The events of “joe” take place in the consciousness of our hero, G.I. Joe, a soldier in present day, war-torn Iraq. Joe’s journey is that of the reluctant hero. His core struggle is within himself – between his ingrained duty as a soldier and what he has experienced as a human. Joe begins the play as a subservient soldier in search of his identity, and by the end of the play he awakens to an understanding of his responsibility to the world. He discovers his connection to mankind – that we are all one. Each time we kill an Iraqi child, we are killing one of our own. And as he gains this consciousness, his life fades away.
'Joe' is Ed Cunningham's first play. His theatre experience to date involves acting and directng on stages in Chicago and Los Angeles, including Lookingglass Theatre, Chicago Shakespeare, Lost Angels Theatre Co., The Orpheum Theatre and many more. In 2000, Ed won a Joseph Jefferson Citation for his portrayal of Marco in Arthur Miller's 'A View From the Bridge' at The Raven Theatre in Chicago. The following year he starred in, and helped develop the script for, the feature film 'Design' which was selected for the 2002 Sundance Film Festival. Ed lives in Los Angeles with his family, writing and working as a voice over artist for The Discovery Channel. He continues to develop scripts for stage, film, and tv, and pens short stories and poetry as well.
