A post-service talent show will let female veterans laugh

They’ve trained for overseas duty and been put through daunting physical drills. And now they’ll be fighting on a much different level — to defeat competitors in a talent show.

New Day Talk Radio, a Gardena-based talk-show-format webcast, will host its first Female Veterans Talent Show, giving retired female service members a platform for their singing, dancing and comedic talents.

The event, for solo performers, duos or groups, is scheduled Saturday at The Liberty Theater on the Los Alamitos Joint Forces Base.

“People don’t know of how many women who serve can be so broken,” said Lynette Jones, 43, who came up with the idea for the talent show. “And I wanted a place where women could just laugh. I like fun and I love life. It’s just part of my DNA to be positive.”

The Gardena resident and host of a Saturday morning show on New Day Talk Radio, who reached the rank of major in the Army, has served two deployments to Iraq, one in Kuwait and the last in Afghanistan last year.

She and co-producer Irene Mink reached out to friends, family and colleagues to help on the project and scored a celebrity dais to critique the participants.

The four judges are film producer and actress Suzanne DeLaurentiis, former lead singer of The Temptations Louis Price, actor and comedian Brett Hunt, and Enrique Castillo, executive producer of “¡Hola! LA,” an English-language television talk show hosted by Latinas on CBS in Los Angeles.

To notify people about the talent show, Jones and Mink distributed about 5,000 fliers to Veterans of Foreign Wars meetings, exhibits and programs.

A friend of Mink’s donated money for cash prizes: $500 for first place, $300 for second place and $100 for third place.

Earning a spot in the talent show doesn’t require an audition.

“It’s raw talent,” said Jones, who will serve as the event’s emcee and perform songs. “I didn’t want anyone to feel strained. I want these women to feel confident.”

Sharron Moore, a Pasadena resident who served in the Air Force for four years, plans to take the stage. Moore was approached by Mink during a recent awards ceremony for female veterans and was asked if she had a talent.

“I do sing with a blues band,” Moore said with a laugh.

She grew up in a musical family in Los Angeles, but family and her tours of duty with the military got in the way of her doing much about pursuing a musical career. But for the past 3 1/2 years, she has performed at Los Angeles restaurants and bars. In her day job, she is a software executive in Northridge.

Moore plans on singing a song she wrote as well as hits by Aretha Franklin and Tina Turner.

“I thought it was important to perform and send the message out that women veterans, who are usually geared around being jobless or homeless, can be promoted in a more successful fashion,” Moore said.

The 900-seat Liberty Theatre at Los Alamitos Joint Forces Base was used for USO shows and movie showings during World War II, when the Navy ran the base, said Tom Lasser, a retired commander of the Los Alamitos airfield at the base who still works part time doing public outreach.

Today, the theater is used for special performances and large military briefings. The Los Alamitos Army Airfield is the last military airfield in the greater Los Angeles and Orange counties. It serves as a training center for the National Guard and is a disaster support area.

“There are a lot of women veterans and it’s not a men’s army anymore,” Lasser said. “This is an opportunity for women veterans to express themselves, and I think it’s important for them to showcase their talents.”

Jones is also wrapping up a film project, “The Truth Behind the Camouflage — Finding Solutions to Sexual Assault.” The documentary focuses on the problem of sexual abuse in the military.

Jones said she interviewed Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-Garden Grove) for the documentary, and although Sanchez won’t be able to attend the talent show, a representative from her office will be there, organizers said.

“We’re looking to bringing laughter to the women, and I define success as completion, so if we have even 30 people there, I’ll be happy,” Jones said. “That’ll be a mission accomplished.”

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IF YOU GO

What: Female Veterans Talent Show

When: 6 to 10 p.m. Saturday

Where: Los Alamitos Joint Forces Base, Liberty Theatre, 11206 Lexington Drive, Los Alamitos

Cost: $15 to $20

Information: Call (310) 594-5001