Oregon Humanities Center

UO student Lemuel Charley, a member of the original Telling: Eugene cast, tells his story at a special performance in Washington, D.C.

Jonathan Wei is founder and executive director of The Telling Project and Lemon Films. His production credits include “Telling, Portland, OR,” “Telling, Eugene” “Telling: Mission Serve,” “Telling: Sacramento,” “Telling: Starkville” and “Oregon Stories of War.” His plays have appeared in Portland and Eugene, OR; Seattle, WA; Washington, D.C.; Sacramento and San Diego, CA; and Starkville, MS. He has been interviewed on NPR, Repere TV Canada and Culturbot Zine and his work reviewed by New York Magazine, Inside Higher Ed, The Review Review, Arts Journal Online, The Oregonian, Oregon Quarterly and others.

Film premiere:
"In the Telling"

"It takes two to tell the truth.
One to speak it, and one to hear it."
—Henry David Thoreau

Friday, November 4, 2011
7:30 p.m.
180 PLC, UO campus

Saturday, November 5, 2011
7:30 p.m.
Sunday, November 6, 2011
2 p.m.
Bijou Art Cinemas, 492 E. 13th Ave., Eugene
Free tickets required for the Bijou screenings—available at the Bijou box office.

poster pdf

2011-vimeo from Jonathan Wei on Vimeo.

In 2008, a group of veterans and their families in Eugene, Oregon staged the “telling” of their stories of life in the military for their community. Their intent was to re-humanize veteran citizens in the midst of an increasingly distant and difficult war. “In the Telling” follows the powerful, heart-breaking and inspiring transformations of these individuals from civilians to soldiers, soldiers to veterans, and veterans to performers.

The film includes footage from the interviews on which the stage production was based, rehearsal footage, video of the production itself, and interviews with creators Jonathan Wei and Max Rayneard and UO professor John Schmor, director of the original production.

"Telling: Eugene" was performed in February 2008 and featured veterans and their family members, including several UO student veterans. They took the stage to tell their personal stories about military service—predominantly in Iraq and Afghanistan—and the challenges of returning home.

The play was produced by The Telling Project (TTP), which works with local communities and organizations to bring veterans’ stories to the stage. TTP was created by Jonathan Wei, who, while working as the UO Nontraditional Student Programs coordinator, recognized that many student vets wanted to talk about their experiences.

“What vets at the UO (and elsewhere) experience when they return from military service is, among other things, profound isolation,” said Wei. “There’s a need for veterans to connect in a personal way—with themselves, each other and their communities.”

After that original performance in 2008, TTP leapt into the national spotlight with an invitation to perform in Washington D.C. before First Lady Michelle Obama and Second Lady Jill Biden, among other prominent political figures, on Veteran’s Day 2009. Following the D.C. performance, TTP has been contacted by more than a dozen veterans’ groups, individuals and other organizations interested in creating their own Telling plays.

The film was partially funded and co-produced by the Oregon Humanities Center. Additional funding came from private sources, including veterans’ organizations and various foundations.

“The OHC has been a strong supporter of The Telling Project since its inception,” said Julia Heydon, associate director of OHC. “Bearing witness to student veterans’ stories is a deeply important way of supporting them and welcoming them back into the society they left behind when they went to war.”

(Taken from a story by Anne Conaway in the Fall 2010 CAScades magazine.)