Veteran Artist Program

Rich Moore used to be in the Marines, and is now an Army Clinical Psychologist. Rich was a founding board member for VAP and also a co-founder of The 6th Branch, an organization near and dear to my heart from my time in Baltimore.

Shawn Ganther is a visual artist and served in the US Air Force, deploying in Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Northern Watch. Shawn’s best known piece, “The Thinker” was selected for the VAP Pentagon Exhibit and his artwork will be unveiled on Wild Turkey’s Military Label at the VAP Home Show this November.

Natalie Lovejoy is composer, lyricist, and bookwriter whose work has been heard at 54 Below, The Duplex, Laurie Beechman Theatre, The Flea Theatre, Greenwhich Music House, and in Nashville at the legendary Bluebird CafÃÆ'©, and she is listed in The Directory of Contemporary Musical Theatres Writers at Contemorary Musical Theater.com. She was married to a soldier, who deployed to Iraq in 2008-2009 with the 101st Airborne Division, from 2006-2013 and was stationed at Ft. Bliss, Ft. Campbell, and Ft. Totten, Natalie wrote the music, book and lyrics to Deployed, which was produced by the Society of Artistic Veterans off-off Broadway at the Abingdon Theatre Company in November 2013 and again at the Gene Frankel Theatre in January 2014 to sold-out audiences. It was featured in the Musical Theater Factory’s 4x15 in March 2015 and continues to be developed. She has contributed work to the interactive theatre piece Hall Pass (NYU Commissioned), the musical Club Meds, and wrote the score for Veteran Artist Program’s commerical “Movement to Contact.” In addition, her autobiographical short-story “Two Roads” was published in So Say We All’s anthology Homecoming which examines the transition from military to civilian life and will be featured on NPR for Veterans’s Week 2015. When not writing, she teaches voice, piano, and composition. Education: MM in Music Composition from New York University, the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop, and the Johnny Mercer Musical Theatre Project at Northwestern University. Professional Member: ASCAP, the Dramatist Guild.

Matt Gallagher is the author of the Iraq memoir Kaboom and coeditor of, and contributor to, the short fiction collection Fire & Forget: Short Stories from the Long War. His novel Youngblood is forthcoming in 2016 from Atria/Simon & Schuster.

Maurice is a former Marine, a poet, essayist, and playwright. Maurice is a graduate of Columbia University and New York University and will begin working towards his MFA in play writing at Brown University in 2015.

Lauren Kay Halloran is an Afghanistan veteran and former military public affairs officer. Her forthcoming memoir chronicles her coming-of-age against the backdrop of war, through her mother’s career as an Army nurse and her own service in Operation Enduring Freedom.

Kayla Williams is the author of Love My Rifle More Than You: Young and Female in the U.S. Army and Plenty of Time When We Get Home: Love and Recovery in the Aftermath of War, memoirs about her experiences during and after military service.

James Connolly has appeared on Comedy Central, HBO, VH1, Comics Unleashed, hosted “Live From Here” on XM Radio and recently recorded a “Blue Collar Radio Comedy Concert”. He is also one of the most played comedians on the Sirius XM Comedy Channels. James was a Marine Infantry Officer and attended Harvard University.

Alex Mallory is a theatrical director and producer in New York. She recently directed "Dijla Wal Furat" by Marine Veteran Maurice Decaul, and her production of Takeo Rivera’s "Goliath" has been performed for veterans and civilians across the country. Alex is a VAP Senior Producer in NYC and continues to serve veterans in theater.

Jason Everman is a musician who played with Nirvana and Soundgarden only to end up in an elite Special operations unit. Jason is a combat veteran, and recent graduate of Columbia University, earning a degree in philosophy. I love this interview because it shows just how diverse and talented veterans are.