2023 US Army IMCOM Europe Entertainment One Page Play Festival

    The 2023 One Page Play Awards Ceremony was held at the Ansbach Terrace Playhouse on Sunday, Oct. 8.

2023 FESTIVAL AWARDS:

FESTIVAL SCHEDULE (subject to change)

Friday, Oct. 6:

Saturday, Oct. 7:

The Amelia Earhart Playhouse. USAG Wiesbaden, Germany.

The SHAPE Performing Arts Center. USAG Benelux, Belgium.        

KMC Onstage. USAG Rheinland Pfalz/Kaiserslautern, Germany.        

The Stuttgart Theater Center. USAG Stuttgart, Germany.       

The Ansbach Terrace Playhouse. USAG Ansbach, Germany.

The Soldiers' Theatre. USAG Italy/Vicenza, Italy.

Razz Ma Tazz Theatre, Ramstein Air Base, Germany

The Sigonella Players, NAS Sigonella, Sicily, Italy

Paul Bourne is the Artistic Director of the Menagerie Theatre Company, Cambridge, England. He is also the artistic director of the international Hotbed Festival of New Writing and a former Artistic Director of Center Stage, New York. Paul is a Fellow at The University of Cambridge and a faculty member at Skolkovo University in Moscow. His international directing career has spanned across Europe and he has directed over seventy professional productions in ten different countries. His work has ranged from productions on the Fringe to major international productions in St. Petersburg and London's West End. Highlights include the world premiere of Tennessee Williams’ Guignol in New York and the world touring production of the Complete Works of William Shakespeare Abridged (out of Washington DC). Paul was a Judge at the very first US Army One Act Play Festival in 1995. He has been involved in Army Entertainment for many years running master classes, directing and supporting programs in Europe and the US. Paul is the creator of the US Army/IMCOM Europe Entertainment performance workshop, “It’s No Joke! Act Against Bullying.” This workshop addresses the issues of bullying among youth and is being presented by Entertainment Branches in cooperation with US Army CYSS at all US Army Garrisons in Germany and Italy.

Vic Phillipson has worked for Army Entertainment for 31 years.  He was an Entertainment Director in Giessen from 1992 until 1995, and then in Heidelberg from 1995 until 2000.  Since moving to Norway in 2000, he has worked as a technical consultant for the program. He has served as the Technical Director and Stage Manager for the annual IMCOM Europe One Act/One Page Play Festivals and the Tournament of Plays (TOPPERs) Awards Show and Ceremony for over 22 years. When not consulting for Army Entertainment, Vic produces plays and musicals in Norway and works as a Port Agent for European Cruise Service at points of call for cruise ships all along the southern coast of Norway.

Kathy Pingel is a freelance director, teacher, and adjudicator at theatres across the US. Until her retirement in 2015, Kathy was the Director of Education and Youth Programming at the Des Moines Community Playhouse for ten years. She also served as Artistic Director of the Kate Goldman Children's Theatre. She holds a BA in theatre from Eastern Michigan University, a MA from Northwestern University in Performance Studies and an MAT from Northwestern. Kathy has adjudicated at the state and regional, national and international festivals for the American Association of Community Theatre. In 2017, she was named an AACT Fellow and in 2019 was given the prestigious Art Cole Lifetime Achievement Award. Since leaving the Des Moines Playhouse, Kathy has directed and taught in Kentucky, Oregon, Michigan, Iowa, Florida, Oklahoma and Ansbach, Germany. Kathy’s newest role is Dramaturge for AACT’s NewPlayFest.  

Ron Ziegler resides in North Port, Florida and is a freelance director, adjudicator, and teacher. He recently retired from his position as Festivals Coordinator for the American Association of Community Theatre. Ron served on staff at the Des Moines (IA) Playhouse as Associate Director where he was the first Artistic/Managing Director for the Kate Goldman Children's Theatre.  While in Des Moines, he founded and managed the Iowa Fringe Festival. He is a past President of the American Association of Community Theatre, was named an AACT Fellow, and has adjudicated state and regional theatre festivals across the US and many times for US Army Entertainment. Ron and his spouse Kathy Pingel were awarded the 2015-16 Cloris Leachman Award for Outstanding Direction for their co-direction of Des Moines Young Artists Theatre's production of The Hobbit, and co-directed Peter and the Starcatcher and Girls' Weekend for Ansbach Terrace Playhouse.

