An act of war: "Theater of War" performance, with star Jesse Eisenberg, a comfort to veter

SARATOGA SPRINGS -- Actor Jesse Eisenberg's portrayal of Facebook's inventor in "The Social Network" won him critical acclaim and worldwide fame.

In the dramatic presentation, "Theater of War," he's touching people's lives one performance at a time.

The production, based on 2,500-year-old Greek tragedies, shows how soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan are faced with the same problems warriors had centuries ago.

"There's something about performing five feet in front of people that allows conversation to flow more freely," Eisenberg said in Saratoga Springs Monday afternoon. "As an actor, sometimes you feel limited by the role you're in; stories without much meaning. Actors as a rule are bright, thoughtful people. This production allows you do something that has more substance and benefits people."

He was one of four actors taking part in Monday's performance at the New York State Military Museum, hosted by Empire State College, for which his father, Barry, is a graduate professor. Coincidentally, the school learned Monday that it's been approved to begin offering a 12-credit, graduate level program in veterans services that trains people how to help veterans with various issues, from health care to education benefits. It's the first such college program in the country.

"A war might end, but the war isn't over until the last veteran dies of old age," said Elana Michelson, a graduate professor at Empire State, the State University of New York's distance learning college based in Saratoga Springs.

"Theater of War" has now been performed 178 times around the world, in such settings as the Pentagon, homeless shelters, military bases, hospitals and museums. After the dramatic presentation, a panel of four local soldiers and caregivers gave their reactions to the plays, followed by a discussion involving the entire audience and actors.

"It's a greater purpose than just entertainment," Eisenberg said.

About 100 people turned out for Monday's event in Saratoga Springs.

The ancient plays "Ajax" and "Philoctetes," by the Athenian officer Sophocles, were first presented in an amphitheater before 17,000 Greek citizens and soldiers. People living there in the fifth century B.C. had endured 80 years of war. It's believed that Greek tragedy was a form of storytelling by and for war veterans.

"People who have faced death ... have no trouble relating to Greek tragedy," director Brian Doerries said.

He challenged the audience to consider why Sophocles wrote his plays, and what he was trying to achieve. One reason was to help soldiers come to terms with the horrors they'd endured, something that's just as important now as it was more than 2,000 years ago.

Doerries said dramatic presentations are more powerful than film in their ability to reach viewers and listeners.

"The magic of theater offers an experience only a living, breathing actor can provide," he said.

"Theater of War" has been staged since 2008.

"There's no end in sight," Doerries said.

In fact, plans call for other theaters in 13 different cities to learn, promote and carry out the program.

Doerries said one of the most striking responses he ever heard came from a Vietnam veteran.

The soldier said he took some comfort in knowing that post-traumatic stress disorder dates to before Christ, saying, "It makes me feel that I'm not really alone."