the hands of war protesters, develop Agent Orange symptoms, and are plagued by recurring nightmares. Lauro has turned the firsthand impressions, from the book of the same title, into disturbing drama that evokes empathy for survivors as victims, especially the women in the war zone, whose only weapons were their hearts.

Director Barbara Burgess-Lefebvre comments, "One of the unexpected and wonderful things about working on this play is the new interaction that the cast and crew are having with their parents. Some parents served in Vietnam, some protested, and all were impacted by these events halfway around the world. Many of the students had never had these discussions with their parents and several report that they feel they know their parents better for having worked on this piece. I truly hope that Vietnam veterans in this area can come to see this production and share their responses to this material with the cast."

A Piece of My Heart is about the people who served during Vietnam, and as the first and last lines of the play read, "to honor the brave men and women who served so well and gave so much."

Tickets are $4 for adults, $2 for senior citizens and students, and $1 for Wesleyan students. For more ticket information, please call 304-473-8037 or visit our web site at www.wvwc.edu/theatre.