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FORT CARSON, Colo. – On any given night between Tuesday and Friday, the Freedom Performing Arts Center will likely be filled with dulcet tones interlacing with bass and baritone voices, as well as a smattering of chatter, as a small group of compatriots feverishly squeeze every iota of time to practice singing, dancing and acting their parts, in preparation for the Fort Carson Community Theatre Group's latest performance.
The current production's director is Aaron Jones, a whirling dervish of frenetic energy, who alternately leads the actors through songs, choreographs dance moves, and shadows actors as they practice their movements across stage, in a virtually seamless flow, granting them the benefit of his 30 years of experience in the performance arts.
Jones, a chief warrant officer 3 currently with the Warrior Transition Unit as he completes the out-processing for his medical retirement and creative director of the theater group as a whole, has a bachelor's degree in performance, and displayed his encyclopedic knowledge and love of the theater as he answered questions in a slightly sing-song rapid patter that covered every possible tangent, taking several minutes on each topic as he made sure that it was fully explored.
Jones said that the community theater does four programs a year, one musical and three plays, with a number of shorter performances possible, depending on peoples' interest. The current project is the musical "Legally Blond," about a young sorority girl who follows her boyfriend into law school in order to be near him, and discovers her own knack for plying the legal trade. The other plays scheduled for this year are "Steel Magnolias," "Arabian Nights" and the "Best Little Christmas Pageant."
The theater, while open to the community, still gives priority to soldiers and their family members, known as affiliates, said Jones. In the current show, 87 percent of the cast is soldiers and their affiliates.
"We're using this as a form of release, where [soldiers] can have fun and do their own thing," said Jones. "We have a lot of people that were involved in the theater prior to the Army and loved it, and we are trying to bring that back."
For Fort Carson community members that may not have acting experience, they shouldn't let that be a deterrent to coming out and being involved.
"Six of our cast members, and the majority of our leads, have no experience," said Jones. "People always leave with new knowledge; it's my job as creative director to make that happen."
For individuals not interested in acting, but would still like to be involved, there are a number of other roles to fill as part of a stage production.
There is a talent call for stage crew that takes place for each production, where people come in front of the director, assistant director, and stage manager, and tell them their interest and knowledge; but expertise isn't a requirement, said Jones.
"Our sound guy Neil has been doing sound for 30 years. If you want to learn sound we will put you with him. We are knowledge and education based. If you want to learn about everything, we put you on general crew. We have costume designers, set designers and workers, make up designers and workers.
"We have freelance directing - anyone can come direct a show," said Jones. "That's why we have creative directors and in-house directors, to help guide them, though we ask that they start as stage managers. We are there as mentors and advisers to help as help is needed."
Community members that wish to get involved can expect to spend 12-14 hours a week in preparation for a show. Rehearsals for the current production were Tuesday through Thursday from 6 to 8 p.m., but Friday was added recently due to bad weather.
The time commitment may seem prohibitive, but it comes with benefits, said Jones. The theater group gets soldiers enrolled with the Volunteer Management Information System in Army Community service, as their hours count as volunteer work for volunteer service awards and promotion points.
It also develops soldiers professionally.
"We put soldiers in leadership positions here, to help develop them as leaders," said Jones. "Theater is very structured."
Pvt. Mo Tuiteleleapaga, truck driver, Company A, 704th Brigade Support Battalion, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, a married 25-year old who has been entertaining since he was four years old and said that acting is in his blood, expressed his satisfaction with the group in an unperturbed, rock-steady cadence that transitioned into a calm, professional presence on stage during rehearsals.
"They're wonderful people. The director always keeps you on your toes, and there's never a dull moment," said Tuiteleleapaga. "It's a great stress reliever. It's demanding as work goes, but the atmosphere makes it enjoyable. It's a means of self-expression. You can't really be out there singing and dancing in uniform. It does take its toll when I go home all tired and my wife asks me, 'Why are you so tired?' but I think it's worth it. Two hours isn't asking a whole lot."
Tuiteleleapaga also felt that members learned a lot during rehearsal.
While some people may expect jazz hands and spirit fingers, Tuiteleleapaga said those old, tired cliches never came up in practice, and that they had more innovative ways to be goofballs.
"There's a lot of vocality that people wouldn't usually get [in a community theater]," said Tuiteleleapaga. "We do vocal warm-ups, and there's also a requirement that everyone learn the music, and they give us a lot of instruments and tools to do so. We get CDs with the orchestras, and the scripts have the actual music so you can read the music along with it."
