SAN ANTONIO (Oct. 17, 2012) -- Productions from Fort Sam Houston, Baden-Wuerttemberg, and Fort Meade led the winners' list for the Army's 2012 Festival of the Arts competition.
The winners, announced recently by Army Entertainment, part of the U.S. Army Installation Management Command Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation programs, were chosen from among theater, music and special events produced at participating garrisons for authorized patrons of MWR programs on installations around the world.
"This competition gives Soldiers, Family members and civilian volunteers an outlet to showcase their artistic talents," said Andrea Latimore, event coordinator for IMCOM Family and MWR programs. "This festival enhances the quality of life promised in the Army Family Covenant."
First, second and third place awards were given in the following categories:
- Plays: "A Few Good Men," produced by the Harlequin Dinner Theatre at Joint Base San Antonio, Fort Sam Houston, Texas; "Game Show," produced by the Fort Gordon Dinner Theatre at Fort Gordon, Ga.; and "The Boys Next Door," produced by The Amelia Earhart Playhouse, at U.S. Army Garrison Wiesbaden, Germany.
- Musicals: "The Great American Trailer Park Musical," produced by The Roadside Theatre at USAG Baden-Wuerttemberg, Germany; "Xanadu," produced by The Stuttgart Theatre Center at USAG Stuttgart, Germany; and "Honk," produced by Humphreys Community Theatre at USAG Korea.
- Variety Entertainment and Talent Shows: "Fort Meade's Got Talent," produced at Fort Meade, Md.; "Aurum Live," produced at Fort Knox, Ky.; and "Struttin' Your Stuff," produced at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash.
Full lists of winners, including youth categories, are available at http://www.armyfestivalofthearts.com.
"Our most recent production, 'Fort Meade's Got Talent 2012,' was extremely well received and well attended," said Francisco Jamison, Child, Youth and School Services administrator at Fort Meade, Md. "It was the biggest production we have entered into the Festival of the Arts and all parties involved, including our garrison commander, were very pleased with the results."
This year's competition included 23 diverse events spread across the cultural landscapes of military facilities on three different continents.
"The Festival of the Arts is a wonderful outlet for our Soldiers and their families," said Jamison. "It will both showcase their talents and enjoy the talents, sometimes unknown and untapped, that exist in our communities."
More than 1,000 participants, including active duty military, Family members, youth, DoD civilians, retirees and community volunteers, dedicated countless hours to support Army Entertainment programming both on and off stage.
"These musicians, singers, actors, directors and technicians are enthusiastic and dedicated to their craft and they are giving it all to the Army," said Latimore. "Even those who are new have discovered talents they didn't know they had."
"The Army recognizes the importance of entertainment for our soldiers and their families," said Jamison. "As stressful as being a part of our Army can be with deployments and the rigors of everyday Army life, it is important to take time to both relax and have fun. The Festival is a great family friendly entertainment opportunity."
Individual Awards will also be presented locally by the garrison Director of MWR to participants for their outstanding achievements in performing, direction and design disciplines.
Army Entertainment will feature some winners from this year's Festival at the Operation Rising Star finals to be aired on the around the world on the Pentagon Channel and on http://www.OpRisingStar.com in December.
"This year, for the Operation Rising Star live finals, we thought it would be a great opportunity to highlight some of our other talented service men, women and Family members that compete in our Festival of the Arts competition," said Tim Higdon, program manager for Army Entertainment and executive producer of Operation Rising Star. "We will be bringing eight winning acts from the Festival to perform for the live studio audience each night and feature them in video segments during the Operation Rising Star shows as well. This is just a win-win for us and a chance for our Web and Pentagon Channel viewing audience to experience a broader spectrum of talent that is entertaining. This enhances what the Army and Operation Rising Star is all about."
Plans are underway for the 2013 Festival of the Arts Competition. Details will be announced at each garrison and posted on http://www.armyfestivalofthearts.com.
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