Humor, rap and even tap dancing will be part of a performance in April with a cast of people only older than 50.
“Old is Not a 4-Letter Word” is a collaboration by Third Age Theatre, an organization that does performances with people older than 55, and the Community Center for Vital Aging, an off-campus division of the gerontology department of Ball State.
Sarah Lyttle, program coordinator at CCVA, said the show has an interesting format.
“It’s a series of conversations with some song and dance thrown in,” she said.
Usually Third Age Theatre does the performance alone, but this year it teamed with CCVA to add to the cast and widen their potential audience.
Frank Gray, a communications instructor, is the director of the play and is director of Third Age Theatre.
“For a younger audience, I think it explains and reveals something about the aging process and people who are older, about their attitudes and their lives that they don’t often think about,” Gray said. “For an audience member who’s a little older, I think it’s reaffirming, there is a lot of humor in it, there’s serious moments, but it’s very honest about aging.”
Philip Stephenson, 67, has been in several renditions of the performance and will be part of the April show.
“It’s really a good show because it does show moments that are very tender and poignant and others will make you roll your eyes and laugh,” he said.
Gray and Stephenson talked about how the show uses comical means to communicate a serious message.
“The idea is not to always pretend to be young or act young,” Stephenson said. “The idea is to grow with some grace and be aware of where you are in the passage of life and time.”
Gray said the show gives a lot to the cast as well as the audience.
“I think that performance stretches people. I think people grow through performance, become more confident,” he said.
He said the cast itself is one of the positive aspects of working on the show, something Stephenson also brought up.
“This group is so eclectic they will do whatever it takes to move this performance along,” Stephenson said.
Lyttle said age is no factor for the two organizations, and the show is a good way to portray that.
“No matter how old you are, you can still enjoy life,” she said. “I think that the arts—theatre, visual arts, music—these are the things that keep us human, the things that keep the spirit, and they’re ageless.”
