Credit card fraud scams, Alzheimer's disease, downsizing to an apartment, relationships, funeral arrangements and reconciliation with painful and difficult events in the past are just some of the things seniors have to cope with as they age.
Now an Edmonton theatre troupe calling themselves the Geriactors are bringing these issues to the stage, showing the public some of the ups and downs of growing older.
With an average age of over 70 and armed with a repertoire of original works based on their own life experiences, the Geriactors have discovered their stage talents later in life and are challenging many of the stereotypes people have about seniors.
Under the charismatic, enthusiastic and dedicated guidance of University of Alberta drama professor Dave Barnet, this theatre troupe have grown from being a collection of enthusiastic amateurs, to a seasoned team of performers.
Barnet began helping the group two years ago after a friend working at the Edmonton Society for the Retired and Semi Retired asked him for some expert advice for a bunch of keen enthusiasts that had said they wanted to do a bit of acting.
"Well I visited that week, and the following week and the following one and I am still here," Barnet said.
"Initially they asked whether they could do Shakespeare but I encouraged to write their own scripts by drawing on some of their own life experiences," he said.
"This experience has broken down a stereotype of aging whereby once a line had been reached, that's it. You can't learn anything more," Barnet said.
Geriactor Ken Gough said if someone had asked him three years ago whether he ever imagined he would be performing in front of the University of Alberta drama department, he would have told them that they were, "out of their minds."
"It gives you a whole new set of outlooks, a whole different feeling about yourself that you can do something that you never thought possible," Gough said.
One of the two University of Alberta drama students that helps Barnet at the Geriactor's regular rehearsals Jimmy Shewchuk said, the experience has left him no doubt that seniors still have many valuable contributions to make to society.
"There are lots of things done to and for seniors, but not with them," Shewchuk said.
"They are out there not because they are seniors on stage, but because they are good on stage," says Shewchuk.
Geriactor Joan Cull said writing and acting out some of the issues in the lives of seniors is therapeutic as well as being a lot of fun.
"We have all had experiences in our past that have been bothersome ," Call said.
To date the troupe has performed in front of their peers and the University of Alberta drama department. Barnet said, however, that they like to take their performances one at a time but in the meantime his commitment to the project remains unwavering.
"The value of the Geriactors is self-evident when you see them on stage and the audience response," he said.
The U of A in Edmonton, Alberta is one of Canada's premier teaching and research universities serving more than 33,000 students with 6,000 faculty and staff. It continues to lead the country with the most 3M Teaching Fellows, Canada's only national award recognizing teaching excellence.
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