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When we asked "Grounded"'s leading lady Ashley Marie James for her inspirations, the stories, images, and real-life accounts she used to create her character, she pulled from a deep emotional well and recounted her Uncle's time in Vietnam and the PTSD he suffered from his experiences to build "the pilot". Her writing is spare but heavy, carrying the weight of a lifetime of sadness from a soldier who served in such darkness, and we felt the ache of every word. We are proud to present to you, the deeply personal inspiration behind "Grounded": I don’t remember much about my Uncle. I was only 10 when he passed away. I do recall that he was a deeply religious man and the manner in which he died came as a great shock to my entire family. Too young to fully understand the gravity of the situation, all I knew was he took his own life. My uncle served in Vietnam. I don’t know much about it as a lot of his letters were destroyed or lost . What I do know is that he kept how much he was involved a secret. Telling my Grandmother he was behind a desk out of the line of fire. It was only later in life that he admitted his actions and the horrors of war that he witnessed . He was involved in some things that disturbed him deeply and he was ashamed of his actions. Shell shock they called it. Now we understand it as PTSD and its extremely common. He was a young man with a wife and children when he could no longer ignore the night terrors. I thought a lot about my Uncle I hardly knew during rehearsals. The deeper I got into the character the more my heart ached for him, and his family. My cousins that grew up without their Father. If only he were able to feel like he could talk to someone honestly and openly . To learn he was not alone , perhaps even find some atonement. My hope is that by doing this play someone , anyone will see it . Be affected by it and reach out and ask for the help they need. Please don’t suffer alone in silence. You’re worth it, your life is worth living. Respect to our Brothers and Sisters who proudly serve. Thank you for all you do for our Country. --Ashley Marie James 
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Deborah Sampson, O.G. American Badass
Stay with us today as we continue to write about female Veterans and the lengths they went to in service of their country. We have some truly great stories to tell.
United Arab Emirates is leading the Middle East in equality, pushing for more women to join the military, ministerial posts, Parliament, local government, and law. Women are seen as a vital and necessary part of society, and as Al Mansouri eloquently states, “A woman’s passion about something will lead her to achieving what she aspires and that’s why she should pursue her interests.” After years of study, Al Mansouri took to the skies to bomb ISIS strongholds near Raqqa, Aleppo and Idlib, taking a deep sense of pride in her accomplishment, saying "The emblem on my shoulder is not a little thing. It's a great responsibility." Knowing that a female fighter pilot is dropping bombs onto the heads of ISIS makes us want to stand up and cheer. Well done, Major. Well done. To read more about the amazing Major Al Mansouri, read this. Or this.  "Grounded" Inspiration: "I would essentially be a kamikaze pilot. God, don't let me f**k up."11/10/2015
But, she had no missiles, no bullets, no bombs; all she had was her plane. Lt. Penny and her commanding officer were going to fly directly into hijacked plane and bring it down, as kamikaze pilots. 15 years ago the military was not prepared at all time for surprise attacks, and her plane was not equipped with anything aside from a full tank of fuel. It would take a full hour to arm her plane, and with Flight 93 hurtling towards Washington, and the World Trade Center fully engulfed in flames in New York, there was simply no time. Lt. Penny's commanding officer Col. Marc Sasseville announced she would be coming with him, and simply told her "I'll take the cockpit." She replied "I'll take the tail."
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AuthorsChristopher Daniels is the current Managing Director of GLM Theatre and a bright shining light upon the stage. Archives
February 2019
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