Veterans storytelling event makes Heroes Hall debut
The voices of veterans will come alive at Heroes Hall on May 23 at 8 p.m. as former members of the military share their very personal and poignant stories of service in a public reading event.
“Voices – Veterans Storytelling Project” is the culmination of a six-week veterans’ initiative, which provides service men and women with a creative outlet and empowers them to share their memories of military duty and how their experiences have shaped them.
Participants include Frank Barry, Air Force, of Huntington Beach; Richard Castro, Navy, of Anaheim Hills; Al Harvard, Army, of Coto de Caza; Eric J. Kuyper, Army, of Costa Mesa; Joel A. Montes, Marines and Army, of Huntington Beach; Donald W. Pageler, Navy, of Westminster; and Bruce Olav Solheim, US Army, of Glendale.
The free public event will be held at Heroes Hall, Orange County’s only veterans museum dedicated to the stories of those who served our country, located at the OC Fair & Event Center. RSVP to www.veteranstorytelling.eventbrite.com to receive free tickets. The performance is suggested for mature audiences.
“We are extremely excited to initiate Heroes Hall programing and the new Medal of Honor Plaza by kicking it off with ‘Voices: Veterans Storytelling Project,’ ” said Heroes Hall Supervisor Bolton Colburn. “I couldn’t think of a better fit for Heroes Hall, and its mission to tell the stories of our veterans, than to host this veterans theater project”.
“Voices – Veterans Storytelling Project,” a program of Arts Orange County (ArtsOC), began in 2015 as a way to help address issues raised in the Orange County Community Foundation 2014 report The State of the American Veteran: The Orange County Veterans Study, which found that military veterans coming home to Orange County are significantly underprepared for civilian life.
The project has special meaning for ArtsOC’s President & CEO Richard Stein. “I’m especially delighted to be partnering with the new Heroes Hall for the spring workshop because my father trained during WWII at the Santa Ana Army Air Base,” said Stein. “The location and facility mean so much to people who served in the military and it’s a privilege for us to be contributing to its role as a vital reminder of the sacrifices made by our veterans.”
Arts Orange County explored one means of addressing that situation by enabling veterans to use theater to talk about and share their experiences and secured a grant from the California Arts Council’s pilot program, Veterans Initiative in the Arts. Arts Orange County engaged Anaheim’s award-winning Chance Theater to conduct the workshop, and was assisted by Veterans First, a service organization, to help ensure the program was made available to any local veterans who wished to participate. Based on the success of that pilot program, a second year grant was received by Arts Orange County, which invited the newly opened Heroes Hall to collaborate.
The workshop is led by Karen O’Hanlon, a theater artist and educator, who conducts summer workshops for at-risk youth at the Chance Theatre in Anaheim. She works with the participating veterans to shape their stories into scripted one-hour performances.
“It is an absolute privilege and an honor to share space with these brave soldiers,” said O’Hanlon. “I believe that theater provides a unique space to build empathy and understanding.”
By focusing on veterans’ experiences as the core material in these workshops, the project offers participants the opportunity to share with their families, fellow veterans, and members of the public a better understanding of the life of a veteran – challenges as well as its points of pride.
“Voices – Veterans Storytelling Project” is supported through grants from the California Arts Council, National Endowment for the Arts, Orange County Community Foundation and The William Gillespie Foundation.
Heroes Hall is a permanent year-round museum with exhibitions, performances and educational programs that celebrate the legacy of Orange County veterans and others who have served our nation. The two-story exhibition space will rotate themes semi-annually with each focusing on an aspect of the personal stories and experiences of veterans. For more information, visit ocfair.com/heroeshall or call (714) 708-1500.
Arts Orange County is the nonprofit, county-wide arts council of Orange County, California. Its mission is to be the leader in building appreciation of, participation in, and support for the arts and arts education throughout Orange County. Arts Orange Council serves as a resource and advocate for the arts community, as a catalyst for leadership on arts issues, and as a sponsor of programs and services which enhance public awareness of arts activities and promote the development of arts and arts education.