Outside the Wire, a play that about the difficulties one soldier faces after coming home from Iraq that premiered in Fitchburg in 2010, traveled to the prestigious Capital Fringe Festival in Washington, D.C., in July.

Outside the Wire tells the story of Sergeant Mark Mercer, who comes home from the war in Iraq only to realize that his life will never be the same. Through live theater and video, the play invites its audience to experience what soldiers and their families live through during and after war.

“Outside the Wire was written with no other reason than to simply say thank you to soldiers,” said writer Jimi Stanton, of Pelham, N.H. “Specifically my brother, Army Staff Sergeant David Stanton. David returned home from Afghanistan in 2009. It was his second deployment. The joy, pride and relief we felt when he returned is indescribable. Everything felt like it was finally back to normal. However, we slowly began to see that nothing would ever be ‘normal’ again. Not for him. Not for us. Eventually, the tension broke in our family. After the dust had settled and the yelling had stopped, I realized that this story needed to be told.”

This will be the play’s third run, after playing in Fitchburg in 2010 and Boston in 2011. After its Boston run, Outside the Wire was nominated for an Independent Reviewers of New England Award for Best New Play and received a special citation from Secretary Coleman Nee, of Veteran Services, at a Veteran’s Day ceremony at the Massachusetts Statehouse for the education and awareness it produced.

The cast includes Fitchburg State alumni Daniel Marcum, of Pelham, N.H.; Jessie Notaro, of Clinton; Justin Nelson, of Fitchburg; Jordan McCormack, of Fitchburg; and Ben Hassey, of Falmouth, as well as current Fitchburg State students Tommy Karner, of Hopkinton, and John Ardini, of Billerica.