CHRIS SPARKS / TMFMSSCREENINGS & BOOKING ↗

DOCUMENTARY · MEMOIR · LIVE PERFORMANCE

THANK ME
FOR MY
SERVICE.

A Veteran’s Cry For Help

CHRIS SPARKS

WATCH THE FILM ↗EXPLORE THE PROJECT ↓
DOCUMENTARY / MEMOIR / STAGEOPEN THE NOTEBOOK ↓
01

THE PROJECT

One story. Three forms.

Thank Me For My Service: A Veteran's Cry For Help is one body of work told through documentary film, memoir, and live performance.

The military is the context. The work is about what happens when other people decide they understand your story before you've finished telling it.

The project began as a one-man show. An attempt to write it became a documentary. A memoir and a live production followed.

context, not cliché.

Chris Sparks holding a sign for Thank Me For My Service, seen on a security monitor
The show came first. The film grew out of trying to make it.
02

DOCUMENTARY

Made from inside the event.

In August 2022, I went to a New Orleans hotel to write a one-man show. I recorded myself on my iPhone. I didn’t know that footage would become a documentary.

The 43-minute film follows that attempt and the search for help that interrupted it. The camera captures events before I have the distance to explain them.

What did you think you were looking at?

Thank Me For My Service: A Veteran’s Cry For Help by Chris Sparks — memoir cover

slower. deliberate. mine.

03

MEMOIR

The same story with time added.

From childhood and family life through the Army, injury, police work, and the search for care, the memoir follows the life surrounding the events in the film.

Published in December 2024, it brings context and hindsight to experiences the camera could only catch in the moment.

BUY THE BOOK READ THE WORK →
04

LIVE PERFORMANCE

Now we're in the room together.

The one-man show brings documentary footage, personal storytelling, and comedy into the same room. Family, military service, injury, and asking for help unfold through stories that move between laughter and discomfort.

Onstage, I can respond to the room. The audience’s laughter, silence, and recognition become part of how the story is told.

“‘Thank me for my Service: A Veteran’s Cry for Help’ was a story about being human, and that was my favorite part. It was raw, hilarious, depressing, and relatable in all the right ways.”

— Victoria Brown, 225 Theatre Collective
05

FOR VENUES & ORGANIZERS

Bring the work to your room.

For colleges, galleries, veteran organizations, and community spaces. Start with the format that fits your audience.

Film screening + conversation
The 43-minute documentary followed by a discussion or Q&A with Chris. Discussion length is arranged with the host.
One-man show
Live storytelling and comedy incorporating documentary footage. Ask about availability, running time, and the needs of your space.
Presentation + Q&A
A conversation about the work, its development across three forms, and the question of who gets to tell a person’s story. Scope and timing are arranged together.

START AN INQUIRY

Tell me about your event.

  • Your organization and location
  • Preferred date or date range
  • Screening, show, or presentation
  • Audience size and time available
  • Budget and any access needs

We’ll discuss availability, fees, timing, and the technical setup before confirming an event.

EMAIL AN EVENT INQUIRY ↗
06

ABOUT CHRIS

Writer. Filmmaker. Performer.

Chris Sparks is a Louisiana-based writer, filmmaker, and performance artist. He is the creator of Thank Me For My Service: A Veteran's Cry For Help, a multidisciplinary project spanning documentary film, memoir, and live performance.

His work examines narrative authority, identity, institutional storytelling, and the stories people inherit about themselves and one another.

He is a 2026 Veteran Art Fellow presenting at Resisting the Long War: 2026 Veteran Art Triennial & Summit in Chicago.