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Fort Campbell, Kentucky, Children's Theatre

The Fort Campbell, Kentucky, Children's Theatre was established in 1970 as a branch of Fort Campbell Community Theatre, part of the Fort Campbell Morale Welfare Music & Theatre Program. Fort Campbell, KY, is located on the border between TN and KY. Its post office is in KY. The neighboring communities are Clarksville in TN; Oak Grove and Hopkinsville in KY.

History

The head of the Music & Theatre Program at Fort Campbell was Lionel Austell, the Post Entertainment Diretor, who established the Music & Theatre program in 1967. Robert L. Taylor, a Theatre Specialist who had previously worked as a director at the Nashville, Tennessee, Children's Theatre, organized the Children's Theatre program shortly after joining the staff at Fort Campbell. Taylor also directed plays for adults which were presented in the Soldier Show Center and in the Cabaret Dinner Theatre.

The Children's Theatre was active for nearly 16 years, until the dissolution of the Music & Theatre prpogram in 1986. Taylor and others produced and directed plays for children which were performed by children. Many of the plays were original adaptations of stories and fairy tales in the public domain, and some were totally original plays. After the initial launch, Heide Hepler, Music Specialist with the Music & Theatre program, shared management of the Children's Theatre with Taylor. Approximately 8-10 children's plays were presented annually. The plays were usually presented at 4 p.m. on weekdays and 2 p.m. on weekends.

Billy St. John, Theatre Specialist and also a published author of plays, lended technical support with set design, costuming, lighting, and other advice regarding the Children's Theatre. St. John's duties were primarily in the adult productions of the Soldier Show Center and the Cabaret Dinner Theatre; although an important element of the Children's Theatre, he was not one of the regular directors.

Productions

Both Hepler and Taylor wrote original plays, adapted plays in public domain, and produced and directed published plays for the Children's Theatre. All acting and technical roles were filled by children and teenagers in the local area, with occasional technical support from adults, often parents and soldiers who were volunteers with the theatre program. Participation as performers, technicians, and audience members was open to residents of the surrounding communities as well as the military and their family members residing on and off Post. This was part of the community relations incentive of the installation.

Special costumes were provided from the inventory of the Soldier Show Center, designed and created by staff members and parents, and often commissioned. Lilo Rogoish, a community member and costume designer, often created costumes for the Children's Theatre as well as Soldier Show Center and Cabaret Dinner Theatre productions. When the Music and Theatre program closed, Rogoish became head of the costume department of the theatre program at Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, TN.

Taylor and Hepler often collaborated on original musicals, including "The Witch Who Went West," a Halloween production, and "The Toymaker," a Christmas production. The script and lyrics were written by Taylor, with music composed by Hepler. Dr. Charles H. Ball, professor of music education at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, collaborated with the two on the music of "The Witch Who Went West" and provided a soundtrack to be used with the production.

Additional plays adapted by Taylor include "Coppelia," "The Steadfast Tin Soldier," "Pinnochio," "Swan Lake," and "Sleeping Beauty." Adaptations written by Hepler include "Alice in Wonderland," "Through the Looking Glass," "Hansel and Gretel," and "The Pied Piper."

Andre La France, a soldier stationed at Fort Campbell, served as guest director for the production of his original play, "Princess Tina." The Children's Theatre occasionally sponsored playwriting contests, with the winning entry being produced at the theatre.

Halloween and Christmas Plays

Halloween, Christmas, and other special occasion productions were popular at the Children's Theatre.

The annual Halloween production, orchestrated by Hepler, was a favorite and always drew large audiences. Beginning with a "cute" play, the event evolved into a pageant-like program, complete with costume contest, door prizes, and refreshments. According to Hepler, it was sometimes hard to tell which was enjoyed most -- the play or the costume contest. "The Witch Who Went West," a musical collaboration with book and lyrics by Taylor, music by Hepler, and soundtrack by Dr. Ball, was the story of a young witch who became bored with her life and decided to go west to find new adventures.

The Christmas production, equally popular, was most often directed by Taylor. One of the most popular plays was his original, "The Toymaker," also a musical collaboration, featuring two of Santa's elves, whose job it is to make toys for Santa's delivery by using a large Toymaker machine. "Junk" goes into one side, and beautiful toys come out on the other side. When the Toymaker breaks just before delivery time, the elves have the dilemma of trying to fix the machine so that everything will be on schedule.

Touring Play

In 1984, the Children's Theatre organized a tour of the Disney children's musical version of "Alice in Wonderland" to all the elementary schools at Fort Campbell. Hepler was in charge of this production. The soundtrack was pre-recorded by all the chileren who performed in the play. Parents helped to shuttle the cast members and set pieces from school to school for nearly a week. All cast members were excused from their regular attendance by participating schools in order to participate in the tour.

The End

The Children's Theatre was a popular venue at Fort Campbell until the termination of the Music & Theatre Program in 1986. After that, plays, including plays for children, were sometimes presented at Dale Wayrynen Recreation Center at Fort Campbell.

Upon dissolution of the Fort Campbell Music & Theatre Porgram and the Children's Theatre, Lionel Austell was reassigned as a counselor with the Army Career and Alumni Program (ACAP), assisting soldiers in finding new careers after leaving the Army; Robert Taylor worked first in the Youth Activities Program and later produced and directed plays for the Recreation Center program; Billy St. John became a logistics specialist in the Directorate of Logistics (DOL) and published numerous plays, many published by Samuel French; Heide Hepler became a management analyst with Morale Welfare, then with Directorate of Plans, Training, and Mobility (DPTM), briefly became Outreach Director with Army Community Services (ACS), and later accepted a job as management analyst with 5th Signal Command in Mannheim, Germany.

References

• Interview: Lionel Austell, Clarksville, TN, October 29, 2012.

• Interview: Lilo Rogoish, Clarksville, TN, October 29, 2012.

• Interview: Heide Hepler, Clarksville, TN, October 29, 2012.

• Interview: Dr. Charles H. Ball, Knoxville, TN, November 1, 2012.

• Interview: Robert L. Taylor, Oak Grove, KY, September 14, 1993.

• The Fort Campbell Courier, Fort Campbell, KY (archives).

• The Clarksville Leaf-Chronicle, Clarksville, TN (archives).