Memory, myth and football meet in this hard-hitting play by KJ Sanchez and Jenny Mercein. A gripping docudrama based on brutally honest and heartrending interviews with players, families and fans about traumatic brain injuries and their impact on the game, X's and O's takes an unflinching look at the lives and loves around this singularly American sport — and the lingering questions it asks of us all.
The reading will be followed by a panel discussion with Gabe Feldman, Dr. Greg Stewart, Jenny Mercein, and former NFL players Dwight Hicks (SF 49ers), and Bo Pete Keyes (KC Chiefs, current Tulane student), both actors in the piece. The panel discussion will focus on how the perception around head trauma and TBI has changed since 2015, when X’s and O’s was written. We will bring in various perspectives such as law, medicine, research, and former player’s perspective – both young and old to gain insight into the league/team/locker room climate around head trauma in football.
Actors:
- Dwight Hicks
- Thakarius “Bo” Keys
- Rudy Dyson
- Margaret Sides
- Jes Podewell
- John "Ray" Proctor
- Jenny Mercein
- Carl Palmer
Panel Discussion:
Moderator: Risa Hall – Allstate Sugar Bowl
Panelists:
- Greg Stewart, MD
- Gabe Feldman JD
- Jenny Mercein
- Dwight Hicks
- Thakarius “Bo” Keys
