Local hero

For the third annual Local Heroes edition, we put a call out to our readers and nonprofit organizations across Ventura County. We received an abundance of interesting and worthy nominations, and selected five individuals that best represent diversity, both in location and volunteer work. This year’s Local Heroes are a testament to giving back — and that the work to help better lives without rewards is actually the reward itself.

Michael J. Arndt: Vietnam vet gives back through theater arts

Michael J. Arndt returned to Vietnam 40 years after his military service to tour the country and talk to servicemen and -women in major military areas.

“I went back to an area where I actually walked through the jungles and was able to find where one of my bases has been located,” recalled Arndt of Thousand Oaks. “It was a very moving time for me. I acknowledged friends of those who died and paid tribute to them.”

A professor of theater arts at California Lutheran University, he decided to use his experience in Vietnam as a way to heal. He took a sabbatical from CLU and received funding from the Ventura County Arts Council, and later partnered with the Military Orders of the World Wars and Military Order of the Purple Heart.

“I began to interview veterans from the World War II era, Iraq and Afghanistan, and what struck me was the similarity of the stories despite the difference in the generations,” Arndt said. “Though technology has changed, the experience of the individual soldier is pretty much the same.”

He took their stories and developed a multimedia theater piece, Under Fire: Stories of Combat Veterans Across Generations, which was first performed at Ventura College, then later at CLU, with a cast of young people playing the roles of veterans.

“The piece involves video excerpts from the interviews I did with live action of the students playing these people. It’s also a movement piece so there’s dance,” he explained.

His efforts led to recognition by the National Organization of Military Chaplains, and a June 20 performance of the production near the Navy base in San Diego for chaplains all over the country.

He hopes to bring the production to military bases throughout the nation, as well as VA hospitals, military families, schools and other places that serve veterans with the goal of inspiring discussions.

“So many veterans, especially combat veterans, feel isolated and like they’re going through this experience all by themselves,” he said. “My hope is that they all understand that generations before them have some of the same trauma and stress.”

Through his role at CLU, Arndt also helped launch the Kinsgsmen Shakespeare Festival, which is celebrating its 20th season this summer. Put together on a shoestring budget by volunteers, the first festival featured several professional actors performing A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Today, about 7,000 people attend the festival each summer in Kingsmen Park at CLU.

The success of the first season led to the establishment of the nonprofit Kingsmen Shakespeare Company, a professional theater organization dedicated to providing a low-cost and professional celebration of Shakespeare’s works for the entertainment and education of the community. 

“One of the goals with Kinsgsmen and the same thing with the Under Fire script is, I want to give my students the experience of the vitality of theater in life,” he said.

“Theater is not just an academic and not just an entertainment vehicle, but it serves an important purpose. Theater has the ability to touch people’s emotions in a way that a speech and books cannot. It’s a powerful force that can be used for good. And it’s relevant to someone studying theater. It’s not just studying a fluff subject. They’re studying something that’s very important to the culture of people.”

--- Published by the Ventura County Reporter on June 30, 2016