SEMBACH, Germany -- IMCOM-Europe Entertainment will present the U.S. Army One Page Play Festival and Theatre Skills Workshops, Oct. 6, at KMC Onstage on Kleber Kaserne, Building 3232, in Kaiserslautern.
The highlight of this year's annual theater festival is a free, guest showcase performance from "Arts in the Armed Forces."
AITAF is a non-profit theater company established by actor and former Marine, Adam Driver. Four actors from Broadway, film and television will present a free, staged reading of a contemporary adult drama at 7 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 7, at KMC Onstage.
The IMCOM One Page Play Festival and Theatre Skills Workshops is presented annually to provide theatre training opportunities for entertainment volunteers, staff and the public. The mission of the festival is to encourage individual and group excellence and participation throughout the Army and U.S. Forces Europe community theatre programs.
"The weekend isn't just for our volunteers," explained Dane Winters, IMCOM-Europe entertainment program manager. "All the events are open to the general public -- to either participate or just watch."
Free events include an open mic improvisation evening, a Stage Combat workshop, singing workshops, directing workshops, a monologue competition, and a One Page Playwriting competition. The workshops are taught by theater professionals from the United States and Germany and are open to everyone.
"Since 1995, the festival has given our entertainment volunteers and staff important training opportunities," said Winters. "This year, our volunteers also meet and learn from professional actors from the States."
"We started the One Page Play Competition a few years ago, and it was a big hit. It is an exciting way for volunteers from across Europe to work, create and play together," said Winters.
Entertainment volunteers from nine theater programs will collaborate to create and present mini-masterpieces only one-page long. The new plays are presented on Sunday afternoon and prizes are awarded for best scripts.
At the last One Page Play Festival, 18 new plays were written and performed.
"The creativity was really amazing," said Victoria Hanrahan, U.S. Army Garrison Ansbach entertainment director. "Some of plays were very, very funny and others were quite dramatic and moving. "I believe the big benefit is the chance for volunteers from different communities to work together and learn new things."
"We are really looking forward to our guest showcase production from Arts in the Armed Forces," said Winters.
"Adam Driver founded the company to provide high-quality theater programming to active-duty service members, veterans, military support staff and their families," said Winters. "The company performs for all branches of the military at installations around the world. We are really fortunate the company will be joining us."
AITAF's core program is contemporary American plays and monologues presented by theater-trained professional actors and actresses. The company focuses on plays that feature diverse themes, ages, ethnicities and experiences to create a complex and unique experience for the audience.
AITAF will present a staged reading of "Lobby Hero," an adult drama by Kenneth Lonergan. (The script contains adult situations and mature language and is not recommended for those under 18 years old.)
"We are so incredibly fortunate to have four actors and a director of their caliber sharing their time and talent with us," said Winters. "They are not being paid. They just want to share their work with troops and their families."
The cast includes, Gideon Glick, who was in the original Broadway productions of Spring Awakening and Spiderman: Turn off the Dark. Glick has also appeared in the television series Elementary, The Good Wife and It Could Be Worse.
Darren Goldstein has appeared in the films Detroit and The Girl on the Train and on television in The Affair, Person of Interest, Inside Amy Schumer and American Odyssey.
Rachel Brosnahan has appeared on television in House of Cards, Manhattan, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, The Blacklist and Black Box and also starred in the film, Patriots Day.
Grantham Coleman's TV credits include Girl on the Side, The Carmichael Show, NCIS: LA, 11.22.63 and The Americans. He also played "Romeo" in Romeo & Juliet at Actors Theatre of Louisville.
The director of "Lobby Hero" is Moritz von Stuelpnagel, who was nominated for a Tony Award for his direction of Hand to God. Stuelpnagel also directed Kevin Kline in Present Laughter in Broadway.
Following the performance Saturday night, the actors will hold a question-and-answer session with the audience.
"The AITAF actors are very interested in speaking with and interacting with Soldiers," said Winters.
More information on AITAF can be found on the company website at https://aitaf.org.
"The festival kicks off on Friday evening with a free open-mic night of improvisation," said Winters. "Anyone and everyone can take part and it is a fun way to start the festival. The workshops, competitions and performances continue through the weekend and we end the festival on Sunday afternoon with an award ceremony."
A complete schedule of the festival events and more information is available on the Entertainment Armymwr.com webpage at https://global.armymwr.com/europe/theatre/one-page-play
or at the KMC Onstage website, https://kaiserslautern.armymwr.com/programs/kmc-onstage-theater.
2017 One Page Play Festival and Theater Skills Workshops
FESTIVAL SCHEDULE:
Friday, Oct. 6
6:45 p.m.: Monologue Competition Sign-up.
7 p.m.: "Play as You Go!" - An Open Mic Improvisation Night
Saturday, Oct. 7
8:30 a.m. -- 9:45 a.m.: "Take Arms!" -- A Stage Combat Workshop
10 a.m. -- 11 a.m.: Creative Discussion with the cast and director of Arts in the Armed Forces
11:15 a.m. -- 1 p.m.: "Put Pen to Paper" -- Writing and Directing a One Page Play.
11:15 a.m. -- 12:30 p.m.: "Sing the Story" -- A Vocal Technique Workshop
2 p.m. -- 5:30 p.m.: One Page Play Casting and Rehearsals.
7 p.m. -- 10 p.m.: Arts in the Armed Forces presents "Lobby Hero"
Sunday, Oct. 8
8:30 a.m. -- 9:00 a.m.: "Gilding the Lily" -- Polishing the Play Techniques for Actors and Directors.
9:45 a.m. -- 12:45 p.m.: One Page Play Rehearsals and Tech Times.
1:30 p.m. -- 2 p.m.: "Monologue-Off" Competition
2:30 p.m. -- 5 p.m.: One Page Play Presentations
5:30 p.m. -- 6 p.m.: Festival Awards Presentation
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