HIGHLAND FALLS- The Veteran’s Spouse Project (VSP), a nonprofit organization that gives voice to the military experience through expressive arts, performs their latest theater production in*Between Thursday, April 25, 2024, at 6 p.m. at James I. O’Neill High School Auditorium located at 21 Morgan Road, Highland Falls, NY. The staged script reading features real-life experiences from members of the VSP Heart to Script Writing Group, an ongoing virtual workshop for active duty and veteran military spouses to tell their unique and often unheard stories through monologue writing.
“These vignettes fill in the gaps between the constant uprooting that military families experience, whether it’s moving, deployments, or long training exercises. There’s more to this life than war, patriotic parades, and teary homecomings,” says Lea Johnson, VSP co-founder and Executive and Development Director. She and her family live at the West Point Military Academy, where her husband is currently assigned as the Commandant of the United States Military Academy Prep School (USMAPS).
in*Between debuted last year in Knoxville, Tennessee, where VSP Founder, Artistic Director, and playwright Amy Uptgraft lives. The Old City Performing Arts Center, which hosted the play reading, is interested in seeing where this new work goes and expressed interest in being involved in future developments. “Writing this play has been therapeutic for everyone involved. Not only did the military spouse writers, many of whom were in the audience, feel validated by seeing some of their most vulnerable moments come to life on stage, but the audience in Knoxville walked away with a better understanding of what it means to be a military family,” explains Amy. She also leads the Heart to Script virtual writing group which is in its fourth year.
VSP’s mission is to help civilian communities understand the hardships of military life. The 501(C)3 organization, established in 2017, creates space for military spouses to be heard and to heal through various mediums like theater, creative arts, and storytelling. That’s why the West Point Spouses Club awarded VSP a $6,000 grant to produce the play reading in Highland Falls, near the military academy.
“The communities near military installations often want to support families but don’t know how. Encouraging events like the play reading invites civilians to see some of the nuances of our lives, where we might relate, and how they might help service members and veterans,” says Jill Mitchell, 2nd Vice President of the West Point Spouses Club.
“Watching my story unfold…in the hands of the players on stage was cathartic and life changing. Through this production, I felt seen, heard, and part of a community that I hope the world can someday glimpse into and say, “Wow, I had no idea,” said Kathleen Palmer, an Army spouse and monologue writer for in*Between.
Reservations are encouraged online at https://veteransspouseproject.
For more information, email Lea Johnson info@iwillwaitvsp.com.
What: Staged play reading of in*Between presented by the Veteran’s Spouse Project
Where: James I. O’Neill High School Auditorium, 21 Morgan Road, Highland Falls, NY 10928
When: Thursday, April 25, 2024, at 6 p.m. EST
in*Between playwright, along with being theCo- Founder and Artistic Director of VSP, Amy Uptgraft has a B.A. in theatre performance from Purdue University and is an actor, playwright, and director. She has worked in various theatres in NYC, North Carolina, Texas, Georgia, Colorado, Alaska, and Tennessee. She and her husband, LTC (R) Jamie Uptgraft, have four children and live in Oak Ridge, TN. Her twin sons are currently cadets at the United States Military Academy.
Lea Johnson is the Co-Founder, Executive and Development Director at VSP. Lea has been a business owner for much of her life and has dabbled in entrepreneurship. Lea grew up in Daytona Beach, FL, and attended the University of Florida. She has been a proud military spouse for 20 years, following her husband, COL Rick Johnson, to 12 duty stations. They live in West Point, NY, with their three children eagerly awaiting Rick’s retirement and a “forever” move to Alaska.
