Theater of War: Rural Tennesseans, Hollywood actors and a live studio audience

Last month, rural Tennesseans, Hollywood actors and a live studio audience in New York City came together. On the agenda were issues that bind us.

Theater of War is a New York theater company that “presents community-specific, theater-based projects that address pressing public health and social issues.” Recently, they approached WPLN criminal justice reporter Paige Pfleger with a fascinating opportunity. Today we bring you the result – an esteemed group of Hollywood actors reading “In Rural Tennessee, Domestic Violence Victims Face Barriers to Getting Justice. One County Has Transformed Its Approach.” The piece, written by Paige Pfleger for WPLN and ProPublica, is read in its entirety. What follows is a post-performance conversation between people from one of Tennessee’s most rural areas and the audience in New York City.

Actors

• Debra Winger (Terms of Endearment, Urban Cowboy)
• Josh Hamilton (Eighth Grade, The Walking Dead)
• Daphne Rubin-Vega (In the Heights, Only Murders in the Building)
• Bill Irwin (Interstellar, Rachel Getting Married).