Although
war seems an unlikely topic for a
business expo, the sponsor — the
South Kingstown Chamber of Commerce
— hopes to lure people to the event
by offering drama and other
entertainment to the list of
business speakers and booths. The
expo runs from 1 to 7 p.m. Robert
Weygand, URI’s vice president of
administration, will discuss the
university’s impact on the local
economy during a keynote talk.
Carnes’ performance is also linked
to employment. “There are a lot of
veterans in the Rhode Island
National Guard, and these are guys
and gals with occupations back
home,” he says. When they come home,
they ask the same question: Where do
I fit in?
It’s a question that needs an answer as more and more Rhode Islanders head for Iraq, says Carnes, who also served six years with the Rhode Island National Guard. “It is the community’s responsibility to provide space for healing,” says Carnes, who has a master’s degree in holistic counseling from Salve Regina University. Caring for our veterans is not just a job for the military, he says. Carnes, who has performed Pieces of War nearly 100 times, says his audiences expect different things from the play. Liberals expect him to glorify the war, and recruiters and veterans expect him to savage it. He does a bit of both, says Carnes. But his real goal, he says, is to make sure listeners understand that the issue is a community one. “There are more questions than answers,” he says. “War is a complex issue.”