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Intellect Books - Linda Lau , Rae Mansfield

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179 pages

English

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Description

Theatre for Lifelong Learning is a step-by-step guide for anyone interested in teaching theatre courses and creating theatre with older adults.

This book provides instructors with syllabi, discussion questions, classroom management strategies, resource lists, and activities to teach courses from beginning to end. Special topics include Playwriting, Play Development, Storytelling, Theatre Appreciation, Theatre Criticism, Theatre History, and Theatre Theory.

This book helps readers become confident, informed instructors of older adult learners. Theatre for Lifelong Learning is a tool for anyone who wants to build theatrical communities and support the emotional well-being of older adults through education, practice, and experimentation while also having fun.

Theatre for Lifelong Learning is a complete guide to navigate the theatre classroom from beginning to end. Anyone can become a theatre expert and educator with practice. If you already have a background in performing arts, this book provides strategies that are useful for you as well. If you have experience as an educator, this book will enrich your current skill set with interdisciplinary approaches. Tips and examples throughout assist you in creating and maintaining an accessible environment and making courses your own.

So how can teaching and learning about theatre help us live in the moment? When we are not engaged, it’s easy to forget that we are capable, curious, creative people who can expand our knowledge and experiences every day. Theatre encourages finding meaning in small things, chance encounters, and the tapestry of life. All the material provided in this book will motivate instructors and students to get involved.

It will be most useful for arts practitioners, participatory practitioners, institutional educators and community outreach officers, independent theatre instructors. Of potential interest to scholars and researchers in age studies, or in teaching and learning. May also be useful for community arts organizations, regional theatres, and non-profit organizations working with older adults.

List of Figures

Preface: Why Older Adult Theatre?

- Older Adults Pursuing the Now

- The Three D’s in Popular Culture

- Changing Perceptions of Older Adults through Theatre

- Benefits of Older Adult Theatre Courses

Introduction

- How to Use This Book

- The Lifelong Learning Theatre Instructor

- Our Approach to Theatre for Lifelong Learning

- Inclusivity and Play for Older Adult Theatre

- Where Do I Begin?

1. Collaborating with Older Adults

- What Are the Challenges?

- Suggested Best Practices

- Theatre for the Virtual Classroom

- How to Help Your Students Learn Online

- Course Evaluations

- Things to Remember

- Our Learning Philosophy

2. Theatre Appreciation

- What Is Theatre Appreciation?

- How Do I Put Together a Course?

- How Do I Select and Organize Topics?

- What Activities and Discussions Can I Do?

- How Do I Run the Course?

- What Do I Include on the Syllabus?

- Sample Syllabi

- Additional Resources

3. Theatre History, Theory, and Criticism

- What Are Theatre History, Theory, and Criticism?

- How Do I Put Together a Course?

- How Do I Select and Organize Topics?

- What Activities and Discussions Can I Do?

- How Do I Run the Course?

- What Do I Include on the Syllabus?

- Sample Syllabi

- Additional Resources

4. Playwriting, Play Development, and Storytelling

- What Are Playwriting, Play Development, and Storytelling?

- How Do I Put Together a Course?

- How Do I Select and Organize Topics?

- What Activities and Discussions Can I Do?

Playwriting Exercises

Storytelling Exercises

- How Do I Run the Course?

- What Do I Include on the Syllabus?

- Sample Syllabi

- Additional Resources

5. Performance

- What Is Performance?

- How Do I Put Together a Course?

- How Do I Select and Organize Topics?

- What Activities and Discussions Can I Do?

Performance Exercises

- How Do I Run the Course?

- What Do I Include on the Syllabus?

- Sample Syllabi

- Additional Resources

Conclusion: Theatre for All

- Intergenerational Theatre

- Autobiographical and Documentary Theatre

- Theatre and Dementia

- Musical Theatre

- Theatre Repertories

- What Other Opportunities Are Out There?

