This approach distinguishes 9/12, whose title, he explains, is "symbolic of what�s next for our country after 9/11."  The narrative and balls a member of the National Guard returns from Iraq with post-dramatic stress disorder.  But Walsh notes that "there are also a lot of abstract ailments that the picked mainstream America's reaction to the attacks, and the fear that's followed."

Berkeley-  University of Colorado at Denver history professor Jim Walsh found that loading his students hit with facts and figures did not seem to be an effective way of having them really learn history.  As an experiment in teaching style, he had his students act at a time in history in lieu of a final exam.  From that successful experiment, Walsh changed his teaching methods.  Ultimately the Romero Troupe was born out of current and former students and their desire to utilize theaters reach for social justice.  On January 24 and 25 the troupe will perform "9/12" a theatrical performance examining the human cost of the war in Iraq as well as this wars similarity to other wars this nation has initiated.

"Years ago, I decided to ask my students to dramatize history as a taking final exams.  Their plays immediately inspired me, transformed my teaching style, and led me to the dream of starting the Romero Troupe from the ranks of my former students.  The experience has been indescribable.  Theater has incredible reach," Walsh writes on the troupe website, www.romerotroupe.org

The members of the Troupe-students, teachers, working professionals, teens through senior citizens-each researched various presidents and the wars they commanded.  Through storytelling narrative "9/12" takes the audience on a journey through American politics and war.

�Not all wars are unjust," states Walsh. He points to World War II.  "9/12" examines wars such as the Spanish War, the Mexican War, the invasion of Panama, and various other military actions that have taken place in Central America.

The goal of this performance is to get audience members to question what they hear and read in the media and from politicians.  Walsh hopes audience members will leave the performance thinking about the human cost of war from the perspective of the troops and civilians involved.  He also hopes they begin to question the language used by the media and politicians to describe to people and the state of the conflict.

"We want to recapture the language of supporting the troops," Walsh explained, "Supporting the troops is to never send them to a place they don't belong."

The play also showcases the language used by politicians and the media to describe the actions on the ground.  What does football and war have in common?  The language of winning, losing, and how to approach the subject has eerie similarities, says Walsh.

The motto "Social Justice through Organic Theater" includes the structure of the theater troupe-and organic mixture of passion and talent without the usual hierarchy of theater.  The actors all research and write the various sections of the play and they collectively contribute ideas and critiques until the work is ready for public enjoyment.  The truth is also completely comprised of amateur actors.

Most of these Troupe members call North Denver home.  The current members listed on the website include David Baird, Amy Boom, Brint Lukens, Kyle Eason, Stacy Pendleton, Brighton Dawn Finger, Michael Adams, Ken Vener, Burke Raby, Jim Walsh, and Aaron Morris.  In each of their biographies they weave together how they got to know one another through common classes, being the friends of spouses of classmates, are simply by chance.

After being in a Troupe for two years now, the group is analyzing the way it wishes to grow.  "We'll see," says Walsh.

The Romero Troupe takes its name from the Salvadoran Archbishop Oscar Romero who was assassinated in 1980 after speaking out against the dictatorship supported in part by the government of the United States.

September 11, 2001 - the day the Twin Towers fell, plunging the nation into a state of anger, despair and helplessness. It was a seminal event, one that shaped and defined this generation, much like the Kennedy assassination or the bombing of Pearl Harbor. People will always remember where they were when the Towers fell, when their complacency turned to terror, when their vision of the world exploded and rained down upon them in a black cloud of ashes and acrid smoke. Along with the sadness came the questions: Who would do such a thing? How do we deal with our pain? More importantly, what do we do now?

If you're a member of the Romero Theater Troupe, you take to the stage. The troupe, founded by UCD history teacher Jim Walsh, has crafted a play that deals with the aftermath of 9/11 and the overall themes of warfare and deception. Entitled 9/12, the play is their latest offering of organic theater, and it runs Jan. 24 and 25 at the Oriental Theater.

What is organic theater, you may wonder?