Andrea Huber is an internationally renowned performer and director. A graduate of Illinois Wesleyan University, she is also an Irene Ryan National Acting Award Winner. As an opera singer and musical theatre performer, she has performed at the Krefeld-Moenchengladbach Opera House; the Graz Opera House; the Vienna Staatsoper; the Bayerische Staatsoper, Munich; the Prague State Opera; the Opernhaus Zürich; and other major opera houses in Europe. She has also performed as an actress and singer in South Africa, Norway, Greece and the US. Recently, Andrea appeared in Nine and Kiss of the Spiderwoman in Baden bei Wien in Austria and presented her one-woman Kurt Weill show in Graz, Austria. As a director, Andrea directed The Marriage of Figaro for the Boston Opera Collaborative. She also directed Oliver! and Sweeney Todd at the former Roadside Theater in Heidelberg. Andrea has served as an adjudicator and workshop leader for past US Army TOPPERs, the IMCOM E One Page Play Festival, and the IMCOM E One Act Play Festival. Andrea is also a certified Music Therapist with her own practice at Making Waves. 

Philip Hernández is the only man in Broadway history to play both "Jean Valjean" and "Inspector Javert" in Les Misérables.

He made his Broadway debut in the original cast of the Tony Award-winning Kiss of the Spider Woman, directed by Harold Prince. He created the role of “Reverend Gonzalez” opposite Marc Anthony and Ruben Blades in the original Broadway cast of Paul Simon’s The Capeman. Philip has also starred at prestigious regional theatres throughout the U.S.

Television roles include guest star roles on Bull (CBS), Blue Bloods (CBS) and The Blacklist (NBC) and recurring roles on HULU’s The Path and Gotham (FOX). He’s also played opposite Edie Falco and Tony Shalhoub on Nurse Jackie, Debra Messing on Mysteries of Laura, Jonny Lee Miller and Lucy Liu on Elementary and Dylan McDermott on Hostages. Other television appearances include Damages, Person of Interest, Law and Order and Ugly Betty among others.

​Connect with him on Instagram and Twitter @Philip24601 or his website, www.philiphernandez.net.

     The Annual US Army Europe Entertainment Monologue Competition is an exciting tradition!

• Sign up for the annual Army Entertainment Monologue Competition is from 19:00 on Friday at the Terrace Playhouse until 12:00 on Saturday at Theatrix or until all slots (limited) are filled. 
• Must be present to sign up. Spaces are limited. Contestants must be 13 years of age or older. Paid, entertainment staff are not eligible to enter. 
• All monologues may be 2 - 4 minutes long and must be fully memorized and prepared.
• Bring one hard copy of the monologue. Not on a reader device.
• Each monologue will first be performed for the acting coach, Andrea Huber, from 13:00 to 15:00 on Saturday at Theatrix
• 8-10 monologues will be selected for further coaching. 
• Selected monologues will be presented on Sunday at 12:30 at the Terrace Playhouse and judged by professional adjudicators.
• Awards will be presented for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place.
• Grand Prize for 1st place: A one-on-one online coaching session from a noted Broadway and West End performer, PHILIP HERNÁNDEZ.

A few hints for preparing a monologue for competition.

• You must have the monologue fully MEMORIZED! A coach really can't help you if you don't know the lines.
• Pick a monologue you LIKE. It should speak to you and make you feel something. It should be about something or a situation you care passionately about.
• Select a monologue from a theatre script or performance literature. It can be comedy, drama, or tragicomedy. It can be classic (Antiquity to 1940s) or modern (1940s to the present.) Avoid doing a scene from a movie or TV show as that limits your creativity.
• Know what your monologues is ABOUT.  Read the entire script. You have to know who your character is; who you are talking to; where you are; when you are; and what you want. You have to know what happened to the character in the play, what happened right before the monologue begins and why the character is speaking.
• LESS is MORE. All theater is storytelling. A monologue tells a complete story and sometimes short stories are better. It doesn't have to be long to make the audience feel something. Your goal is to make the audience feel something.

