We Did It!

I am finding it difficult to put into words the full experience of what has happened over the last five months since the group has been meeting, and especially over the last few weeks leading up to the performance. It has been amazing. Terrifying. Exciting. Moving. Hilarious. Unnerving. Inspiring.

At the beginning, many group members expressed doubts about the group itself (what exactly are we doing here… is this going to be interesting or a waste of time) but kept returning week after week, and said they were intrigued and were having a great time. I was told by staff members that with this group of people specifically, if they weren’t enjoying it, they wouldn’t come.

Almost everyone expressed concerns and doubts about our ability to create a finished product, even up to 3 weeks before the performance.

I really can’t express how much the people in the group have changed and grown over the last five months. I took videos of almost all of the rehearsals, so have been able to roughly track the group’s progress, and conduct a qualitative analysis of the effectiveness of the program. I also checked in with participants throughout the process to find out how they felt about the whole thing. The results have been astonishing. It is so neat to see nine people in their eighties and nineties EXCITED.

On the days of the performances, so much of what I saw and heard from the group members was reminiscent of how I felt as an emerging young actress. Being on stage is an intangible experience, and it’s why so many people get drawn into the theatre, in spite of the poor odds of ever being able to live above the poverty line and in spite of the constant struggle. The people in this group got to experience this feeling for the very first time, so late in life.

Close friendships and intimate bonds were the facets of theatre that I loved the most as a young actress and I saw them replicated here at Baycrest. An invaluable outcome of this project has been the connections that were built between group members, the larger Baycrest community, and, I think, beyond. Before the show, the group members were all laughing and talking together easily, and making jokes with each other. Many group members have commented repeatedly on the friendships they have made in the group, with people they had never even met before.

Over the two performances we had between 150 and  200 audience members. It was incredible – and the performers blew everyone away.

One audience member, also a Baycrest resident, approached one of the group members a couple days after the show to say how much she loved the performance and how moved she was by it. The actor invited her over to her room later that day so they could talk about it, and become friends.

Another resident who declined joining the group told me, right after the show, that when he first heard about it he thought it was going to be silly, and he didn’t want to have anything to do with it. After watching the production he had to tell me how wrong he was, and how amazing it was to see these people express and create with such dignity and power.

On our first day back in March, as he was leaving Barry said to me, “I am starting to get a glimmer of interest in the project. Just a glimmer.” Then just yesterday he said with incredible emotion, “We were just a bunch of ordinary people, there was nothing special or extraordinary about us. I mean, we weren’t actors… And you took us… you got us all together and now look at us!”

Nadine has said to me a number of times that she would like to keep the group going, because with her vision and hearing problems, engaging is difficult for her. She felt that this was a stimulating and fun experience, and really hopes that it continues. Everyone is really sad that it is over, and they want to keep meeting. I do too. I hate to just leave it like this. Nora has said that she doesn’t know what she’s going to do with her Wednesday afternoons, “They’re so boring now,” she says. Ned and his companion have said the same thing. Actually, I could go on because I have had conversations with each participant about how they don’t want it to end!

Finding funding for arts programs for this population is extremely difficult. Things are beginning to change but there is still a strong emphasis on treatment, extending life, etc, but not as much emphasis on quality of life. Further, emphasis is placed on funding artistic initiatives for children and youths, but a similar emphasis does not exist for older adults. This is often a forgotten population in so many ways: medically, culturally, artistically, economically, financially – I could go on.

My goal is to launch a kickstarter campaign and get some friends together to do a long bike ride to raise money to keep this group going with the goal of an annual public performance. In addition to that I am also seeking seed funding for a longer and larger initiative that will be directed toward new iterations of this project. I want to see similar experiences happening around Toronto where older people will have the opportunity to generate their own performances. I want to recreate and expand the results I’ve just described in as many places as will have me.

Thank you everyone for all of your support over the last five months! And thank you to all of those who were able to come to the performance. It was so lovely to see you all.

I will update periodically with news about the group, a more detailed description of the performance, etc.

Au Revoir!