Photo By Laura Kreider | VICENZA, Italy - Through almost three months of rehearsals, approximately 30 community...... read more read more
VICENZA, Italy – Each April, the Army recognizes its community volunteers – at U.S. Army Garrison Italy, that include volunteers at Soldiers’ Theatre, who recently performed “Working: A Musical.”
Among them was Sgt. Caila Henry, a radiology technician at U.S. Army Health Center – Vicenza, whose debut performance was a step out of her comfort zone.
“I originally decided to try out for the musical because I had made a New Year’s resolution to try something completely new,” Henry said.
Approximately 30 community members took part in the production. Of that, three are service members. Through almost three months of rehearsals, Henry’s favorite part “was seeing everything come together so nicely at the end and making people laugh in the audience,” she said.
“I am also so grateful for all the new friends that were made with so many new people,” Henry said. “Now that I know a lot of the cast, I hope to be a part of another one in the future.”
The musical is the entry for this year’s IMCOM-Europe Tournament of Festival of Plays competition – known as the TOPPERs – that will be held in Wiesbaden, Germany, in late April.
“Soldiers’ Theatre is honored to have been invited to perform at this year’s TOPPER award ceremony,” explained Jerry Brees, Soldiers’ Theatre director.
Brees added that this production, a Broadway musical that paints a portrait of workers, gave an opportunity to explore new and different material, grow as actors, and give the audiences a chance to enjoy a thought-provoking musical. “It has been a tremendous highlight for all of us,” he said.
At the event, there will be a large group from Vicenza.
“They will participate and support cast members. LaQuita Deans, Courtney Shanahan and Lt. Col. Leah Sanchez will be performing a song from “WORKING” for the TOPPER audiences,” Brees said.
“WORKING” was the second musical for Sanchez, who is the U. S. Army Garrison Italy Director of Emergency Services. In fact, she was also a nun in “Sister Act” in 2023.
“I remember sitting at my audition and before even starting I was thinking ‘I want to leave, what am I doing?’”
Sanchez didn’t leave, and she had such a great time performing ever since.
“This show is totally different than ‘Sister Act,’ because it requires a different skill set from that one,” she explained.
Before trying out at Soldiers’ Theatre for her first show, Sanchez explained that she decided to do something she wasn’t comfortable with.
“I wanted to push myself to do something different, and acting and singing looked like a lot of fun, very much outside my comfort zone, but it has been so worthy. I believe it was something I didn’t even think I was missing.”
Last but not least, the third service member being in the musical was Sgt. First Class Joshua McDonald, from the 1st Battalion, 1/503rd, 173rd Airborne Brigade. He echoed the other volunteers highlighting the importance of this experience.
“It is great that we have something like this [theater] in the community,” he said. “I’d recommend to other people to participate, whether you are an actor or assist backstage or audio. I have another year here, and I would like to do at least one more show.”
| Date Taken: | 04.02.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 04.03.2024 10:53 |
| Story ID: | 467553 |
| Location: | IT |
| Web Views: | 12 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Service members enjoyed “Working” at Caserma Ederle’s Soldiers’ Theatre, by Laura Kreider, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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