STORCK BARRACKS, Germany (Oct. 21, 2013) -- Storck Barracks hosted a grand opening Sept. 27 of a joint venture between U.S. Army Garrison Ansbach's Directorate of Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation, or DFMWR, and Army and Air Force Exchange Service, or AAFES, in the form of a modest but brand-new movie theater at the Storck Community Recreation Center.
DFMWR joined AAFES to give Storck Barracks residents -- and the whole USAG Ansbach community -- something that ended at the end of August: an on-post movie theater experience.
Earlier this year as AAFES spent more than $7 million to update their theater projection equipment to high-definition digital, 3D-capable formats at 60 of its theaters across the Army to match the same shift Hollywood has been making for years, an Army-wide analysis of attendance at AAFES-operated theaters put Storck Theater -- and many other of its Reel Time theaters -- on the chopping block. In other words, because of Storck Theater's historically low attendance, AAFES determined the cost of the mandatory digital conversion was simply too much.
After feedback from USAG Ansbach's garrison command and community members here, AAFES agreed to delay the closure from April to late August so MWR could turn two alternate venues at Storck Barracks into small movie theaters -- thereby ensuring AAFES could continue bringing cinematic entertainment to USAG Ansbach community members at Storck.
THE NEW VENUES
Two Storck multipurpose facilities -- the Community Activity Center and the Warrior Zone -- gave DFMWR the room to ensure all USAG Ansbach community members had the opportunity to indulge in the movie theater experience.
The nearby Warrior Zone, which opened in December at Storck, is already set up to give Soldiers and their guests an outlet to entertain themselves or decompress after a long day. The majority of the space inside the facility is devoted to a large recreational room that includes air hockey, foosball and pool tables, a bar with snacks and refreshments, comfortable chairs and a big-screen TV and sound system. Though the Warrior Zone was already well-equipped to show movies, the facility is designated for Soldiers and their guests who are 18 and older.
The four-story Community Activity Center, which opened in April 2011 after being redesigned and renovated, is home to Storck Barracks' Army Community Service and offers a variety of services to family members including Deployment and Family Readiness, Exceptional Family Member Program, Army Substance Abuse Program, Army Emergency Relief and Relocation Readiness.
The Community Activity Center had plenty of space, but the new "Screening Room" movie theater would require some extra work to give customers the full movie theater experience.
Sgt. 1st Class Klaus Riessner, who has been building sets at the Terrace Playhouse at Bleidorn Kaserne and making frames and plaques with the Arts and Crafts Shop at Barton Barracks as a volunteer, took on one last job before his retirement from the Army by building the risers for the nearly 50 movie theater seats. With help from the USAG Ansbach Directorate of Public Works and others from DFMWR, Riessner built three 8-foot-wide sections, each ascending 4 inches and accommodating two rows of staggered seats.
Richard Martin, community recreation manager with MWR, said Riessner worked on the project for about three weeks and received guidance and vetting from DPW, as well as USAG Ansbach fire and safety experts. The room also offers extra space at the front for wheelchair access and room for children to sit on beanbags while they watch movies.
The Screening Room is outfitted with floor-level LEDs for safe maneuvering after the main lights dim, a projection and sound system from the now-closed Warrior Zone at Ledward Barracks in nearby Schweinfurt, and seats from Schweinfurt's community theater.
It may come as a surprise to many theatergoers, but the movies come from AAFES to the Screening Room and Warrior Zone in VHS format. This means the movies are free for the community and that MWR has the flexibility to arrange show times as they work best for patrons, said Martin.
"This seems to be fairly popular," Martin said, referring to audience numbers before the Sept. 27 celebratory opening and ribbon-cutting. "We did have a show of 'Despicable Me 2' where we had to put another show in. We had 52 and 54 people each -- so we did a 3 p.m. and a 5 p.m."
THE EXPERIENCE
Serving as guest speaker at the Sept. 27 opening was Kevin Griess, USAG Ansbach deputy garrison commander. Griess said when the theater closed at Storck, the mission to replace what the community lost wasn't obvious or straightforward.
"Every once in a while we get a fun mission," Griess told the group gathered for the ribbon-cutting. "A fun mission is when you just get the problem when at first you don't know what to do. We can't see movies and the theater's closed. The answer to that isn't intuitive. The answer doesn't automatically come to you and say, 'We'll just do this.' The MWR team came together and said, 'Let's play with this a little bit and come together and do something.' This is what they came up with. ... Our MWR listened to the community."
Griess said the mission was not about giving community members access to movies or about keeping open a specific theater; it was about giving people the ability to become immersed in something they are so familiar with -- in this case, everything that goes along with a trip to the cinema.
"Coming to the movies is an experience," Griess said. "It's sitting down with somebody you like, eating popcorn and candy. An iPad can't replace the experience," he said. "MWR is here for the experience. That's what we try to be."
RECOGNITION
Griess recognized three individuals for their work on the mission: Riessner, for his weeks of work building the risers; Steven B. Webb, who managed the theater setup and installation at the Community Activity Center; and Roderick D. Mitchell for his "outstanding service to get a similar setup over at the Warrior Zone," Griess said.
"This is definitely unexpected," Webb said of his being recognized by Griess. "I appreciate the appreciation. It makes me want to do more. I do it for the community, really.
"I've never done a project like this before," Webb added. "I came on board and this was pretty much thrown into my lap, but we definitely had people who communicated very well and a great staff, so it was easy to bring it to fruition."
Webb insisted it was a group effort that included work from people and groups like USAG Ansbach's Area Support Team, DPW, Riessner and the MWR team: "I couldn't have done it without their support. It's an amazing feeling."
Griess addressed the audience before the Storck premiere of "The Internship," and told them that although the theater may be physically smaller than most others, energy and enthusiasm are what matters.
"This is what hometowns do," Griess said. "They have small audiences with great, big bundles of spirit."
For show times at the Screening Room, visit www.facebook.com/StorckCAC/events for a full schedule. For more information about the Screening Room and the Storck Community Activity Center, call 09841-83-4555 or (DSN) 467-4555. For show times at the Warrior Zone, visit www.facebook.com/StorckWarriorZone/events for a full schedule. For more information about the Warrior Zone, call 09841-83-4584 or (DSN) 467-4584.
Related Links:
Storck Community Activity Center (Screening Room) Movie Schedule
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