By Mark Abromaitis
THE ERICKSON TRIBUNE
This is one of those rare times and places where sharing wacky stories, venting pent-up frustrations, and playing crazy games can be helpful. It’s actually encouraged and a required part of the curriculum.
“It’s all about getting people out of their shells,” says Betty Zelesnick, a member of the acting and improvisation class at Maris Grove. “None of us are serious actors, but it’s fun and something that we all went into with an open mind.”
Zelesnick, her husband Ross, and a dozen other Maris Grove residents have employed the help of acting coach Robb Hutter to help them try their hand in the theatric arts.
Unlocking the playful spirit
Hutter, who has thirty years of professional experience as an actor, director, and teacher, says older adults are often the best actors. “They know themselves and often have fewer inhibitions,” he says.
Hutter does his best to integrate the personal life experiences and stories of the people he teaches into the class activities. The key is getting his students to take a trip outside of their comfort zone.
“In class, I’m serious about them having fun,” he says. “Learning is a lifelong journey. Everyone has innate creativity and talent. It’s just a matter of bringing that out and exploring their seasoned and really playful spirits.”
The actor in everyone
One of the first exercises Hutter leads to help loosen the students’ inhibitions also allows them to get to know each other.
Students sit in a circle and call another classmate’s name, then they toss him or her an athletic ball. “It helps them get to know each other and make eye contact,” Hutter explains. After a few minutes, Hutter adds more balls.
“There are balls flying everywhere,” Ross Zelesnick says. “I think we have about three or four going at the same time.”
“It makes sure we’re all on the same page,” says class member Jo Overholt.
Learning the art
To get the students acting, Hutter starts small and builds up. In one activity, the students carry on a constant, flowing conversation. “No silence is allowed,” Overholt explains. “That makes for some interesting comments,” she says with a laugh.
The students then progress from improvising single lines to improvising whole scenes. “We come up with the who, where, and why and then have to fill in the blanks,” Overholt says.
The Zelesnicks say that one of their favorite exercises is holding a conversation with another person while starting each new thought with a word that follows in alphabetical order.
“It’s more than acting and improvisation,” Ross Zelesnick says. “We are all getting to know each other, and it’s a way of getting us to communicate. It really makes you think on your feet.”
It takes all types
The group itself consists of a cross section of personalities from Maris Grove. “But that’s what makes it so much fun,” Betty Zelesnick says.
“You don’t need to be an outgoing person to participate,” she says. “We have all types—those who are quiet, those who are outgoing like me and my husband and everything in between.”
A super troupe
The new experience has been a good one for all the class members. There has even been talk about continuing the class to learn more advanced techniques and maybe even forming an acting troupe or an improvisation club when a new performing arts center opens early next year. “It’s something we’re seriously considering,” Betty Zelesnick says.
“We’re less inhibited; I guess we don’t have anything to lose,” Overholt says. “It’s a fun thing to try something new. I don’t think I would have done this anywhere else. I don’t think any of us ever expected to try something like this.”
Betty Zelesnick adds, “I think it’s more accurate to say that we’re ‘acting up,’ rather than acting.” |