Pfc. Josh Richardson, nutrition care specialist, Company B, 10th Combat Support Hospital, expressed his satisfaction with the theater group in mercurial staccato tones and a slightly nervous energy.
"I wanted volunteer hours, and I was trying to get promotion points with the volunteer medal," said Richardson. "It looked like it would be fun, and it is. It's a really good family group type of thing. Everyone is accepted, no one is left out. "It's a great way to spend your evenings hanging out, laughing; producing something and putting it together so quickly."
The theater group is also flexible when it comes to soldiers' schedules.
"The administrators and technicians are very supportive," said Tuiteleleapaga. If something comes up, they won't beat you up. They're very supportive."
Family members are a large part of the theater's operations. Samantha Gibson-Margalewski, a military spouse and the current production's stage manager as well as the theater's treasure, and the director of the upcoming Arabian Nights, found the theater a great way to parlay her study of theater at Pikes Peak Community College, and eventually University of Colorado, Colorado Springs, into a work study atmosphere. Her enthusiasm and excitement poured out in every word as she explained the positive effect the theater has had on her family.
"While my husband is away, training or deployed, it allows me to bring my girls closer to me, and not think about what daddy is doing," said Gibson-Margalewski. "It's another avenue to bring families together. It's educational and fun.
She also stressed that everyone is welcome to join the group.
"We'd love people to come out and audition. No experience is required," said Gibson-Margalewski. "We will place actors and actresses where we think they will fit, either vocally or talent wise."
While the theater prepares and performs on post, it also serves as another form of community outreach for Fort Carson.
The group has been adopted by both Roy J. Wasson High School and Civa Charter high School, of Colorado Springs, Colo.
"We mentor them and help set up their program," said Jones. They also exchange set pieces and uniforms to assist each other in their productions. "Outreach is a way for community theaters to stay strong and develop each other."
The theater will also sign off on student's hours in support of their varsity letter and any state thespian societies, similar to what it does for soldiers and their volunteer hours, said Jones.
Students looking to participate can't be in trouble, need parent permission, and must have good grades. Children as young as four years old can audition, depending on the production, and parents take shifts watching the children during rehearsals, with one adult per four children.
One of the actresses in Legally Blond, Julianne Straub, is a 17-year old student at Peyton High School who commutes an hour and a half each way for the nightly rehearsals.
Straub, who has a poise, vocabulary and articulation that belies her age, was very excited about the opportunity to perform at Fort Carson.
"I can't express how grateful I am to be able to come here and perform," said Straub. "There isn’t a lot of stuff in Peyton, so in order to have opportunities, you have to drive. It's a lot more organized than my high school, the sets are better, and there are more actors."
Rehearsals have also given Straub a new perspective on the military.
"I have a lot more respect for the families. I sympathize with the wives and children," said Straub.
The theater is largely self-supporting, with the only outside money coming from the Department of Morale, Family, Welfare and Recreation, to pay for usage of the numerous copyrights that come with any production, said Jones.
"We raise our own money through our own proceeds; ticket sales and concessions," said Jones. "The rest is from our own pocket. We raised $1,200 from 'Christmas Chaos' [the previous show], which was the budget."
All positions at the theater, including board members, are strictly volunteer, said Jones. Anyone can attend the monthly board meetings, as well as the annual meeting where the next year's shows are chosen.
Future shows and auditions are announced through community newspapers, on the radio, and through various outlets in town.
The theater serves as a great way for soldiers, families, and friends to get involved with acting a stage production.
"What separates us from other groups is that we are so friendly and family oriented," said Jones. "It's more of a collaboration, so that no one feels intimidated. We are all directing this, because it's all our show. Everyone has an opinion that's just as valid. When you come in, you come into a family, and we all work together.
Jones also stressed the importance of people getting involved.
"In order for this theater to thrive, it's a community effort. In order to keep this program open, and open other programs such as children's theater, where we'd like to do Alice in Wonderland, we need community participation.
"We'd like to move to McMahon theater, but in order to do that, we have to sell out all year," said Jones.
Gibson-Margalewski would also like to see more people involved, and reiterated the advantages of this theater over the ones available in town.
"This is a community theater, more family oriented," said Gibson-Margalewski. "If your spouse is out in the field, you're welcome to bring your kids."
For individuals interested in more information on how to become involved with the Fort Carson Community Theatre, contact Erin Jones at 719-217-5278.
| Date Taken: | 03.04.2013 |
| Date Posted: | 03.04.2013 18:48 |
| Story ID: | 102897 |
| Location: | COLORADO SPRINGS, COLORADO, US |
| Web Views: | 60 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Soldiers at play, by SSG Wallace Bonner, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
