Sedona AZ (October 17, 2021) – Emerson Theater Collaborative presents The American Soldier starring Douglas Taurel, Oct. 21 and 22 at 7 p.m. and Oct. 23 at 2 p.m. at Sedona Arts Academy in the Village of Oak Creek. The American Soldier is based on real stories and factual accounts from soldier and family member letters written from the American Revolution all the way through current day Afghanistan. It examines the internal struggles and problems that soldiers and their families face when returning home from combat.
The American Soldier has been nominated for the Amnesty International Award for theatre excellence, received 4 stars internationally, and has been performed at the Kennedy Center and the Library of Congress. The show has been featured in The Huffington Post, The Washington Post, Military Times and Time Out, to name a few, and received overwhelmingly positive responses from veterans and audiences while touring throughout the country.
In 75 minutes, enhanced by the interplay of sound and lights, Mr. Taurel enters into the personas of 14 veterans and their family members, telling their stories of courage and sacrifice. The American Soldier exposes their flaws and their scars with both darkness and humor. It is a journey through the American story filled with moments that resound with lasting meaning for both audiences old enough to remember and those young enough to yearn for inspiration.
Mr. Taurel explains, “This is a true work of passion and I deeply hope that audiences will go away with a deeper appreciation of the tremendous sacrifice our servicemen and servicewomen, and their families, have made for our country.”
Douglas Taurel has been nominated for the Innovative Theater Award and the prestigious United Kingdom Amnesty International Award for his work with The American Soldier. He was commissioned by the Library of Congress to write, create and perform his second solo show, An American Soldier’s Journey Home, which commemorates the ending of the World War I and tells the story of Irving Greenwald, a soldier in the 308 Regiment and part of the Lost Battalion. He has performed the play twice at the Library of Congress.
He’s an active producer, recently completing a seven part TV series, Landing Home, which is now streaming on Amazon and Vimeo On Demand. He wrote, directed, and was the executive producer for the show. Past films executive produced are, Siesta, which was officially selected and screened at The Atlanta Short Fest, The Big Apple Film Festival, AADA New York and AADA Los Angeles Film Festival’s and the Hamilton Film Festival; A Northern Star, starring Lynn Cohen, of which he was an associate producer and War Memorial which he directed and executive produced.
Mr. Taurel has appeared in numerous television shows, including The Affair, Mr. Robot, The Americans, Blue Bloods, Person of Interest, The Following, Damages, NYC 22, Believe, and Nurse Jackie. The Los Angeles Times said of his work on Nurse Jackie, “Nurse Jackie gets her most fascinating character yet to date.”
Mr. Taurel has also appeared in numerous films, including The Cobbler, starring Adam Sandler and Dustin Hoffman, The Kindergarten Teacher, starring Maggie Gyllenhaal, and Delivery at the HBO Films Festival. He recently finished filming No Justice for the Wicked. He was also cast as a voice actor in the popular video game Red Redemption. Other past films include Help Wanted, a Cinequest Online Viewers Choice, La Vida Blanca, an L.A Film Festival Winner, and Hagondes, a CUNU Festival Winner.
On stage, Mr. Taurel has performed in numerous Off-Broadway productions at some of New York’s most established theaters as well regionally. The New York Times said of his work as George in Of Mice and Men, “Douglas is an unbelievably fine actor.” Other Off-Broadway plays include Hard Rain at the Cherry Lane Theatre, An Enemy of the People at Barrow Group Theatre, The Hairy Ape at Columbia University, Othello at The Shakespeare Project and King Lear at the Houston Shakespeare Festival. He also performed both roles of Lee and Austin in True West off-Broadway and in Scotland at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Three Weeks Daily gave him four out of five stars for his performance and said his portrayal of Austin was “a moving and stunning work by an actor.”
The American Soldier starring Douglas Taurel is Oct. 21 and 22 at 7 p.m. and Oct. 23 at 2 p.m. All performances will be at Sedona Arts Academy in The Collective Sedona, 7000 SR 179, Suite C-100 in the Village of Oak Creek. Due to Covid-19 precautions, in-person performances will be limited to 65 attendees. Tickets are available at bit.ly/etc-american-soldier.
The Oct. 23 show at 2 p.m. will be available to live stream. Tickets are at our.show/the-american-soldier-oct21.
For more information, call Camilla Ross at 860-705-9711.
