The play was broadcast via video teleconference to locations in Iraq and Afghanistan Aug. 21, for deployed parents.
“It was great to be able to watch my children do what they like doing,” said Simon who has three kids. “My oldest two have participated in other productions before but this was the first time my youngest son has participated in a play.”
This is the second year One World Theatre has hosted a production held on VTC for deployed service members and their families.
“We wanted to show our gratitude to our troops and their families, who areseparated for months on end, missing the little things in life that we all take for granted,” said Nada Stearns, director of family programming at One World Theater.
“This is one way that a deployed parent can take part in their childrens’ lives and it’s special because a child knows that their parent is watching them from thousands of miles away,” said Denny Dekker, the Morale, Wellness, and Recreation director for USF-I. A month ago, he had been asked to help find families who would be interested in participating in the VTC and the camp that led up to the production.
Approximately 50 children from the Austin and South Texas area participated in the VTC, Dekker said.
The kids who participated in the weeklong camp to prepare for the production were kept busy as they participated in activities, said Stearns.
“The kids made dance props for Chinese dancing, hand puppets to go with sets and scripts that they wrote, and played with musical instruments,” she said.
The final two days were reserved for rehearsals of the play before the VTC, Stearns said.
Simon said his kids were excited to participate in the camp and even though he couldn’t be there, they were happy that he would get to watch them perform.
“My oldest son and daughter participated in the play ‘Annie Jr.’ earlier this year, which I missed,” said Simon. “My daughter was also in ‘Beauty and the Beast’ and I got to see the dress rehearsal while I was on leave, but to be able to see all three of my kids act together was great.”
“It’s all these little things that the deployed parent misses out on that really make a difference,” said Dekker. “You don’t get to see many things that the children are involved in while deployed.”
“I’m just glad that there are programs out there like this and we get this opportunity,” said Simon. “Parents miss a lot of things while we’re away and it’s nice to have something that keeps us a part of our kids’ lives.”
| Date Taken: | 08.21.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 08.29.2010 09:27 |
| Story ID: | 55355 |
| Location: | IQ |
| Web Views: | 32 |
| Downloads: | 4 |
This work, Father watches kids perform “Wizard of Oz” over VTC, by SFC Britney Hiatt, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