The flyer tells you that it's based on a "collective vision," and that it's "raw, unpredictable, and fluid." Simply put, the members are the play. They write sketches based on their personal experiences, and the group offers suggestions and support. Strict adherence to scripts is less important than being in the moment and expressing the truth of your emotions. The end result is a cohesive presentation that draws its energy from the spirit and passion of its creators, none of whom are professional actors. Most had never been on stage before joining the troupe, and yet they manage to create theater that is authentic and deeply engaging.

The play is composed of several individual vignettes, ranging from lighthearted commentaries on pop culture to dramatic explorations of the personal costs of war. The centerpiece is a sketch chronicling the struggles of a family that sends its daughter off to Iraq only to see her return with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Several sketches are about the Vietnam War, another controversial conflict that polarized the nation and drew wide criticism concerning our involvement. "Everyone's drawing that comparison, even though the wars were very different," Walsh says. "Even though the Vietnam War was much bloodier, particularly in terms of American deaths, it seems that the trajectory of the wars is the same. It seems the American people have given up on this war and finally now see it for what it is: a power grab, a resource grab. That's great to see."

The play examines the current state of affairs against the larger backdrop of U.S. history and foreign policy. "We're trying to cast this war not as an island in itself, but we're trying to connect it historically to what we feel have been the imperialist wars in American history," says Walsh. "We don't believe they have all been that. For example, we don't consider World War II an imperialist war. Wars such as the Mexican-American War, the Spanish-American War, Vietnam, Panama, Nicaragua - clearly, the intentions were not what the American people were told they were, and it was, at its heart, about imperialism and power. So we want to cast this war in that same light, to show that there's an historical arc, but we also want to shed the light on who in their history has stood up to war. We don't just want to run down the presidents, we want to also hold up people who have had the courage to speak out against war as heroic, such as Martin Luther King."

It's obviously a subject the troupe members feel passionately about. Beyond donating their time to the play, which is giving all proceeds to the American Friends Service Committee and Veterans For Veterans, many of them are choosing careers they feel will help make a difference. Brighton Dawn Finger, a UCD sophomore double-majoring in political science and history, will perform a monologue she wrote about her abusive father, a Vietnam vet afflicted with PTSD. As part of the Chancellor's Scholars and Leaders Program, she's involved in team-based community service and leadership, and her career goal is to work for a civilian agency promoting non-violent strategies for conflict reduction. James Hamilton, who'll perform the Tom Waits song "Day After Tomorrow," graduates from UCD with a bachelor's degree in history this May and will teach elementary school in New Orleans with the Teach for America program.

Hamilton and Dawn Finger, like many of the troupe members, became involved after taking Walsh's Immigration and Ethnicity in American History class (profiled in our Oct. 18, 2006 issue), which is capped by short plays written and performed by the students. Others are simply friends of Walsh's who happen to share his passion for social justice. Rosella Hafer, who'll be portraying Grandma Betty, is linked to Walsh through real estate: Her mother used to live in the home Walsh now occupies.

Of course, Hafer might be playing a different role when the play actually runs. In keeping with the spirit of organic theater, sketches were being refined and new ones suggested during the troupe's rehearsal on Jan. 17. Khadija Qadri, a contributor to the Advocate, voiced the idea of basing a vignette on a visit she once received from the Secret Service. The group liked the idea, and Walsh stood up to mimic the body language of a black-clad, earpiece-wearing agent, and in the end urged her to write it down. The closing scene, featuring a recording of Martin Luther King Jr., was rehearsed to mixed reviews. Some cast members loved the speech in its entirety; others argued that it brought down the mood. Finally they decided to trim the speech and try it again at final rehearsals over the weekend. Will the revised speech make the cut? As Kyle Eason would say, "Who knows? Organic theater is often unpredictable."

Most audience members came in support of a friend or loved one from the troupe-named in honor of the socially-minded Salvadoran Archbishop Oscar Romero-though they vaguely knew what the show was about.

"I came because I work with one of the actors," said one attendee, "but I'm expecting to see something different from what I see on the news."

"I like that it's just people with their ideas," said another.

Regis students who attended the production hope to see "peace" and "justice," some of them expressing their admiration for the communal efforts demonstrated by the Romero Troupe.

