The VAW-OP Team
stephan wolfert
De-Cruit
Stephan left a career in the military for a life in the theatre after seeing Shakespeare’s Richard III. He received his Master of Fine Arts degree from Trinity Repertory Conservatory in Providence, Rhode Island. On Broadway, Stephan created and directed the military segments for Twyla Tharp and Billy Joel’s Tony-Award winning production Movin’ Out. He was a cast member in the long running hit Sense and Sensibility and appeared in the acclaimed production of Saint Joan produced by Bedlam in New York City. As an artistic leader, Stephan co-created the largest touring Shakespeare company in New England, directed and taught acting Shakespeare at Cornell University and at Antelope Valley College. As a writer he has had ten scientific journals published, contributed to two book chapters in the scientific field, is an award-winning playwright and frequently writes, lectures and is interviewed for his work known as DE-CRUIT®: a program to reintegrate military Veterans using Shakespeare and science. Combining his own personal story of leaving the army and pursuing a career in the arts with Shakespeare’s writings on war, he created the solo piece Cry Havoc! which he has over 500 performances around the country and the world. Cry Havoc! has won awards in Houston, Fort Worth, New York City and The Berkshire Theatre Award for Outstanding Production of a Play, with Stephan receiving an award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor. Cry Havoc has been performed over 500 times at venues in six countries. Stephan has received numerous awards for his work as an actor, his adaptations of Shakespeare from a military Veteran’s perspective, and his work with military Veterans.
jenny pacanowski
Women Veterans Empowered and Thriving
Jenny Pacanowski is the Founder and Director of Women Veterans Empowered & Thriving, a reintegration program that utilizes writing and performance to empower life's experiences to thrive in daily life. She has been facilitating writing workshops for veterans and family members since 2011. In the Army while deployed to Iraq in 2004, Jenny was a combat medic and provided medical support for convoys with the Marines, Air Force and the Army. She also did shifts in the Navy medical hospital. In Germany, she was part of a medical evacuation company. Jenny collaborates with multiple organizations, colleges, universities and theatres around the country.
Román baca
Exit12 Dance Company
Román Baca, a New Mexico native, is a classically trained ballet dancer and choreographer. In 2001, recognizing his desire to defend the defenseless, he took a hiatus from dance and enlisted in the United States Marine Corps, serving as a machine-gunner and fire-team leader in Fallujah, Iraq during the Iraq War. After the war, Mr. Baca returned to dance and co-founded Exit12 Dance Company, which tells veterans’ stories choreographically, to increase cross-cultural understanding and heal divisions. He has choreographed and championed dance works that explore the military veteran experience and the impact of war on civilians and families. Mr. Baca has presented his work at National Summits for the National Initiative for Arts & Health in the Military, The Maltings Art Centre, King’s College London, the Mayo Clinic’s Humanities in Healthcare Symposium, TEDXTUBerlin, TEDX San Antonio, TED@NYC, and is the choreographer and subject of the award-winning short documentary Exit 12: Moved by War produced by Square Inc. He has also led choreographic workshops at schools, universities, and veteran’s centers to inspire military veterans, victims of war, and civilians through the power of dance. Mr. Baca received his MFA in choreography with merit at the Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance in London. At Trinity Laban he solidified his voice as a choreographer, and researched, choreographically, the methodology of increasing understanding of war trauma through live performative events. Outside of his studies in London, Mr. Baca provided production support to the critically acclaimed play Soldier On’s UK tour including a six-week run on the West End. Mr. Baca also served on the leadership team that delivered the first UK Veterans Art Festival alongside the 2019 UK Invictus Trials in Sheffield, UK. Mr. Baca is the recipient of the 2019 Fulbright Selma Jeane Dance Lecture Award, a 2017-2018 US-UK Fulbright Postgraduate Award to the Trinity Laban Conservatoire in London, a 2018 HillVet Nominee, a 2015 New York State Veterans’ Hall of Fame Inductee, an 2014 Art and Healing Network Awardee, and has served as a fellow with Veterans in Global Leadership, The Mission Continues, and Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America.
fay simpson
Lucid Body
Informed by her 20-year career in dance and theatre, Fay created The Lucid Body, a process of introspection, exertion, and mental challenge which empowers actors to express their fullest potential. She conducts private classes and training workshops for other teachers at her Manhattan studio, The Lucid Body House. She has 7 teachers of her process around the world, and is currently writing the 2nd edition of her book The Lucid Body; A Guide for the Physical Actor (Allworth, 2008) hailed by Drama Book Shop as “one of the ten most essential books for the actor;” “ Impact Theatre's Veterans Project: After discovering that Lucid Body concepts can be an effective vehicle for helping military veterans confront the complex stresses they face, Fay founded The Veterans Project, working with a company of Veterans and actors to devise works that speak to the needs of the returning soldier. They have performed at Leaving Theatre at the Veterans Mental Health Coalition of NYC, the Wallace Center of the FDR Presidential Library, the Manhattan VA, The Red Cross, among many others.The third play, co-produced with One Fight Foundation in Lehigh PA:Combat Conversations; Families Affected by War is now being presented in NY and PA.
mary jo mcconnell
Coach MJ
MJ is a proud veteran, having served as a Captain in the U.S. Army Nurse Corps, specializing in Neonatal Intensive Care. With a BSN in Nursing from NYU, certification as a health coach through the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, and training as a guided meditation leader she is honored to combine and offer these skills on VAW-OP as a “De-Cruiter” & “My Coach MJ”. As a volunteer with “You Can Thrive”, she coached dozens of women navigating breast cancer diagnoses. On the artistic side, she is currently an actor with thirty-seven years of professional experience and an MFA in Acting from American Conservatory Theatre. You might have seen her perform in the U.S. National Tours of The Phantom of the Opera, Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, Sister Act and All Shook Up, as well as portray over fifty roles in regional & off-Broadway theatre. She co-wrote (with Shakespeare), produced and starred in the short film Trumped as well as her one woman show, Captain MJ’s Fantastic Adventure. On television, she appeared in One Life to Live, Masters of Sex, Pan Am, and loves working on NYC indie films. She is currently featured as Una in Hunters on Amazon Prime. Founding artist-New York’s Musical Theatre Factory. Her guided meditation CD “A Voice For Healing” is a gift and can be downloaded at www.maryjomcconnell.com/meditations. Connect with her on Instagram @maryjomcconnell.
lisa fitzgerald
Exit12 Dance Company
Lisa Fitzergald co-founded Exit12 Dance Company as a way to help Roman process his deployment and heal. As Associate Artistic Director and dancer, Lisa has contributed to the growth and impact of Exit12 around the world. Lisa has performed internationally with Exit12, Connecticut Ballet, Ballet Theatre Company, Sarah Berges Dance, Ballet Ambassadors, and Ballet des Amériques.