HIGHLAND FALLS: On Thursday, April 25, 2024, at 6 p.m., The Veteran’s Spouse Project (VSP), a nonprofit that uses expressive arts to give voice to the military experience, will present their most recent theater production at the James I. O. Neill High School Auditorium, 21 Morgan Road, Highland Falls, NY. Members of the VSP Heart to Script Writing Group, an ongoing virtual class for active duty and veteran military spouses to communicate their unique and frequently unheard tales through monologue writing, share their real-life experiences during the staged script reading.
These short stories bridge the gaps between the frequent relocations, deployments, and extended training exercises that military families go through. Lea Johnson, the Executive and Development Director of VSP and a co-founder, argues that life is about more than just conflict, patriotism, and emotional homecomings. Her spouse is currently assigned as the Commandant of the United States Military Academy Prep School (USMAPS) at West Point Military Academy, where she resides with her family.
In*Between made its premiere in Knoxville, Tennessee, the home of playwright Amy Uptgraft, the artistic director of VSP, last year. The play reading was held in the Old City Performing Arts Center, which has expressed interest in being part in future developments and is curious to see where this new work goes. For those concerned, writing this piece has been healing. According to Amy, not only did the military spouse writers—many of whom were present—feel validated by witnessing some of their most vulnerable moments performed live on stage, but the Knoxville audience also left with a deeper comprehension of what it means to be a military family. In addition, she is the leader of the fourth-year virtual writing group called Heart to Script.
Helping civilian communities comprehend the challenges of military life is the goal of VSP. The 501(C)3 nonprofit was founded in 2017 with the goal of providing a platform for storytelling, drama, and other creative arts to help military spouses feel understood and recover. For this reason, VSP was given a $6,000 grant by the West Point Spouses Club to stage the play reading in Highland Falls, which is close to the military academy.
Communities that are close to military facilities frequently wish to help families but are unsure of how. According to Jill Mitchell, second vice president of the West Point Spouses Club, encouraging activities like the play reading allow non-military people to see some of the subtleties of our lives, where we might be able to empathize, and how they might be able to support veterans and service members.
It was healing and transformative to watch my tale come to life in the hands of the performers on stage. Kathleen Palmer, an Army spouse and in*Between monologue writer, said, “With this production, I felt seen, heard, and part of a community that I hope the world can glimpse into and say, Wow, I had no idea.”
Online reservations at https://veteransspouseproject.org/in-between/ are encouraged. Tickets can also be purchased in person. There are media interviews both prior to and following the reading of the play.
Email Lea [email protected] for additional information.
What: The Veteran’s Spouse Project presents a staged reading of the play in*Between.Where: 21 Morgan Road, James I. O. Neill High School Auditorium, Highland Falls, New York 10928When: April 25, 2024, Thursday, at 6 p.m. EST
Amy Uptgraft is a playwright, actor, and director who holds a B.A. in theatre performance from Purdue University. She is also the co-founder and artistic director of VSP. She has performed in a number of theaters in New York City, Tennessee, North Carolina, Texas, Georgia, Colorado, and Alaska. She resides in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, with her spouse, LTC (R) Jamie Uptgraft, and their four children. Her twin boys are enlisted in the USMA as cadets right now.
Lea Johnson works for VSP as the Development Director, Executive, and Co-Founder. Lea has spent a large portion of her life running her own company and exploring other business ventures. Lea went to the University of Florida after growing up in Daytona Beach, Florida. She has followed her husband, COL Rick Johnson, to twelve duty posts throughout the course of her 20 years as a proud military spouse. Their three children, who are excited for Rick’s retirement and permanent relocation to Alaska, reside with their parents in West Point, New York.
Leave a Reply