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A son portrays his father's Vietnam experience

By Lynn Mena

The resemblance between Augsburg alum Zach Curtis '97 and earlier photographs of his father, Rob Curtis, as a soldier in Vietnam, is eerily fascinating. Zach shares the same sturdy frame and boyish, Matt Damon-esque facial features as the frozen images of Rob, who is Augsburg's buildings and grounds manager.

"There are a couple of pictures that are just frightening they look so much like me," Zach says. "There's one in particular - I'm uncomfortable even looking at it - where he's receiving a medal [for valor and combat]."

So it was fitting that Zach, a Twin Cities actor and director, portrayed his father in their play, War Golems, during Minnesota's annual Fringe Festival in August at Minneapolis' Loring Playhouse.

The play is a one-man narrative based on Rob's experiences as a helicopter door gunner during the Vietnam War. Garry Hesser, Augsburg sociology and urban studies professor, was deeply moved by the play. "As one whose life and career were critically altered by the Vietnam War, I was given new understanding and much to ponder as I witnessed the play with my son, Brian, an Augsburg theatre major," says Hesser. "We both were deeply and, often at the same time, differently moved by the way that Rob's intensely personal story could also probe and illuminate so profoundly that wrenching period of U.S. history."

The play was written by Rob, with playwright Jon Olson '95, who is a founding member of Theater Zoe.

"Through a series of meetings and chats I spewed out a bunch of stories and memories," says Rob. "[The experience] was both difficult and satisfying. Putting the play out in front of an audience is the scariest part - almost as scary as being in Vietnam. It's hard to open yourself so totally; it's an opportunity to fall flat on your face."

Rob's son, Zach, a 10-year improv veteran, co-founded the Fifty Foot Penguin Theater last August, which produced War Golems. He is also owner and artistic director of Off the Top Improv, a local comedy improvisation troupe.

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