• Sign up for the Broadway Vocal Master Class will be from 09:30 to 13:00 on Saturday at Theatrix.
• Must be present to sign up. Spaces are limited. Open to 13 yrs. of age and older. Paid, entertainment staff may not participate.
• Music selections must be from a musical theatre production.
• Music must be fully memorized and prepared. Advanced coaching is highly recommended.
• Must provide a hard copy of the sheet music for the accompanist. Should be neatly taped in an accordion format. Not in protective, plastic sleeves or binders.
• Singing to playback or a recording is not allowed.
• Any singer not fully prepared will be eliminated.
• Alex Nitschke will be the accompanist playing for the video workshop. Depending on time, singers will have a brief rehearsal with Alex at assigned times on Saturday at Theatrix, 12:30 to 14:00. Alex will provide guidance on how to work with a pianist in a musical audition.
• Before the Saturday vocal workshop, 3-4 singers will be selected to work one-on-one with the master class coach.
• The Broadway Master Class will be presented by Broadway and West End performer, PHILIP HERNÁNDEZ on Saturday, 19:00-20:30 at the Terrace Playhouse.
• Important Note: Auditing and observing the master class is as educational for singers and directors as working with Hernández.

HOW ONE PAGE PLAYS WORK

      The One Page Play Workshop is open to ANYONE who interested. No previous experience is necessary. The workshop, rehearsals and performances are open to the public and are free. All that is required is your imagination and time.

      On Saturday morning, all those interested in writing a one-page play, meet to brainstorm ideas and begin writing. In the past, 18-20 new One Page Plays were written.

       One Saturday afternoon, anyone interested in directing, acting or being on stage crew are selected to work on twelve new one-page plays.

      The plays are rehearsed on Sunday morning and presented to a full audience on Sunday afternoon.

       This is truly and exciting and creative process. It also allows entertainment volunteers to work with volunteers and staff from other Army Europe Entertainment programs.

WRITING FORMAT AND PROCESS

     NOTE: One Page Plays can also be written in advance before the Festival.       

     During the one-page play writing workshop, led by Paul Bourne, participants are presented with a theme or title. The one-page plays are written in response to that theme or title. For instance, "Change is in the Air" is the theme and all plays respond to or are built around that idea.

     Participants develop a plot situation; choose a style (Naturalistic, Classical, Surreal, Epic, Minimalist, etc.); add in characters, situation, plot, conflict, sub-plot, surprises, laughter, tears and resolution … and all that lies in between!

     How about you try and fit it all onto a single page of paper? Create something that is more than a just a sketch – a mini play - that entertains, challenges and inspires… 

    Any genre, any subject matter (following usual standards of decency), any number of characters – let your imagination fly…just try and respond to one of the two themed titles.

     The first and most important step of the workshop is for writers, but we also need directors and actors to bring it all to life.

• Writers: what do YOU want to write about? Fire up your imagination and make it happen – all on one page. (Age: 13 years and up)
• Actors don’t have to learn scripts but will get very familiar through the weekend rehearsal process so that on Sunday afternoon they can help bring the scripts to life. (Age: 13 years and up)
• Directors – we will need you to help bring this work to life working alongside writers and the acting Ensemble – what you do to create an inspiring production. (Age: 13 years and up)

RULES OF ENGAGEMENT

• Twelve plays will be selected for performance.

• The script must fit printed onto one standard page (font min 11 point)

• Scripts should endeavor to be a play rather than ‘just a sketch.’

• Scripts can be any genre – including use of music or singing as required (but cannot just be a song!)

• Scripts can be any number of performers (from 1 – 12)

• Scripts can feature narration if required - but ‘action’ should be primary in the production.

PERFORMANCE AND AWARDS PROCESS

Bring your pre-written scripts to Ansbach OR write a script during a workshop over the weekend (Saturday morning). 

Twelve plays will be selected to be performed. 

The twelve plays will be allocated amongst a directing and acting ensemble (Saturday afternoon) and rehearsed (Sunday). 

The ‘best play script’ will be voted for by the audience. Other awards will be given by adjudicators (acting and directing awards).

20 Oct. 2023: IMCOM Europe Public Affairs Office Press Release

19 Sept. 2023 - IMCOM Europe Public Affairs Office Pre-Event Press Release

US Army Europe Entertainment Facebook page

ANSBACH AREA HOTELS