The Basic Training of Pavlo Hummel

The Basic Training of Pavlo Hummel is an epic play set during the Vietnam era that follows a naïve recruit’s path through the war abroad and the war back home. Hummel is an impressionable young man who joins the United States Army and immediately encounters difficulties with both his sergeants and fellow recruits, none of whom trust him. As he stumbles through basic training and closer to the battlefield, he is guided by Ardell, a mysteriously ambiguous character who is seemingly an officer but serves as Hummel’s conscience and guide to the baffling world around him. The play feels like a fever dream as the line between the chaos abroad and the turmoil back home becomes nearly indistinguishable.