BRYAN DOERRIES is a New York-based writer, director, and translator who currently serves as artistic director for Theater of War Productions, a company that presents dramatic readings of seminal plays and texts to frame community conversations about pressing issues of public health and social justice. A self-described evangelist for ancient stories and their relevance to our lives today, Doerries uses age-old approaches to help individuals and communities heal from trauma and loss. He is the author of The Theater of War- What Ancient Greek Tragedies Can Teach Us Today; All That You've Seen Here Is God, four plays by Aeschylus and Sophocles; and The Odyssey of Sergeant Jack Brennan, a graphic novelization of Homer's Odyssey, told from the point of view of a US Marine returning home from Afghanistan. Among his awards, he has received an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Kenyon College and was named Public Artist in Residence for the City of New York.
“Bryan has brought these ancient plays to searing and vital life.
Having performed these translations at a time of great global
upheaval, I witnessed firsthand the catharsis it served for so many
audience members. He has connected these plays to the immediacy of
the present moment, bridging the vast stretch of time from when
they were first performed (and received) to now.” —Oscar Isaac
“In these fresh renderings of Sophocles’ Theban plays, Doerries
unearths the impulses beneath the ancient text by stripping back
its encrusted surface to reveal the urgent core.” —Peter Brook
“The work of Theater of War Productions, and the Oedipus Trilogy
specifically, shows that the stories, conflicts, and issues that
brought people to ancient amphitheaters are just as relevant today.
As an actor, it’s a rich work to explore and bring to life. As a
public servant, it's an incredible way to engage people
artistically, intellectually, and civically. As a reader, it's an
essential, powerful piece.” —Jumaane D. Williams, New York City
Public Advocate
“I enjoyed Bryan’s translations of the plays tremendously,
especially Antigone, which exemplifies what we need to do today.
Like Antigone, we need to step out of our comfort zones and stand
up for what is right, no matter what happens—even if it costs us
our lives—so others can live.” —Gwen Carr, author of This Stops
Today: Eric Garner’s Mother Seeks Justice After Losing her Son
“Bryan Doerries’s new translation of Sophocles’ indispensable
Theban plays works as thrillingly on the page as it does in the
world. The opening essay introduces readers to Doerries’s
groundbreaking work at the intersection of classics, psychology,
and activism. Doerries has shown that Greek theater is a technology
for healing and for political change: one as potent in the
hospitals, homeless shelters, military bases, and prisons of
present-day America, as it was in Greek amphitheaters twenty-five
hundred years ago. If you’re looking for proof that literature can
change lives, this is it.” —Elif Batuman
“Bryan Doerries is a singular genius, activating an old alchemy for
our young century just when we need it the most. He has brought the
Oedipus Trilogy wondrously to life, in experiences both traditional
and digital, towards our essential communal grieving, and healing,
and growing. This book, like his body of work, is a gift to us
all.” —Krista Tippett
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