Matt began his medical career in 1970 in the Army Medical Corps as a

medic. He served in Vietnam 1971-72. After his discharge, he returned to
school at Indiana University where he studied philosophy and biology. He
received his medical degree from Indiana University School of Medicine in
1979. He specialized in child & adolescent psychiatry. From 1984 until
1998, he was full-time faculty at I.U. School of Medicine Department of
Psychiatry. He retired from clinical practice in 2019. Since 1998, he has
continued to be active as a clinical associate professor, voluntary faculty for
the Indiana University School of Medicine and, since 1982 has devoted his
time and efforts to the I.U. Conscience Project. One of the divisions of the
Conscience Project is conscience sensitive creative works. In this division,
Matt expanded upon his earlier work helping to create books for children
with special needs (published by Magination Press, now an imprint of the
American Psychological Association). Leaving aside pursuit of traditional
publication, he began contributing titles based on research about the
experience of personal conscience development across the lifespan. These
are available under creative common licensure and can be found at
Conscience Works digital library of enduring materials. The Permanent URI
for this community is:https://hdl.handle.net/1805/484
Most recently Matt has collaborated with Angeline Larimer and other artists
in bringing to life adaptations of some of this work for performative readings
in humanities courses and concentrations, thereby reviving an interest in
theatre that began with his first dramatic efforts in college 1969. The
offerings for this Veterans Writing event are separated by over fifty-five
years.

Rachel Landsee served in the U.S. Army from 2006-2018. Her service included two tours to Iraq in 2008 and 2009. Always a writer in some respect, she began writing in earnest in 2019 after she left the Army. Her one-act play Soar was produced in 2021 at Firehouse Theatre in Richmond, VA. Her full-length musical Jump Baby was produced in 2023 at The Lynn Theatre in Midlothian, VA and continues to undergo development. Rachel was the 2021 recipient of an NEA-supported fellowship for military veterans and her poems have recently been selected by Longleaf Press and Armed Services Arts Partnership for publication in forthcoming anthologies. She was a 2023-2024 mentee in the Maestra Mentorship Program and is a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the Dramatists Guild of America. She lives in Richmond, Virginia with her husband Adam, also an Army veteran, and their children. Rachel is ecstatic to be under Angeline’s tutelage, to share stories with fellow veterans, and to be a part of this incredible staged reading opportunity. She thanks everyone who has worked to make it happen. Sometimes she keeps her socials updated: @landseerachel and landseerachel.com. 

Jason Murrey is a husband, father, and is dedicated to addressing secondary-trauma experienced in the “helper” professions by providing industry specific mental health education and supports in order to eliminate stigma and encourage treatment seeking behaviors.  Jason remembers how stories he watched unfold on a stage impacted him physically and emotionally and couldn’t wait to answer an advertisement to join a veteran playwright group.  A special thanks to Angeline Larimer and to all the veterans that have listened and shared throughout the past two years.  It has certainly been an honor to be challenged and pushed by each of you during each step of this process.   “Come to Jesus” explores addressing stigma in law enforcement and exploring the common pitfalls that are detailed from personal interviews through story.  

Frederick Rallo is grateful and proud to be a part of this veteran's playwriting group. He got involved with theatre in 2018 and by 2019 he acted in a play at the Lauderdale-By-The-Sea Community Theatre. Fred has since been in more than a dozen plays. He started writing plays in the latter part of 2022. He's presently working on an autobiographical play conceived from a monologue he wrote. Fred would like to thank his friend Steve for suggesting he join the free veteran's playwriting course where he had the pleasure of meeting and getting to know Angeline Larimer who teaches this course. He thanks Angeline for her incredible and creative teaching abilities, guidance and expertise. But most of all, he appreciates her kindness to veterans and the genuine interest she has shown personally to him and her other students. He is excited to be a part of this show. Thanks to all the sponsors coordinated by Angeline. Fred also thanks his wife, Judy Marilyn Goldstein, a published poet and playwright, who inspired him to accomplish things he never thought were possible later in life. 

Sharla Stevens discovered a newfound passion for writing through the Veterans Playwriting group in 2022. She served in the Army for 23 years and a Veteran of the Operation Enduring Freedom campaign. She has written four unpublished plays. Besides “The Vampires Dilemma”, she is working on several various holiday plays currently. She lives in Franklin, Indiana with her youngest of three children and two large shepherd dogs. Be on the lookout for her plays on NPX. She is enthusiastic about linking up with Angeline and can’t say enough great things about her fellow playwrights and Veteran playwriting group members. Receiving mentorship from a Dramaturg has been one of the most rewarding aspects in this journey. Thank you for your personal time, Angeline!

John Wiley is a freelance writer living in Indianapolis. His writings are inspired by the people he served with in the army, the people he met while living overseas as a teacher in the Middle East and Asia, and the students and instructors at The New Seminary when he was a student there. “The Chaplains” is a story of friendship, compassion and interfaith. This particular story is a tribute to four chaplains who gave their lives aboard the U.S.A.T Dorchester on February 3, 1943: Father John Washington, Rev. Clark Poling, Rev. George Fox, and Rabbi Alexander Goode. This story shows that we can practice our own faith while still showing kindness and presence to those of different faiths. 

Robert Williger became interested in the power of storytelling in his work as a marketing writer. After deploying to Afghanistan as a US Army Combat Medic he used writing to process his experience. While focused on nonfiction writing, the Playwriting for Veterans workshop introduced him to dramatic writing which resonated with him. He's writing his first full-length play about a teenager breaking free from a high-demand religious group titled, "Why Isn't The Universe Convinced?" The play for this reading, "A Very High Price" ponders questions of purpose and destiny for humanity. Robert lives in Central Florida with his wife, two children, and cats. More information and links to his writing and projects can be found at www.robwilliger.com.