"To Friendship and Fortitude (Revisited)"
by Benjamin Fortier
The clock draws down, much time has passed And before we make our way, We wish this night would ever last And our friendship eternally stay. It is our time to take the reins To charge and force the steed To gallop through the rolling plains And fulfill our intangible need. Though hurricanes and tempest winds May howl throughout our land And remind us of our greatest sins, With fortitude we must stand. For you and I are ne’er alone We are in this battle as one. Forward we ride into the unknown We must not be thrown or undone. Be strong, warriors, scholars, artists For there is more to come. Remember your strength and your comrades Riding gloriously to the sun. Friendship and fortitude - tested and won.
Native Rhode Islander and proclaimed Renaissance Man, USMC Iraq veteran Benjamin Fortier is a multi-talented writer, musician, and technology geek. He is currently in school (again) studying computer networking and cybersecurity. His day job is in service to his rescue dog, Princess Peppa Pig the American Bully. He is the author of Stones of the Wooded Valley and The Silent Whispers of Omens.
Want the best date night possible this Saturday night? Drinks, dessert, a hilarious live performance, professional actors, an intimate unforgettable space, pay-what-you-can tickets…it simply does not get better than this. So come on out and join us at our Parlor on Quaker Avenue for our staged reading of Ira Levin’s legendary Broadway comedy/thriller Deathtrap.
Don’t know Deathtrap? It was the winner of the 1978 Edgar Award for Best Play and record holder for the longest-running comedy thriller on Broadway. It’s about Sidney Bruhl - a successful Broadway playwright with writer’s block and a recent spate of box office failures. Desperate to break his dry-spell, Sidney finds hope in Clifford Anderson, a student in his seminar class who has submitted a thriller script, cleverly titled Deathtrap as well. Can Sidney convince Clifford to collaborate and give him co-credit? Or is there a way to cut Clifford out altogether and get sole credit?
As always, you’re welcome to show up and hope for a cancellation. But if you really want to see the show, why not book now and save yourself the uncertainty?
This week on the Savage Wonder podcast…
Anthony Torres is a writer, performer, and Executive Director of Combat Hippies, an ensemble of Puerto Rican military veteran performing artists based in Miami, Florida. A grandchild of Puerto Rican immigrants, Anthony was born in New York City and raised in Utica, New York. Following high school, he enlisted into the military and later deployed to Abu Ghraib Prison, Iraq where he provided mental health treatment to deployed troops, coalition forces, and Iraqi detainees. The Combat Hippies was founded in 2015 during a veterans creating writing workshop created by MDC Live Arts and led by renown theater artist and director Teo Castellanos. Their latest and most ambitious project, AMAL, premiered during MDC Live Arts 2018/19 season and is touring nationally. AMAL explores the quest for meaning, purpose, and identity sought through enlisting in the military and shares the unifying experiences of both combatants and noncombatants as people of color. This all-Puerto Rican theater company places Puerto Rico’s colonial status, cultural, and military heritage center stage. Anthony holds a MS in Psychology from Carlos Albizu University and a Master’s degree in Social Work from Barry University.
Follow Combat Hippies here.