'Ghosts of War'

STAGE PERFORMANCE OF UALBANY GRADUATE RYAN SMITHSON'S WARTIME MEMOIR, GHOSTS OF WAR: THE TRUE STORY OF A 19-YEAR OLD GI

Wednesday, November 1, 2017
7:30 p.m. Recital Hall, Performing Arts Center

EVENT LISTING:
The Performing Arts Center at the University at Albany will present a stage performance of Ghosts of War by Chicago’s Griffin Theatre Company at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 1, in the Main Theatre.

The production is based on Ghosts of War: The True Story of a 19-Year-Old GI (2009), a memoir by Ryan Smithson, who earned his master�s degree in English from UAlbany in 2015.

Smithson grew up in East Greenbush and attended Columbia High School. Like most teenagers, he was unsure of where life would lead after high school. Inspired by the patriotism following 9/11, he joined the Army reserves and was deployed to Iraq in 2004.

Returning home to a new bride and a college campus, he began writing about his combat experiences, which developed into the memoir, Ghosts of War. While at UAlbany, he worked on a stage adaptation of his memoir. It received the Outstanding Master�s Thesis Award. His thesis director was Associate Professor of English Edward Schwarzschild.

Publishers Weekly described the book as ��a fascinating, often humorous�and occasionally devastating�account of the motivations and life of a contemporary soldier,� and School Library Journal described it as �a thorough but powerful look at one man�s experiences.� Smithson has since traveled the country making public appearances at colleges, high schools, libraries and education conferences and he continues to benefit from the therapeutic aspects of writing and storytelling.

Griffin Artistic Director William Massolia adapted and directed the work, which features Ryan McBride in the one-person play.

Smithson will attend the performance and will participate in a post-show discussion.

Advance tickets for the Ghosts of War performance are $15 for the general public and $10 for students, seniors and UAlbany faculty and staff. Tickets purchased on the day of the show are $20 for the general public and $15 for students, seniors and UAlbany faculty and staff. A 20 percent discount for veterans is available for this show. For reservations and information, contact the Box Office at (518) 442-3997 or visit the Performing Arts Center website at www.albany.edu/pac.

Smithson�s appearance and the Ghosts of War performances are made possible with support from the UAlbany Alumni Association, University at Albany Foundation and University Auxiliary Services.stage eve based on Ghosts of War: The True Story of a 19-Year Old GI (2009), a memoir by University at Albany graduate Ryan Smithson, a UAlbany graduate and Rotterdam resident, read from his memoir at the Unviversity on Thursday, Oct. 26, at 4:15 p.m. on Thursday, October 26, in the Recital Hall, Performing Arts Center, on the UAlbany Uptown Campus. This reading is free and open to the public.

The Griffin Theatre Company of Chicago will perform an adaptation of Ghosts of War at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, November 1, in the Main Theatre, Performing Arts Center, on the UAlbany Uptown Campus.

Advance tickets: $15 general public/$10 students, seniors and UAlbany faculty/staff. Day of show tickets, $20 general public/$15 students, seniors and UAlbany faculty/staff. Contact the box office at (518) 442-3997.

Presented by the New York State Writers Institute in collaboration with the Performing Arts Center and UAlbany’s English Department. Funding support provided by University Auxiliary Services, The University at Albany Foundation, the UAlbany Alumni Foundation and the Hampton Inn.

PROFILE:
The terrorist attacks of 9/11 changed Ryan Smithson’s life. After graduation from Columbia High School in East Greenbush, he enlisted in the Army Reserves. He was deployed to Iraq in 2004 and what he saw during his tour of duty haunted him.
When Smithson returned home, writing was his therapy. His unflinchingly honest portrayal of the war in Iraq, Ghosts of War: The True Story of a 19-Year Old GI, was published in 2009. School Library Journal described Ghosts of War as “a thorough but powerful look at one man’s experiences,” and Publishers Weekly wrote, “Smithson avoids writing either pro-war  
propaganda or an antimilitary polemic, providing instead a fascinating, often humorous – and occasionally devastating - account of the motivations and life of a contemporary soldier.”

Smithson will speak about his life, his book and his time in Iraq at 4:15 p.m. on Thursday, October 26, in the Recital Hall, Performing Arts Center on the UAlbany Uptown Campus. A book signing will follow the talk. The event is free and open to the public.

A stage performance of Ghosts of War by Chicago’s Griffin Theatre Company will be held 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, November 1, in the Main Theatre, Performing Arts Center, on the UAlbany Uptown Campus. Smithson will attend the performance and participate in a post-show discussion. Advance tickets for the Ghosts of War stage performance are $15 for the general public and $10 for students, seniors and UAlbany faculty-staff. Tickets purchased on the day of the show are $20 for the general public and $15 for students, seniors and UAlbany faculty-staff. A 20% discount for veterans is available for this show. For reservations and further information, contact the box office at (518) 442-3997.

Smithson received his master’s in English from the University at Albany. He has traveled the country making public appearances at colleges, high schools, libraries and education conferences and he continues to benefit from the therapeutic aspects of writing and storytelling.

Smithson’s reading and the Ghosts of War stage performance are presented by the NYS Writers Institute, the UAlbany Performing Arts Center and UAlbany’s English Department. Funding support provided by University Auxiliary Services, the University at Albany Foundation, the UAlbany Alumni Association, and the Hampton Inn.

For additional information, contact the Writers Institute at 518-442-5620 or online at https://www.albany.edu/writers-inst