Contact!Unload

This book is a call to action to address the sometimes difficult transition many soldiers face when returning to civilian life. It explores the development, performance, and reception of Contact!Unload, a play that brings to life the personal stories of veterans returning from deployment overseas.

The play presents an arts-based therapeutic approach to dealing with trauma. Researchers in theatre and group counselling collaborated with military veterans through a series of workshops to create and perform the work. Based on the lives of military veterans, it depicts ways of overcoming stress injuries encountered during service. The book, which includes the full script of the play, offers academic, artistic, personal, and theoretical perspectives from people directly involved in the performances of Contact!Unload as well as those who witnessed the work as audience members. The play and book serve as a model for using arts-based approaches to mental health care and as a powerful look into the experiences of military veterans.