In 2018-2019, seven people ages 73-95 met to create a theatre event and a film from the stories of their lives and the history they helped to make in the Great Depression, the March on Washington, the civil rights era, and four wars.
Acting Our Age:
A Century of America in Seven Voices
Director Steve Umberger
Film Editor Jay Thomas / Music Fred Story
Stage production produced with Aldersgate
Watch Acting Our Age premiere trailer:
Lyndall Hare, Steve Umberger and former Aldersgate COO Jeff Weatherhead talk about the project:
Acting Our Age gallery
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"The collaboration between theatre director and gerontologist turns decades of memories into a collective whole."
Observer (feature)
Observer (feature)
"This is an example of how we can save the world - conversations, empathy, engagement."
Audience member Beth Monaghan
Audience member Beth Monaghan
Links to press coverage
Charlotte Observer Seniors take the audience on a trip
CVNC Journal A gift to the present through insight into the past
Acting Our Age 2020-2022
Acting Our Age has become an annual series. 2020-2022 saw new groups document their eras, past and present. Voices of the Pandemic (2021) is a film about living and learning through 2020-2021. Each edition of Acting Our Age reflects the times of its cast.
Coming November 2022
November 2 & 3, 2022
Booth Playhouse, Blumenthal Performing Arts
Tickets on sale in September / Please check back
The Acting Our Age films are available for screenings. Please email info@playworksonline.org for more information.