Arizona Theatre Company Partners With Theatre Communication's Group For Veteran's Playwriting Project In Tucson And The Valley

Arizona Theatre Company (David Ivers, Artistic Director; Billy Russo, Managing Director), in collaboration with Theatre Communications Group's (TCG) Blue Star Theaters Program, is encouraging veterans and active military personnel to create and explore theater together by participating in the Veterans Playwriting Project.

The program this spring, at the Temple of Music & Art in Tucson and the Mesa Arts Center, will connect students and veterans to reflect on their personal stories, experiences and beliefs while expanding their creative and imaginative potential as playwrights.

Playwriting workshops in Tucson are being held Thursday evenings through April 26 from 6-8:30 p.m. at the Temple of Music & Art, 330 S. Scott Ave. Participants must be 18 years or older and there is no cost. Tucson workshops will be taught by Master Playwright Mentor Elaine Romero, Arizona Theatre Company (ATC) Playwright-in-Residence; Jasmine Roth, ATC Education Associate, and Alfred Griffin, founder of Amazing Wretches.

Workshops at the Mesa Arts Center, Contemporary Arts Building, MCA Classroom & Dobson Lecture Hall, 1 E. Main Street in Mesa, are being held Wednesday evenings from 6-8 p.m. Workshops will be taught by Master Playwright Mentor Dwayne Hartford, Artistic Director at Childsplay, and ATC Education Associate Holly Garner.

Participants, who can sign up for the programs at any point even after the starting date, will be exposed to a range of advanced storytelling and playwriting concepts and techniques and analyze plays while working toward creating their own plays, which will receive rehearsal support and staged readings in late spring of this year.

"Our veterans are essential to our community and will always be front and center at Arizona Theatre Company," said ATC Artistic Director David Ivers. "We are thrilled to participate with Theatre Communications Group in this initiative."

TCG is the national organization of the theatre. The initiative is supported by Doris Duke Charitable Foundation's Building Demand for the Arts program. The program in Arizona is the first being operated in two cities at the same time.

"The art of playwriting is a unique and powerful vehicle through which to explore our veterans' powerful stories - stories that have shaped our country. Arizona Theatre Company's education program has created a curriculum that will allow our veterans to share their incredible experiences," said ATC Learning and Education Director Israel Jimenez. "Connecting with our veteran communities through playwriting will allow us to give voice to their oft-untold stories. Our participants will have an opportunity to develop their stories with seasoned playwrights and mentors."

For enrollment information in Mesa, contact Holly Garner at 602-757-6289 or hgarner@aztc.org. For enrollment information in Tucson, contact Jasmine Roth at 520- 884 8210 or Jroth@arizonatheatre.org.