Our Play's the Thing Recruitment Event

Written by Kevin Ray

“Welcome home!” That was the first thing Susan Rabinowicz, director of the Young Israel of Forest Hills Senior League, said to us when we arrived for our recruitment event on Tuesday. The center will be our second home starting next Monday as Sherry Teitlebaum and I will be co-facilitating a two-week theater project with older adults, culminating in a free performance at the center on Thursday, August 9th at 1 p.m. The project is called Our Play’s the Thing.

Sherry and I were at the center on Tuesday to personally introduce the project to prospective participants. First, we visited an exercise class to give a short presentation about what the project would entail. We explained that people in the project would be creating and performing an original play inspired by a physical object such as keys, flowers, or shoes. Then we went to the lunch room to speak about the class to other members at the center. Next we showed our crowd funding campaign video to a few small groups of seniors. They smiled and laughed when they saw our interviews with Susan and other members from the center. Finally we sat down and chatted about the programs with individual folks over lunch served by the center: baked tilapia.

I had a wonderful time meeting and talking with older adults from the center. I sat in on a card game, heard a wonderful love song about a rooster, and caught up with some of the women we interviewed for our video.

I am very excited about the start of Our Play’s the Thing. If you want to follow the project, check back to this blog for updates. On with the show!

This project is made possible in part with funds from the Decentralization Program, a regrant program of the New York State Council on the Arts, administered by the Queens Council on the Arts. Funded under contract with the New York City Department for the Aging. Additional support provided by Everybody Act! Theater in Education & Communities.


blogEntryTopper
blog comments powered by Disqus