Thank You

From Christopher Paul Meyer, Artistic Director

Folks,

It’s not a real stretch of my imagination to say thank you on Thanksgiving. But that doesn’t make it any less sincere. At this time last year, we were coming out of an emotionally exhausting and frustrating period. We spent the first four months of our, like, “official” existence trying to chase down a physical space where we could build a world-class theater. Thank God we failed. But still, it was a frustrating and time-consuming start. Then, we pulled out of Afghanistan. I’ll only say that having left Afghanistan not even 12 months before, having been very dissatisfied at my time there and having Afghan commandos I personally knew reaching out to me, I took on probably a lot more than I should have to keep our friends alive. It was an emotionally draining, sleep-deprived ten weeks. I’m still not completely sure how, in the middle of all that, we found time to conceive of the Parlor, design the space, and cast the initial “proof of concept” performances. But we did, and by Thanksgiving last year, we’d pulled off three “proof of concept” performances at the Parlor and we were about 12 or 15 episodes into the Savage Wonder podcast.

As I look back at this time last year, I cannot believe how much is in our rear-view mirror. Over the past year, we showcased over 75 veteran performing and visual artists from across the country through the Savage Wonder Festival, the Savage WonderGround in Alexandria, VA, the weekly podcast (we just released our 53rd episode!), our Write Loud shows on Instagram Live, and our daily literary blog. We awarded $25,000 in grants to veteran playwrights, welcomed 2 playwrights into the Artists-in-Residence program, conducted 2 workshops of veterans’ plays, and presented 30 performances at The Parlor. And I’m not even mentioning the 13 plays that we have in various stages of development.

This sure as hell didn’t happen by accident. Lilla Faint, VetRep’s Managing Director, has been my compadre from the get-go - we never really got started until she got on board - and it’s safe to say that without her, VetRep would be nothing more than a bag of ideas on a cocktail napkin. So I need to start by thanking her. Lilla was not our first choice for MD. A few very experienced candidates were suggested to me through some of our theater connections. The problem was me. I realized I couldn’t simply shift gears and become a theater professional - I was still in a military mindset and I needed a veteran to work with. Despite Lilla’s best efforts to downplay her skillset and her passion, her detail-oriented mind, her risk management skills, her managerial talent and her passion for the arts made her the ideal candidate for the job. As she and I have grown in our roles, I am grateful every day to have someone as dedicated and talented help me shepherd VetRep through its infancy.

As Lilla and I started to find our way, we also started to find our people. Star Walters dared us to take her on as a volunteer for the Savage Wonder Festival, only to exceed our expectations to the point we had to offer her a job. Since taking over fundraising, outreach and facilities duties as our General Manager, Star has been a rock for Lilla and I to lean on - her passion, her dedication and her infectious enthusiasm has been exactly what we needed around the office. We already knew Dex as a compelling performer and poet. But her flair as a producer and a creative was an unexpected bonus. Since hiring Dex as our Managing Producer, we’ve launched the Savage WonderGround immersive theater events, our Write Loud Instagram Live shows, and managed to develop a decent social media game.

Without these ladies, we’d be lost and I can’t do a proper thanks-giving without thanking them first and foremost.

Of course, there are so many others who we’ve been blessed to meet - none moreso than the wildly talented veteran artists we’ve been able to feature and/or collaborate with. It’s not just that we exist to feature them - we are continuously impressed by their talent, their stories, and their drive. Then there is our cadre of badass volunteers, our phenomenal casts, our casting director, the incredible Jenn Haltman, our lawyers, our accountants, and our inspiring and talented Board of Advisors whose guidance and perspective has been crucial during our first full year. I have to thank my wife, Jane Shelby Meyer, a true creative and “idea person,” for so many things - her cheerleading, her word-of-mouth campaigning, or even just letting me bore her senseless with my thoughts. I also can’t give any sort of thanks without including our stalwart Board of Directors. The word “invaluable” gets tossed around a lot, but Lynn Shelby is that and more. His willingness to lend us his diligence and expertise has probably made more of an impact on our organization than anyone else not involved in the day-to-day operations. I don’t know where we’d be without him. Despite entering his final year in the Army, my good friend Charlie Faint has been a pivotal Board member, willing to play any role to help the organization along - up to and including allowing his wife to work six days a week with me!

And then there’s you. Without you, everything we’ve done is simply sound and fury signifying nothing. Whether you simply read the blog each day, whether you come to our shows at the Parlor, whether you’ve traveled to the Festival, listened to the podcast, caught Savage WonderGround or seen us on Instagram, this is all for you. If you’re like most people, the one thing you jealously guard is your leisure time. That you’ve chosen to spend any of it with us is something we don’t take lightly. Thank you.

2023 promises to be even stronger. We want to workshop at least 7 of the 13 veteran-written plays currently in various stages of development, award another $25,000 in grants to veteran playwrights, and feature a series of 10-minute plays written by our veteran playwrights from the past two competitions for the 2023 season at the Parlor. We also want to continue to showcase veteran artists through the Savage WonderGround immersive theater events (maybe in a town near you!), the weekly Savage Wonder podcast, the monthly Write Loud shows, and the daily literary blog. (If you’re inclined to support any of them, please do - it means the world to us. Especially as we gear up for #givingTuesday.) We look forward to seeing you at any - or all - of them. But as we wrap up 2022, I’m just glad to have the chance to say Thank You.

Happy Thanksgiving,

Chris