Other patrons came hoping to see controversy.

"I've been impressed by (the Romero Troupe) before, their shows are so thought-provoking and I can't wait," one audience member said.

Slated to begin at 7:15 p.m., the show started much later, leaving many audience members impatient.  Calling the troupe "jagged around the edges," "experimental," and "organic," Regis graduate professor Jim Walsh finally walked on stage and delivered the show's opening monologue.

"Supporting the troops does not mean supporting the war," he said, setting the tone for the evening.  "It means bringing them back home where they are safe."

Moved by current developments in Iraq and its effect on the troops, the Romero Troupe set up to show audiences how veterans were changed by war.  The result was a multifaceted experience that explored topics such as post-traumatic stress disorder, lessons unlearned from throughout American history, and even modern "patriotism" through shopping.

One particularly moving scene of the show is a dialogue between a Hispanic woman and her fallen brother, a Marine.  Though the woman cannot hear him, her brother's ghost walked around the state saying, "I did it for you!"

"Why did you fight a war that is not yours?"  she screamed.

Mike Adams, a member of the Troupe who co-wrote some of 9/12 plot last summer, remembers the turmoil of potentially being drafted during the Vietnam area.

"From this, I got a real appreciation for the war in Iraq and what it's done to vets," he added.  "Post-dramatic disorder (PTSD) is a terrible thing."

Jim Walsh recalled "how intense and difficult the issue of war" was to translate into performance.  In the planning stages of 9/12, the Romero Troupe spoke to several veterans and gathered war stores, learning the horrors of PTSD.

"We carried those issues with us along the way," Walsh added.

At 9:30 p.m.-the show�s scheduled to end time-9/12 reached its intermission while many audience members left.  Walsh noted nerves, technical difficulties, and unanticipated delays backstage in response to the show's lengthy time.

After the show, audience members used words like "creative," "natural," and � hopeful" to describe their experience.

9/12 was named at a mainstream audience with the purpose of putting light on "how we tune out the war out and throw it away from our minds," said Walsh.

Act instead of ignore, the Troupe implored.

Troupe Strength

The Oriental Theatre is known more for rock shows and theatrical productions-but this week, the room will debut 9/12, the fourth production from Denver's Romero Troupe.  The multimedia play threads its themes of social justice-and a strong antiwar stance-through a loose structure that combines traditional narrative with monologues, film, and live music from The Potcheen Folk Band.  It's a radical take on Theatre-which is exactly what James Walsh, Romero's founder, intended.  Walsh spoke with The A.V.   Club about the troupe�s origins, its goals, and the fine art of taking a bow.

The A.V. Club:  Your website draws attention to the fact that The Romero Troupe is made up of amateur actors.  Is that a distinction you're trying to make?

James Walsh:  Yes, no doubt about it.  We consider our style unique.  Since were coming from this new perspective-none of us has professional experience on stage-we think that  we offer a fresh way of approaching theater.  It's very raw, and we actually think it's more effective.  It's somehow closer to the audience than professional productions are.  We call at organic theatre.  We haven't trademarked the term or anything though. (Laughs.)

AVC:  How did the Troupe come together?

JW:  I'm a history professor at CU-DENVER, and about six or seven years ago I began to reach for a new way to teach history.  I believe that the traditional way of shoving facts and figures down students throats simply doesn't work, so I decided to try using Theatre.  I don't have any background in theater myself.  I completely made it up.  I told students that I was dropping final exams and that they�d  be getting in groups, given a topic to research for the semester, and expected to write a 20-minute play and perform it.  The experience is way beyond what I could have ever dreamed of.  It's really become one of the trademarks of my classes, and it inspired me.  I learned that history is better taught and better learned through our emotions and our creativity.  I thought if this could reach my classes it could reach the general public.  I started to contact some former students who showed great enthusiasm, and it  just took off.  I can't imagine topping our last production, Speak American.  It was about immigrant rights, an effort to sort of counter all the immigrant-bashing that was happening over the recent months.  We sold out the Oriental, and we had these standing ovations.  We�d  never been on stage.  We did know what to do.

AVC:  You're supposed to bow.