About The Center Stage Players:

The troupe was started by theater professional Frank Wicks, "to enrich and enhance the quality of life for people aged 55 or older through theater activities - helping to promote self-expression, creativity, social interactions, and sheer fun!"

Members of the Center Stage Players include: Jean Anthony, Jim Arbuckle, Barbara Bennett, Joan Brewer, Pat Gardner, Eleanor Grafe, Edie Hazard, Vivian Kemp, Rodney Sarle, Anne Marie Schmidt, K Schmidt, Bonnie Wheeler, and Phoebe White. Center Stage director is (currently open position) and guest artist is Brad Terry, noted jazz clarinetist, who joins the festivities on special occasions.

Our Activities Include:

1. Weekly two-hour sessions in which we: warm up through theater games, improvisations and personal storytelling; rehearse scenes and short plays; and develop new material (written by theWriter's Group and Center Stage members of People Plus) as well as published scripts. We take this material, rehearse it, and develop chamber productions to perform in our own theater at People Plus. Or we take it "on the road" to retirement centers and other senior organizations. We usually perform with scripts in hand or through improvisation.

2. We invite local guest artists to our sessions to conduct workshops in acting, movement, dance, improvisation, or mime. We also invite scholars from local colleges to give talks on various aspects of the theater.

3. We attend theatrical presentations, classes, and workshops given by various local theater groups. (This is usually accompanied by going out for a meal together).

4. We are involved with community service activities. Recently, the group was asked to develop and videotape a public service announcement to promote a support group for grandparents raising grandchildren. The group went "on the air" with an improvised, realistic, and somewhat humorous performance identifying some of the problems grandparents face raising grandchildren. We are also asked to perform for special occasions, such as chamber of commerce meetings, town holiday observances, and People Plus functions.

5. We meet with school age children to develop and rehearse intergenerational theater pieces through interviews and collaborative projects. One recent New Play Festival featured a play spanning three generations.

Benefits of Being Part of a Senior Theater Group:

Senior theater groups are mushrooming all across America. According to a recent Time Magazine article, being a part of a senior theater group has many benefits: "It's a powerful antidote to the ravages of time...older people still have much to contribute to society, and what keeps them alive and healthy is the ability to be engaged." The article went on to say, "Because theater is a collaborative effort, there tends to be a great deal of camaraderie. For some people it's like having a second family. It's also a chance to share and revisit a life's worth of emotional experiences."

There are now thousands of seniors across the country participating in more than 400 senior performing groups. The upsurge in interest stems from a larger population of people over 50. "They are healthy and active and want to either return to something they did earlier in their lives or take up something that they always wanted to try. Theater gives seniors an outlet for self-expression, therapy, socializing, and fun."

The Center Stage Players seems to have proved Time Magazine correct. Members talk about how good they feel and how much the group means to them. The group models exuberance, confidence and well-being for other seniors. Comments like, "We feel useful" and "We feel wanted again" abound.

The invitation is out to all who would like to join. Please give it a try! We meet every Thursday from 2:00 to 4:00 at People Plus, 6 Noble St., Brunswick, Maine. For more information and a schedule of upcoming performances, call 729-0757