The idea behind “A Star Spangled Salute” actually began a number of years ago when A KAT parent who had just returned from Afghanistan spoke to me about a video of a KAT performance that he had been sent while overseas. He talked about how many times the soldiers at his base had watched and enjoyed it. They loved seeing the young people because the children reminded them of their own families back home. I was surprised and touched at his memories of the impact our KAT performers had made, and began to think of a way we could reach more soldiers who were hard at work serving our country.
No matter what your political views are, it is a reality that every day our military is putting their lives on the line to protect our freedom and to serve our country. So often, as Americans, we take for granted what we have. As we go about our comfortable lives, our military faces life-threatening situations every day, far from their homes and family. I wanted our young people at KAT to have the opportunity to give something back to those who serve and have served our country. Through their many talents and the hard work and discipline that comes from creating an original theatrical production, I believe they truly have. I have been very proud of their dedication to this process. Everyone from the 8 year olds to the 18 year old has given freely from the heart.
This creation of an original production is an exciting process, shared by many. It exists because of the many young people who contributed their writing to the script and their talents onstage and many adults who committed themselves to the realization of this dream. I am so grateful to everyone and especially to those who inspired its creation, our brave men & women in uniform. We offer “A Star Spangled Salute” and our deepest thanks to our military in the hope that the recording we make of this production makes it into the hands of many of our fellow Americans on bases overseas. They deserve our respect, thanks, and admiration for the many sacrifices they have made and make every day to preserve our freedom. Thank you from the bottom of all of our hearts.
~ Trish Lindberg
