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WICHITA FALLS (KFDX/KJFL)— The stage can be a great way for people to express themselves and grow as people in a safe environment.

Backdoor Theatre in downtown Wichita Falls is hoping to help veterans grow by putting them on stage with their new improv troupe.

In June of this year, Backdoor Theatre received a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, which will fund the new improv troupe, and its mission is something the theatre’s managing director, Jessica Wood, thinks could be huge for the Wichita Falls community.

“Knowing the veterans that we have in our community and knowing their needs, you know, we thought about an improv troupe just for veterans so that they have that space to laugh and have camaraderie and have a good time,” Wood said.

Wood’s vision for the troupe is a group run by veterans for veterans. Jim Cummings is one of the veterans looking to get involved with the troupe. As an Air Force veteran, he always remembered theater as a fun part of his service and he’s ready to be a part of it again.

“It seemed like every year there was always a play that was put on and it was always active-duty personnel that was doing that,” Cummings said. “And again, over the years it kind of went away and I always thought that was just a good venue to go and watch and be a part of.”

While it is fun to be up on stage, for the veterans joining the troupe, it can be about more than just the camaraderie of it all. There’s a real mental health side to it, too. According to Cummings, just having a group of like-minded people to meet with can mean a lot to a veteran who has just come home to an entirely different world from the one he left in the military.

“You have this world that you’ve been a part of and now it’s basically gone,” Cummings said. “And so, it’s a good thing to make a connection with somebody who’s been there and done that.”

While bringing other veterans together is a big part of the new troupe, City Councilor and Air Force veteran Mike Battaligno is excited for the resources it can put at a veteran’s fingertips.

“Normalizing that dialogue and letting people know it’s okay to reach out, it’s okay to take a knee, what those mental health resources are, eliminating those barriers is what’s going to help people deal with mental health concerns,” Battaligno said.

If there are veterans joining the troupe who have yet to seek out the resources Battaligno mentioned, Cummings believes just joining a group like Backdoor Theatre’s new improv troupe would be a good first step.

“That really is a healthy way to deal a lot of time with issues is just to laugh,” Cummings said. “I mean, that’s not the end-all be-all, but I think it is something that definitely has benefits.”

Though the improv troupe isn’t fully put together quite yet, Wood said it’s gaining more interest than she originally thought, and there is always more room for any veteran to join who wants to heal with the power of stage and laughter.