Arts in the Armed Forces: How Adam Driver Merged the Marines and Arts
Accessibility, dialogue, entertainment, integrity, professionalism, and respect are just some of the values used to describe Arts in the Armed Forces, a non-profit organization developed by former marine and award-winning actor, Adam Driver.
Before going into detail about what AITAF's mission even is, it is important for everyone to know what exactly had prompted its incredibly successful creation.
After the tragic events of September 11, 2001, Driver quickly joined the Marine Corps. He was a Marine lance corporal, 1st Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, Weapons Company, 81st Platoon and had enjoyed the time he spent at Camp Pendleton. During a Ted Talk he did in June of 2016, Driver stated that like most people during that time, he had been filled with a sense of patriotism and retribution as well as a desire to do something, which ultimately led to his enlistment into the Marines.
"It's one of the things I'm most proud of having done in my life," Driver stated.
Two years into his service, Driver was medically separated from the Marines due to a mountain-biking accident in which he dislocated his sternum. This had devasted him. Since Driver was going to be a civilian again, he made the decision to give acting school a second shot and had re-auditioned for a spot at Juilliard in New York City. After spending some time at the performing arts school, he came to a realization.
"The military and theatre communities are actually very similar. You have a group of people trying to accomplish a mission greater than themselves; it's not about you. You have a role, you have to know your role within that team," Driver explained.
Source:AITAF
He then found himself wondering how amazing it would be to combine these two worlds of his and introduce the simplest form of theatre to a certain group of people. This thought process eventually led to his development of Arts in the Armed Forces.
Arts in the Armed Forces is a non-profit organization that consists of Adam Driver, his wife Joanne Tucker as well as a group of theatre-trained actors who perform monologues from diverse, contemporary American plays for military audiences. These performances are very minimalistic (no sets, no lights, no costumes, etc.).
Through AITAF, Driver and the rest of its artists strive to emphasize the language of theatre as well as show that it can be created in any sort of setting. These people aim to not only uplift those they are performing in front of but to inspire and delight too! Their values are more than just words, they are a promise that AITAF aims to keep. Accessibility means bringing different forms of artistic experiences to military audiences that demonstrate how diverse contemporary art is capable of being. Dialogue means using the shared experiences of both actors and military communities in order to encourage and exchange ideas between the two groups. Entertainment means inspiring those who are open-minded enough to listen. Integrity means respecting one another. Professionalism means using theatre-trained actors in order to give military audiences high-quality performances. And respect means valuing both artistic and military communities by honoring all of their experiences.
"What better community to arm with the tool of self-expression than those protecting our country," Driver states at an Arts in the Armed Forces performance in Kuwait.
Being a Marine is something Driver is proud to have experienced in his life. Arts in the Armed Forces was created in 2006 when Driver was a college sophomore and since then, he has been able to impact the lives of those in military communities. Until the end of time, AITAF's mission will always be to use powerful, shared experiences of the arts to start conversations between military and civilian.