The 2010 U.S. Army Soldier Show is a free, high-energy, 90-minute live musical production that showcases the talents of active-duty Soldiers who were selected by audition from throughout the Army.
You have two chances to catch the show at Fort Polk’s Bayou Theater –– Aug. 6 and 7 at 7 p.m. This year’s show, “Soldier Show 27.0,” is themed around current social-media electronic and computer trends. Seating is on a first-come, first-served basis.
The Soldiers in the show are amateur artists who have a passion for music, dance and performing. They come from unit supply, medical and emergency, animal care, transportation and aviation, legal and law enforcement and other tactical units. The show is assembled in five weeks and then tours for six months.
The 2010 Soldier Show features Fort Polk Soldier Pfc. Rachel Anderson of the 162nd Infantry Brigade. Anderson, a 2008 graduate of Leon High School in Tallahassee, Fla., was serving as a supply clerk at Fort Polk when she heard about the Army Entertainment Division. “I came to the Soldier Show because I’ve been looking for an opportunity to share my voice with the world for a long time,” she said. “When I heard about the Soldier Show, I thought that it would be a great way to begin my dream. I believe that music and dance are forms of healing, and by the time everything is done, I hope I can say that I reached out and touched someone. I know that I was given this voice for a reason, and I truly believe this show will help me with my search for my reason.”
New cast members are selected each year. Aspiring Soldiers worldwide submit application packages that include videotapes, biographies, photographs and letters of recommendation from their commanders. Soldiers must have an outstanding record in their units as well as demonstrate musicality, movement, stage presence and versatility.
Soldier Show artistic staff, Army Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation Command directors, Soldier peers and selected senior Army leaders form an audition panel that screens all entries. In addition to being scored by a panel of judges on showmanship, talent and poise, finalists must pass physical training and drug tests, uniform inspection and a dance audition. Audio and lighting technicians are selected based on their military and civilian theater experience and training, recommendations and military record.
Once selected to the cast, the Soldiers are attached to FMWRC for duty with the U.S. Army Entertainment Division for the duration of the tour. The Soldier Show operates as a deployable military unit under the military leadership of the Army Entertainment Detachment’s first sergeant and under the artistic leadership of the Soldier Show’s artistic director.
Soldiers are expected to adhere to military physical fitness, conduct and appearance standards. Soldiers in the cast and crew are assigned specific military responsibilities and show duties commensurate with their rank in addition to their functions and responsibilities within the show, such as vocal director, dance captain, wardrobe/costume manager, technical crew chief and stage manager.
The new cast and technical crew spend six weeks at Fort Belvoir, Va., rehearsing under the direction of an artistic staff led by producer Johnny Stewart, production director Victor Hurtado, music director Joey Beebe, production manager Staff Sgt. Kevin Lynum and Broadway choreographer Tanya Gibson-Clark.
Twelve to 16-hour days begin with a military formation and include aerobic workouts, vocal coaching, dance training, and learning how to assemble and dismantle the stage trusses. The technical crew learns computer-based lighting and audio and video functions while designing the lighting, sound and special effects.
In addition to learning choreography, performers memorize as many as 40 songs, ranging from country, rhythm and blues, gospel, rock, oldies, soul, and patriotic songs combined in solos, duets, group and high-energy, fast-paced production numbers that make up the 90-minute show.
Once on the road, Soldiers work an average 14-hour day, seven days a week for seven months.
Totally self-contained, the cast and crew offload, load, assemble and dismantle 18 tons of equipment at each stop on the tour, including four miles of cable and 100 theatrical lights.
During the tour, they will handle more than a million pounds of electrical, sound, stage and lighting gear. Some Soldiers have described it as their toughest duty outside of combat.
Military drivers with commercial licenses rotate shifts driving a 44-passenger bus, two 18-wheel tractor-trailers and a 15-passenger van to transport personnel, staff, costumes and stage equipment to their stateside destinations.
The Soldier Show is not funded with taxpayer dollars, but with non-appropriated funds generated from the business programs of FMWR and with corporate sponsorship, provided this year by the U.S. Army G-1’s Sexual Harassment/Assault Response and Prevention program and the U.S. Army’s Comprehensive Soldier Fitness program.
The modern version of the U.S. Army Soldier Show originated in 1983 as an outgrowth of several shows existing in various Army commands, with Soldier talent selected from worldwide competition. Sgt. Israel Beilin, a Russian immigrant better known as Irving Berlin, established the motto, mission and philosophy of the show –– “Entertainment for the Soldier, by the Soldier” –– during World War I. He conceived and directed the first Army Soldier Show, “Yip Yip Yaphank,” which appeared on Broadway in 1918.
The headquarters of the U.S. Army Entertainment Division at Fort Belvoir, home of the U.S. Army Soldier Show, was dedicated to Berlin and named the Irving Berlin Center on Oct. 30, 2002.
The U.S. Army Soldier Show was reinvented during World War II on Broadway under the title “This is the Army,” which was written, directed and produced by Berlin.
The cast and crew were members of U.S Army Special Services Company No. 1. The 1943 film version featured a military cast starring Ronald Reagan, Gene Kelly and Joe Lewis.
