The 2018 US Army IMCOM Europe Tournament of Plays adjudication period is Feb. 23 to Apr. 3, 2018. 17 shows from 10 different military communities in Germany, Belgium, Italy and the Netherlands will compete for awards.
Professional theater adjudicators from the United States, Canada and Germany attend performances in each community over a six week period. Outstanding achievement is recognized in all areas of theater including performance and technical production.
Free theater skills workshops are also presented in each community to provide field staff and program volunteers educational opportunities in acting, directing, youth theatre, dramaturge, auditioning and more.
TOPPERs nominees are announced and over 45 awards presented at the 2018 TOPPERs Awards Show and Ceremony held April 28, 2018 in Wiesbaden, Germany. The formal, glittering and musical-filled event is attended by over 500 theater volunteers, leaders and VIPs. It is considered the premiere US MWR event in Europe.
Tickets for the TOPPERs Awards Show are only available, in advance, through Garrison Entertainment Directors or Community Theater Directors.
Follow all the action and developments during the adjudication and leading up to the Awards show at the 2018 TOPPERs Facebook Page.
The 2018 TOPPERs Entries
Once Upon a Mattress
Vicenza's Soldiers’ Theatre (Italy)
Mary Poppins, Jr. and The Crucible
The Aviano Community Theater (Italy)
Beauty & the Beast, Jr. and Lend Me a Tenor
Ansbach's Terrace Place House (Germany)
The Addams Family and Proof
Grafenwoehr Performing Arts Center (Germany)
She Kills Monsters
The Brunssum Alliance Theater (the Netherlands)
The Guardsman
SHAPE Players Performing Arts Center (Belgium)
Sister Act and Inherit the Wind
Kaiserslautern’s KMC Onstage Main Stage (Germany)
Eleemosynary and Alice in Wonderland
Ramstein Air Base's Razz Ma Tazz Community Theatre (Germany)
Berlin to Broadway with Kurt Weill and Taming of the Shrew
The Stuttgart Theater Center (Germany)
Peter & the Starcatcher and I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change
Wiesbaden's Amelia Earhart Playhouse (Germany)
The 2018 TOPPERs Adjudicators
Annette Procunier
Annette has a long association with US Army Entertainment, having served as an Adjudicator and Workshop Leader for both the TOPPERs and the annual One Act Play Festival. She has had a more than 45 year career working in community, educational and professional theatre around the world. She is a gifted director, stage manager, adjudicator and workshop leader.
As a director she has worked for 17 different theatre companies in Canada and the United States and her productions have won numerous awards and much critical acclaim. As one reviewer said “this was, without a hint of exaggeration, the best performance we've ever seen.”
She co-founded two professional theatre companies in Canada and has served on the boards of numerous opera and theatre companies as well as representing Canada internationally and on the board of Theatre Canada.
As an adjudicator, Annette has participated in festivals in Europe, Canada, Japan and the United States having judged more than 125 festivals in 30 years including QUONTA, EODL, and the Theatre Ontario Festival.
Annette is also an AACT Fellow. This honor was bestowed for “single handedly raising the level of community theatre in America.” She is the only non-American to hold the distinction.
In recent years she has worked extensively with playwrights in Canada and the United States on script development and has been a judge in several play writing competitions.
Jonathon Lamer
Jonathon Lamer has also served as a TOPPERs Adjudicator and Workshops Leader in the past. He is a Los Angeles based professional actor with a long list of credits and a wealth of experience to share.
Originally from East Alton, Il., he has appeared in regional theaters in St. Louis, Massachusetts, Memphis and Little Rock as well as in theatres all over the greater Los Angeles area.
He appeared in the HBO original films Soul of the Game, and Truman, as well as the independent features Lovely by Surprise and Night Sights.
Commercial credits include PetSmart, Kroger’s and Amarillo National Bank. He is also featured in the latest print ad campaign for Walgreens Pharmacies.
Jonathon is an Associate Member of the classical theatre company, Antaeus, in North Hollywood, and is a past member of the Artistic Management Committee with Theatre of Note in Hollywood.
Dane Winters
Dane has been with US Army Entertainment for over 30 years. He began as a Music Center Director in Bamberg, Germany in 1986. He served as Theater Center Director and Entertainment Director at the Stuttgart Theater Center from 1988 to 2000. Dane was the Entertainment Director at the Heidelberg Roadside Theater from 2000 until he became the Europe Region Entertainment Program Manager in 2012.
Dane has an MFA in Acting and Directing from Trinity University at the Dallas Theatre Center.
He has won numerous awards for his direction, set and lighting designs and innovative programming. He has received the AACT David C. Bryant Outstanding Service Award, the US Army Entertainment James T. Martin Lifetime Service Award and numerous Commanders’ Achievement and Civilian Service Medals. Dane’s programming has earned four US Army Entertainment Irving Berlin Awards.
For more information contact:
Dane Winters
IMCOM Europe Entertainment Program Manager
dane.c.winters.naf@mail.mil
Bldg 151. Room 143. Sembach Kaserne, Kaiserslautern, Germany
DSN: 314-544-9656
CIV: +49-611-143-544-9656
From the US: 011-49-611-143-544-9656
