Tango Mike is a community collaborative play about the lives and experiences of local Afghanistan/Iraq veterans of Linn County, Oregon and their families. I worked closely with local community partners and veterans’ support organizations: Vets Helping Vets, Love Our Vets, and Albany Counselors; and conducted numerous interviews and story-circles in order to develop an original script. The play explores a wide range of issues, including PTSD, faced by our local vets who have returned home from Afghanistan and Iraq.

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Set in rural Oregon during a Memorial Day barbecue. Mike "Buddy" McIntyre, an Iraq war veteran, and his family are celebrating the holiday with friends. Buddy’s father, Cooper, unexpectedly shows up after having been estranged from the family for fifteen years. Buddy and his father’s relationship has been strained because of Cooper’s post-traumatic stress disorder he developed during his time in Vietnam. Buddy is now facing the same issues, but now with his own family. This play examines how PTSD can affect not only the individual, but the loved ones surrounding the inflicted.

This play was created through interviews and story circles with veterans and their families from Albany, Corvallis, Philomath, Lebanon, Salem and Sweet Home Oregon.

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Scenic Design: Dan Stone, Richard Elvin

Lighting Design: Dan Stone

Sound Design/Original Music: Dan Stone

Costume Design: Tinamarie Ivey