WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE: AN IN-DEPTH LOOK AT EVE OF DESTRUCTION
Eve of Destruction by Joe Calarco | 2007 Signature in the Schools Production


Winston (Chris Stanton) and Cynthia (Irene Casey) give a report on ancient Mesopotamia to their class, while the world of the past is brought to life by dancers Jamil Garner and Kristin James.

House lights fade to black.  The sound of the Azan, the Islamic call to prayer, fills The MAX Theatre.  Thus began Eve of Destruction, award-winning director and playwright Joe Calarco’s original Signature in the Schools drama.  Set in Basra, Iraq and the United States on the eve of the US-coalition invasion in March 2003, the play brings to life the complicated emotions and varying points-of-view surrounding the war in Iraq.  Young students on both sides of the fighting come to realize the impact that war has on their personal lives and to their cultural history.  Present-day action is juxtaposed with the oldest recorded story, written over 5,000 years ago by the Sumerians and titled Lugalbanda: The Boy Who Got Caught in a War.  Eve of Destruction weaves all of these worlds together to tell a touching tale of misunderstanding, hatred, love, and redemption. 

And something entirely new has been added to Signature in the Schools this year.  The ancient story of Lugalbanda is reenacted in dance.  Calarco and director Marcia Gardner decided to take advantage of the gifted student choreographer Cassandra Jones and the talented dancers Jamil Garner and Kristin James to introduce the element of dance.  It adds a unique form of story telling to the production.  Dance seemed the perfect way to depict the influence of the early Mesopotamian civilization on the cultural foundations of modern Iraq.


Choreographer and dancer Cassandra Jones developed a language through movement to tell the 5,000 year-old story of Lugalbanda: The Boy Who Got Caught in a War.

Throughout the week of February 12, Signature in the Schools schedules matinee performances for Arlington high school students.  Prior to attending the performance, students receive study guides that highlight the background history and issues dealt with in the play.  In addition, Gardner also goes into classrooms to discuss the material and to work with the students on scenes from the play. 

On Monday, February 12, Eve of Destruction celebrated its opening performance for the public.  Friends, family, donors and supporters of Signature in the Schools responded enthusiastically, praising the cast, the playwright, and the production.  In a post-show discussion with the cast, the audience commented on the multi-faceted perspectives shed on the war in Iraq.  Questions to the cast addressed their journey through the play and how they came to understand complicated issues as well as the emotional life of their characters.  The cast described the enormous amount of research that went into preparing for the play and talked about becoming more aware of the war and its impact on their lives and the lives of the Iraqi people.  The discussion was followed by a gala reception in the lobby for cast, crew and audience members. 

Click here to see pictures from the Eve of Destruction Opening Night.

Take a peek into the world of Joe Calarco’s new play Eve of Destruction, written for this year’s Signature in the Schools program.


Responding to Salat, the Islamic call to prayer, Fahad (Ben Truong with book) and his friend Raqim (Alan Schiffer) are on their way to prayers; while a young Iraqi girl, Rasha (Maria Wilson) writes a letter to an American pen pal.


With no means of sending the letters she has written, Maria Wilson as Rasha daydreams, “…I will give my letters to a great bird like in the old stories.  The bird will come and pick up the letters from my hand.”  In the background, Jamil Garner appears as the great bird.


The father of young Daniel Rekers, played by professional actor Ray Ficca, was stationed in Iraq during the Gulf War.  Here he writes a letter to his son that closes with, “I will see you soon. Love Dad.”  Later Daniel speaks of the repercussions of that war: “My father went to war twelve years ago…All I know is that there was some sort of an explosion and he came back blind.”


Daniel (Graham Hooper) and his friend Winston (Chris Stanton) talk about the possibility of having to fight in a war.  “What if you had to like, go and kill people and be brave and stuff?...I don’t know if I could.”


In the aftermath of the US-coalition invasion of Basra, Iraq, Rasha’s father is attacked and killed.  Rasha (Maria Wilson) turns her hatred toward the American invaders, “Even if an American did not pull the trigger, my father would not be dead, if the American’s had not come.”


Daniel (Graham Hooper) reveals that he has taken and hidden the letters his father wrote to him during the Gulf War.  He has memorized them.  In the final scene, he shares his favorite with his father (Ray Ficca).  “…you always have my love and always will.  So tonight I will sign off with another word. ‘Peace.’  For as your father, it is what I pray you will always have, until the end of days.”

For more information on Signature in the Schools, click here.

Photos courtesy of Dennis Deloria.

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