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The Foxhole Theater Company’s The Ninth Door
The Art of Listening
By Julia Stier
THE NINTH DOOR, photo by Matt Kaminura. Photo at top also from THE NINTH DOOR, photo by Matt Kaminura
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Domenico says the idea for the company came after learning that one of the guys in his unit had committed suicide. He was sitting in his acting class at Marymount Manhattan College when he received a text with the devastating news. “Shortly afterwards, pictures started circulating online of one of our bases being overrun,” Domenico shares, “and the guys were texting one another, Do people back home even know what we did over there or even care?” Domenico says it hit him: “I know what would fix this: a theater company.”
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“In listening, we will become less divided.”
So says Katherine Connor Duff, co-artistic director of one of the newer theater troupes in SoCal, The Foxhole Theatre Company, founded in 2018. Duff’s artistic partner, Matt Dominico is a United States Marine Corps combat veteran, whereas Duff is a civilian. Their aim, in founding the company, was to open up dialogue between veterans and civilians.
Theirs is by no means the first company to bring veterans, and veterans’ concerns, to the stage. Other theater companies that have veteran-based programming include The Shakespeare Center LA’s Veterans in Art Program, Theatre Communication Group’s Veterans & Theatre Institute in New York, and Veteran’s Empowerment Theater with Arts Up! LA.
What differentiates The Foxhole Theatre Company is its military/civilian blend of leadership that relies on both perspectives to peel back the curtain on the often-overlooked subject of U.S. soldiers in wars overseas, and the effects of those wars on the people who fight in them.
The company’s current show The Ninth Door is being performed at The Actors’ Company on Formosa Avenue in Los Angeles, a stone’s throw from West Hollywood, playing through October 29. Co-written by Domenico and Duff, and directed by Ryan Knight, it tells the story of nine soldiers (each of whom fought in Afghanistan) who find themselves in a state of limbo after their deaths. Each man must confront their inner demons before they are able to pass on to the great beyond.
Domenico says the idea for the company came after learning that one of the guys in his unit had committed suicide. He was sitting in his acting class at Marymount Manhattan College when he received a text with the devastating news.
“Shortly afterwards, pictures started circulating online of one of our bases being overrun,” Domenico shares, “and the guys were texting one another, Do people back home even know what we did over there or even care?”
With that question in mind, Domenico says it hit him: “I know what would fix this: a theater company.”
He knew there was power in creating a space where military veterans could share their stories free of judgment – and that the theater was one such space.
He partnered with Duff, and the two started writing. With the production of their first play, Twist-Pull-Smoke-Run Motherf*cker, Run, presented in 2018 at the Hollywood Fringe Festival, The Foxhole Theatre Company was born.
Duff says that working with this company has opened her eyes to what military veterans go through but don’t talk about.
“Once I met someone who was actually [in a military conflict overseas], Duff notes, “my viewpoint became much more personal. Now I work with vets constantly, and I have learned that no one knows more about wars than the people who fight them.”
But there’s something else she’s also noticed: “The worst part is that no one is listening to them.” — largely because they’re not speaking out. “I had no idea this silent group was hurting so much until I became involved in the community.”
In a quick chat after a performance of The Ninth Door, Domenico shares that he drew on his experiences from his own tours in Afghanistan to supply the show with some of its stories.
“Many feel like we had unfinished business left there, many feel like the men who died fighting the Taliban died for nothing, still others feel like the people we left behind deserved better,” Duff says. “When writing the show, we wrote it as a warning; we defeated the Taliban, but we forgot about the real thing we were fighting for: the Afghani people.”
With the time it takes to write a play, and then to get it onto the stage, it’s hard for a theater piece to be timely. In the case of The Ninth Door, however, the play was ahead of the headlines.
Duff and Domenico started writing The Ninth Door at the end of 2019 – long before the U.S. and other Western troops began pulling out of Afghanistan.
“We meant it as a warning to our veterans that the War in Afghanistan may draw to a close in an unexpected manner. Part of its message was to prepare [them] for that possibility,” Domenico says.
He knew it was only a matter of time before that happened, and he and Duff wanted to write a piece about moving on from the leftover trauma the war would inevitably leave behind.
Then it happened. As the cast started putting the show on its feet, the U.S. military began pulling out of Afghanistan.
“To work on the production while we were literally withdrawing from Afghanistan was incredible,” Domenico shares. “It brought a real weight to everything that we were doing, and the cast and crew felt that. Everyone knew what the impact of this play could be.”
The play itself serves as an example of what The Foxhole Theatre Company is all about – creating an environment where soldiers can openly talk about what they’ve been through, and have it fall on willing ears. And while veterans do come to see their shows – two of Domenico’s old squad member even surprised him during the run of Twist-Pull-Smoke-Run Motherf*cker, Run – many, if not most, of their audiences are comprised of civilians.
Then, by watching, the conversation starts.
“The most valuable thing to take away from the conversations is that veterans will talk and share their burden if you want to listen,” Duff says. “And to the veterans, civilians will listen to you. They want to know. The most valuable thing to take away from our plays is to listen to each other.”
And what kind of conversations do they hope will come from these exchanges?
A deeper understanding of veterans themselves.
“If you took the Black, Asian, and LGBTQ community and just told stories of bigotry you wouldn’t have plays like A Raisin In The Sun, Angels In America, or Miss Saigon. Where the veteran community is at with theater, we only have works of them in combat and the horrors of it,” Domenico says. “We’re completely missing out on this community’s themes of what family, brotherhood, love, etc. means to them. I hope plays like this will give audience members a different perspective of veterans and how much more of the genre can be explored.”
In addition to stage productions, The Foxhole Theater Company also produces a podcast – titled The Foxhole Podcast and co-hosted by veteran/civilian team Brock Joseph and Matthew Pardue – which invites veterans of any rank or branch to come on and share their stories.
“The podcast has been a big step forward for many of our veteran guests,” Domenico shares. “Some have never told their stories until the interviews.”
Up next for The Foxhole Theatre Company, they are toying with the idea of producing a non-military comedy in 2022 that employs both veterans and civilians. Along with that, they will continue to workshop new veteran-themed scripts.
And how do veterans feel about seeing themselves represented onstage?
“The veteran community has been very supportive of our work,” Domenico says. “. . . Our plays give a necessary catharsis to veterans, and sometimes even drive them to finally talk to their loved ones, or even get inspired themselves. It has been a very rewarding process.”
The Ninth Door is being presented by The Foxhole Theater Company at The Actor’s Company, 916 North Formosa Avenue, Los Angele; Thurs.-Sat., 8 p.m., Sun., Oct. 17, 2 p.m.; through October 29. Running time: 90 minutes, no intermission. Tickets here.
