Bonnie L. Vorenberg

When I wrote a recent article for the American Association of Community Theatre's Spotlight, I was reminded of how Senior Theatre companies can find great partners right in their own neighborhood.

Resourses abound in community theatres. Staging great plays in almost every city, community theatres often have stages which are equipped with lighting, sound, and many more technical elements, have staff to help out, and already attract many older audience members as patrons and regular attendees. In addition, they welcome seniors to volunteer backstage, in the ticket office, and elsewhere. You may even find yourself on stage!

According to recent surveys that AACT and ArtAge conducted for the article, many community theatres sponsor a senior company or are considering adding the component to their offerings. Some companies already have or are scheduling classes for seniors as a part of their education program. A good number sponsor a senior group which performs in the community as outreach and marketing for the theatre. The possibilities go on and on...

Senior companies that align with community theatres benefit. Use the theatre's visibility and name familiarity to validate your work and help secure grants and funding. The benefits go on and on...

So read the article in the link, below, and contact us to help you get involved. Your community theatre might just be the partner you've been looking for!

Bonnie L. Vorenberg
ArtAge Senior Theatre Resource Center, President

We are very excited about this new program! You can join other Senior Theatre enthusiasts for a live reading of plays in our catalog. The playwright will be present to hear your comments and answer your questions. For your registration fee of $10 we will provide the script, a phone number, access code, and the complete instructions for your participation. So mark the day and time, and settle back with a cup of whatever you like. This will be a lot of fun!

Join us and playwright Wendy Jane Henson for the next event scheduled for Wednesday, February 26, 2014 at 1:00PM PST (2:00PM MST, 3:00PM CST, 4:00PM EST.)

Register before February 11 and save $5!

We look forward to reading with you!

In this special teleconference, attendees will address thorny problems that affect their Senior Theatre work. Participants can submit questions they'd like to have addressed. Then, as a group, we'll talk about options that might improve the situation.

Join us for some lively, and helpful, discussion on Wednesday, February 19, 2014 at 1:00PM PST (2:00PM MST, 3:00PM CST, 4:00PM EST.)

The cost is $10. You can register online or by calling us.

Register before February 11 and save $5!

"The Hotel Lobbyist"

North, south, east, and west our plays are being performed around the country! Check out this list of recent productions:

• The Hotel Lobbyist, in Austin, TX
• The Meeting and Coconut Creme Pie, in Dobbs Ferry, NY
• Still Twenty-Nine and Ten Years Younger, in Maricopa, AZ
• Lust 'n Digestion, in Bend, OR
• The Pie Ladies and The Pie Ladies Make Bail, in High Point, NC
• The Secret to Making the Perfect Lasagna and Navy Bean Soup in St. George, UT
• Many of the very popular plays from Drena Heizer's Age on Stage®: Comedies for Readers Theatre Volume I and Volume II were performed in Washington, New York, Arizona, Oregon and Montana

The Vagabond Players in a recent performance.

The Vagabond Players, Inc. is now in its ninth year of performing for their senior community. The group stages five shows a season with between fifteen to eighteen performances of each production. The actors drive their own cars and carry costumes and props to senior centers, retirement homes, rehabilitation centers, and assisted living centers. The company performs to audiences of all sizes, like the 300 audience members at the Meals On Wheels volunteer recognition luncheon.

Recently, the company's work has been rewarded with prestigous grants. They received $25,000 from the Dean & Margaret Lesher Foundation and $15,000 from the Thomas J.Long Foundation.

The group is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for their senior community by bringing them top-notch plays, enjoyable, and wholesome entertainment in a live theatre experience.

Senior Theatres have many questions about microphones, mixers, and which to use, when? It's a real concern because according to our recent survey, most Senior Theatre groups perform for older audience members many which have hearing problems. To make the need for sound amplification even more critical, these groups usually perform in non-theatrical spaces where the acoustics are less than perfect.

We are conducting a short survey to see what kind of sound equipment you use and recommend. Please take 4 minutes to answer the brief questionnaire.

Improving the sound we use will help audiences enjoy our shows even more! Thank you for your input.

We grow neither better or worse as we get old...but more like ourselves. --May L. Becker

We've updated our website with an easy-to-use search button and a fresh new design! Take a look and you'll notice:

• New improved, expanded search feature
• Top shows for retirement housing
• Past newsletters
• Easy newsletter sign-up form
• Popular plays
• Who's Who in Senior Theatre
• And much more

We hear all the time how you can spend hours learning about Senior Theatre by visiting our website.Here are our amazing website statistics for 2013:

44,245 individuals (“unique visitors”) made 65,938 visits to the site
3687 unique visitors per month came to the site
2920 visitors spent up to 30 min on the site in a single visit
4198 visitors spent 30 min to hour on the site in a single visit
2581 visitors spent more than 1 hour on the site in a single visit

So take some time to enjoy the website!

Check out our Facebook page.

Facebook: Have a more extended conversation by using our facebook page. Become a 'fan,' then send in information to keep the connection and the movement growing!