- Why We Wrote This Book

Notes

Bibliography

Sujets

Theater

Performing Arts

EDUCATION

Theatre

Performance art

General officer

Art

General

Performance

Informations

Publié par	Intellect Books
Date de parution	05 octobre 2022
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781789384949
Langue	English

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,5000€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

Extrait

Theatre for Lifelong Learning
Theatre for Lifelong Learning

A Handbook for Instructors, Older Adults, Communities, and Artists
Linda Lau and Rae Mansfield
First published in the UK in 2022 by
Intellect, The Mill, Parnall Road, Fishponds, Bristol, BS16 3JG, UK
First published in the USA in 2022 by
Intellect, The University of Chicago Press, 1427 E. 60th Street,
Chicago, IL 60637, USA
Copyright © 2022 Intellect Ltd
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Copy editor: Newgen KnowledgeWorks
Cover image: Senior woman raising her hands . Photo by Rawpixel on iStock.
Cover designer: Tanya Montefusco
Production editor: Debora Nicosia
Typesetting: Newgen KnowledgeWorks
Hardback ISBN: 978-1-78938-492-5
ePDF ISBN: 978-1-78938-493-2
ePUB ISBN: 978-1-78938-494-9
To find out about all our publications, please visit
www.intellectbooks.com
There you can subscribe to our e-newsletter, browse or download our current catalogue, and buy any titles that are in print.
This is a peer-reviewed publication.
Contents
List of Figures
Preface: Why Older Adult Theatre?
Older Adults Pursuing the Now
The Three D’s in Popular Culture
Changing Perceptions of Older Adults through Theatre
Benefits of Older Adult Theatre Courses
Introduction
How to Use This Book
The Lifelong Learning Theatre Instructor
Our Approach to Theatre for Lifelong Learning
Inclusivity and Play for Older Adult Theatre
Where Do I Begin?
1. Collaborating with Older Adults
What Are the Challenges?
Suggested Best Practices
Theatre for the Virtual Classroom
How to Help Your Students Learn Online
Course Evaluations
Things to Remember
Our Learning Philosophy
2. Theatre Appreciation
What Is Theatre Appreciation?
How Do I Put Together a Course?
How Do I Select and Organize Topics?
What Activities and Discussions Can I Do?
How Do I Run the Course?
What Do I Include on the Syllabus?
Sample Syllabi
Additional Resources
3. Theatre History, Theory, and Criticism
What Are Theatre History, Theory, and Criticism?
How Do I Put Together a Course?
How Do I Select and Organize Topics?
What Activities and Discussions Can I Do?
How Do I Run the Course?
What Do I Include on the Syllabus?
Sample Syllabi
Additional Resources
4. Playwriting, Play Development, and Storytelling
What Are Playwriting, Play Development, and Storytelling?
How Do I Put Together a Course?
How Do I Select and Organize Topics?
What Activities and Discussions Can I Do?
Playwriting Exercises
Storytelling Exercises
How Do I Run the Course?
What Do I Include on the Syllabus?
Sample Syllabi
Additional Resources
5. Performance
What Is Performance?
How Do I Put Together a Course?
How Do I Select and Organize Topics?
What Activities and Discussions Can I Do?
Performance Exercises
How Do I Run the Course?
What Do I Include on the Syllabus?
Sample Syllabi
Additional Resources
Conclusion: Theatre for All
Intergenerational Theatre
Autobiographical and Documentary Theatre
Theatre and Dementia
Musical Theatre
Theatre Repertories
What Other Opportunities Are Out There?
Why We Wrote This Book
Notes
Bibliography
Figures
I.1 Course Development Process
4.1 Feedback
5.1 You Must Pay the Rent
5.2 An Interrupted Wedding
5.3 Melodramatic Gestures
5.4 Performance
C.1 Theatre
Preface: Why Older Adult Theatre?

