Whether pretending to wrestle alligators or going ballistic over doggie-doo, a group of Red Deer seniors are pushing their own boundaries as part of an Act Your Age drama class.
Most of the six participants, who range from nearly 60 to 90 years old, have never had previous theatrical experience before joining the eight-week City of Red Deer course, which runs Wednesday afternoons in the Culture Services Centre.
Even those with some experience admit they haven’t acted since high school, a half century ago.
Yet, you’d never know it, watching an improvisational skit unfold about a woman who is threatening to sue everyone in sight over an anonymous bag of dog poop that shows up on her lawn every morning.
“No matter what time I wake up, it’s there. Even at 5 o’clock in the morning,” said Mary Ann Brooks, 78, as the long-suffering woman in the sketch, which will be presented with several others before a Golden Circle audience during Seniors’ Week in June.
Later, Brooks admitted she was attracted to the acting course because it seemed like something brand new and fun — and not something that’s traditionally associated with seniors.
“I don’t like it when people think that seniors are all the same,” said Brooks, who doesn’t understand why people can be recognized for their individuality in their 40s and 50s, then are lumped into the same anonymous grouping once they hit the age of 60.
The Act Your Age class one recent Wednesday showed participating seniors drawing on their own strengths in a supportive environment.
“I like being the only male in the group. I definitely get all the juicy male roles,” said Peter Mielke, 63. Although he last acted “a long, long time ago and far, far away,” Mielke showed he could imitate some figure-skating moves during a theatre sports game.
Other participants portrayed alligator wrestling, changing a car’s oil, picking peas and doing a puzzle.
Ninety-year-old Marguerite Shoemacher, who relies on an automated wheelchair, mimed car washing, making bread and other activities.
Shoemacher, who has never acted before, said she signed up for the program because “it sounded stimulating and fun — and it turned out to be wonderful.”
Elaine Dunn, 76, agreed, saying “It’s nice when you’re older to have something different and new in your life.” Act Your Age, she added, allows seniors to break out of their routines.
Course facilitator Lucinda Sheardown said theatre classes present a lot of benefits for older participants; they exercise the body as well as the mind, build confidence, and are a great way to meet new people.
Whenever first-time actors get embarrassed, Sheardown believes it’s not because they are worried others will laugh at them, but that they fear they lack the skills to pull something off.
“A lot of this is about just letting go and not worrying about skills as you perform.”
The idea for the seniors’ drama program formed when Teresa Neuman heard about an Edmonton seniors’ theatre troupe called The Geriactors.
Neuman, who is community and program facilitator for the City of Red Deer Culture Services Department, said Red Deer seniors who enjoy Act Your Age classes might want to eventually go on to form their own local theatre group.
The fall session of Act Your Age will be listed in the city’s next activity guide. The cost is $80, but a subsidy is available for those on tight fixed incomes.
lmichelin@www.reddeeradvocate.com