When she first began counting in 1999, Bonnie Vorenberg found 79 senior theater groups operating in the U.S. Today, the president of ArtAge Publications has tallied 768.
They range from amateur to professional, and some are independent while others are sponsored by senior centers, educational institutions, community theaters, and retirement communities.
The most popular forms are readers theater and script-in-hand productions, Vorenberg says. “These help performers leap over the memorization hurdle.” Short plays are popular because actors have fewer lines to memorize and cast substitutions become easier. Also, the royalties cost less.
Some groups focus on educating audiences with issue-oriented plays dealing with aging awareness, Medicare, falls, relationships, conflicts with children, and health. Another popular approach is the use of the seniors’ own stories to create life histories.
“The field is growing, but the present economic problems seem to be having an impact,” Vorenberg says. “There’s more competition for donations, and some people are going back to work.”
One helpful element in obtaining grants is a study by Dr. Gene Cohen of George Washington University. He discovered that “Active participation in the arts promoted mental and physical health” of mature adults. Older artists reported fewer doctor visits, lower levels of loneliness, higher morale, and better vision than non-participating counterparts.
New York’s Dorot University runs a program for home-bound seniors. Each week they link on a conference call to read plays. The drama experience helps participants form supportive, lasting friendships. In another innovative approach, a travel agency specializes in senior theater trips to New York, London and Chicago.
Vorenberg’s directory of groups called Senior Theatre Connections includes this comment: “Why does senior theater work? Performers benefit, taxpayers see their money put to good use, and the younger generation suddenly has an emotional way to reconnect with their elders.”
Her web site www.seniortheatre.com lists 40 new plays and two collections tailored for older performers.
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