I pursue nowness. That’s what I do.
—Wang Deshun, model and actor 1
What is something you have always wanted to do but were afraid to try? Many people dream of performing on stage, writing a book, taking up painting, learning how to dance, or doing “something” for themselves that they enjoy and can share with others. They often abandon these dreams due to responsibilities and wonder how to revisit them later in life. At any stage, becoming involved with the arts opens up possibilities that spark creativity and engagement with the world. The opportunities that the arts provide enable us to do what many of us endeavor to do each day, to live in the now. We strive to pursue nowness and any time is the right time to do that, regardless of age, background, or experience.
Theatre instantly puts us in the now, no matter which role we play. If you have picked up this book, you are off to an excellent start! You have chosen to be an instructor or facilitator and you will play an important role in using theatre to help people connect, learn, and have fun. Theatre for Lifelong Learning will be your partner on this journey, providing a one-stop shop for designing and teaching theatre for older adults.
So how can teaching and learning about theatre help us live in the moment? When we are not engaged, it is easy to forget that we are capable, curious, creative people who have the ability to expand our knowledge and experiences every day. Theatre encourages us to find meaning in small things, chance encounters, and the tapestry of life. All of the material provided for you in Theatre for Lifelong Learning is here to motivate instructors and students to get involved and pursue the now.
Older Adults Pursuing the Now
Age does not have to stop us from pursuing the now. There are many older adults who continue to learn and seek new avenues of exploring the world. Some have even made new careers and gained international acclaim out of their interests.
Wang Deshun started modeling in his eighties. He was inspired to begin bodybuilding at 57 when he saw a Rodin sculpture. Since 2015, his story has gone viral and media outlets have dubbed him, “Hot Grandpa.” 2 Wang modeled for world-recognized brands including athletic clothing company Reebok, where he was the face of their “Be More Human” campaign, and luxury brand Ermenegildo Zegna, whose other models include Robert De Niro. 3 He can be spotted all over the world, strutting the runways of Fashion Week in Beijing and Milan, and inspiring others with his long white locks and toned 80-year-old abs.
Maggie Kuhn was a program director for the Young Women’s Christian Association-United Service Organizations (YWCA-USO) and spent the majority of her career working for the Presbyterian Church. When she turned 65, she was forced out of her job due to mandatory retirement laws. Inspired by the Black Panthers, she mobilized with other older adults, as well as high school and college-age people, and formed the Gray Panthers in 1970. The Gray Panthers focuses on older adult advocacy and activism, as well as economic inequality, civil liberties, election reform, and environmental issues.
Anna Mary Robertson, better known as Grandma Moses, began a career in folk art painting in the 1930s when she was in her late seventies. Before devoting herself to painting, she spent much of her life working on a farm and raising children. Robertson turned to painting when she developed arthritis and could no longer dedicate her time to embroidery. In her three decades of painting, she created over 1,500 pieces and successfully sold paintings during her lifetime.
The rule breakers mentioned here are just some of the few who have achieved great success and fame in their retirement years. There are many other examples. After working as a high school teacher in New York for over 30 years, Frank McCourt published Angela’s Ashes , which became an international bestseller and won a Pulitzer Prize. Estelle Getty took time away from acting to raise a family. She was cast in her first major Broadway show in her late fifties, and as a result secured her first major television role as Sophia on The Golden Girls . Catherine Walter, Pauline Horn, Shirley Webb, and Willie Murphy all turned to powerlifting in their seventies and eighties. Murphy’s weightlifting story hit the headlines when she defended herself against a home invasion in 2019. 4
What can we learn from Wang, Kuhn, Robertson, and countless others? There are many older adults who continue learning, creating, and being active members of their communities. Older adults are just as capable as anyone else to start something new, develop talents, and make an impact in the world. Theatre is one of the ways that people can get involved and confront negative portrayals of older adults in popular media.
The Three D’s in Popular Culture
People encounter negative media portrayals of older adults, often without recognizing that the portrayals are negative. Images of older adults on-screen tend to be associated with the Three D’s: death, dying, and dementia. The Three D’s are frequently employed as plot devices to bring about an emotional response in audiences or are used to sell products. From advertisements and films to plays, novels, and TV shows, the Three D’s are ubiquitous. On television commercials, older adults are either planning to die or trying to avoid death. They are seen creating wills and estate planning, purchasing in-home and long-term care insurance, and making funeral preparations, or trying the latest heart drug, hormone replacement therapy, and erectile dysfunction medication. The public is saturated with these negative images and, in turn, more likely to see older adults as either in denial about aging or unable to participate in everyday activities or be independent, as a burden or isolated from society.
Death
In film and television, funerals and death are popular in genres such as comedies, dramas, and murder mysteries involving battles over estates. A common trope involves the mysterious death of an older relative, a dramatic reading of the will, and a room full of strangers who have never met before or family who have not seen each other in a very long time. The only “benefit” of having an older adult relative is monetary. Their “p