Play 'Fort Huachuca' brings history to life

Sierra Vista Herald ^ | Emily Ellis emily.ellis

[SandRat]

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Fort Huachuca hosted the cast of a Los Angeles-based play about African American Army nurses stationed at the post during World War II on Tuesday, giving the actresses a chance to walk in the the historical footsteps of the characters they play.

Seeing the actual setting for her play “Fort Huachuca” was always in the back of playwright Ailema Sousa’s mind during the two years she spent researching and writing the work, which debuted at the 2018 Hollywood Fringe Festival on June 7.

Sousa, who studied history as an undergraduate, first conceived of the idea following a struggle to find films and plays that accurately reflected the experiences of black women living during World War II. After coming across the stories of the nurses who were stationed at the southern Arizona installation in the 1940s, she was inspired to write her own script, she said.

“In the industry, there’s a lack of stories like this, just in terms of diversity and in terms of female playwrights,” said Sousa, who hails from England, but now lives in Los Angeles. “More importantly, I don’t think there’s anybody who knows about these women, so that’s my driving force.”

When Sousa reached out to Fort Huachuca on Facebook two weeks earlier to propose the idea of visiting her play’s namesake, she thought it would be a “long shot,” she said. However, Media Relations Officer Tanja Linton said she was happy to arrange the visit.

“We’re empowering them to tell our story to new generations, to folks that don’t know our history,” said Linton. “They excite people in learning more about that, and the Army’s role and its heritage.”

Ailema Sousa, along with actresses and producers Nicole Sousa and Natalia Averills, arrived in Arizona early Tuesday morning. Their tour of Fort Huachuca included a meeting with Garrison Commander Col. Whit Wright, a visit to the Fort Huachuca Historical Museum, and a talk with Army nurses at the clinic.

“Some of the characters that are in the play, we saw pictures of them, and it confirmed a lot of stuff I put in the play,” said Sousa. “The people’s faces are here, everything we talk about in the play is here.”

African American Army nurses in the 1940s faced many obstacles in their quest to serve their country. Despite holding nursing degrees, they experienced discrimination, segregation and obscurity, and weren’t allowed to serve in Army hospitals or wards until 1941, according to an article from Fort Huachuca Museums.

One of the country’s largest first contingents of black army nurses arrived at Fort Huachuca in 1942, which is the year that Sousa’s play is set in. “Fort Huachuca” focuses on five of the new admittees, and explores “the inside war” the women fought for recognition and respect within the fort, she said.

“You couldn’t transfuse blood from a black soldier into a white soldier, things like that,” said Sousa. “They were desperately trying to make room for themselves, because at the end of the day it was one cause, but it’s like they have to fight the wrong war.”

For the cast, being able to see Fort Huachuca in person and learn its history was an emotional experience.

“One of my lines is, ‘We’re educated and we’re more than qualified,’ and I didn’t really feel that until I was here,” said actress Nicole Sousa, the playwright’s sister, who plays nurse Georgia Davis.

“Friday’s show is going to have a whole new feeling,” added Averills, who plays nurse Thelma Johnson.

Although “Fort Huachuca” is still in the midst of its first run this month, the cast members have big plans for the future, including a nationwide tour and a possible feature film.

“Coming here and discovering a plethora of history that’s important to be shared — it gives you a sense of pride and honor,” said Nicole Sousa. “We’re definitely not done telling these stories.”

[ClearCase_guy]

In the industry, there’s a lack of stories like this

Really? It seems to me that this about 100% of what gets produced today. Heroic stories of downtrodden minorities and the evil white folks who oppressed them.

I've had my fill.

[DIRTYSECRET]

A teachable moment I suppose.

[Mr. K]

I was there once, having my IMAGING software certified by the military.

I am qualified to be in court as an imaging expert.

Obama’s birth certificate is FAKE, and most of the videos on youtube showing different pixel sizes, text misalignment, background paper showing through, layers, etc... are all correct.

The “OCR” explanation is a lie.

[the Ft Huachuka story reminded me]

[Big Red Badger]

Thanks Sandrat.

[ro_dreaming]

I spent two weeks at Ft. Huachuca back in 1991 doing electronic intercept for UAV testing with various contractors. I was an E-4 (CTT3) in the US Navy, and we had a nice “portable” platform for such intercept that could gather 0 to 10.2 GHz.