Creative Play for Seniors – Workshop Series

Postponed to April 5

Workshop 1: Read and Discuss
February 16, 1:00-2:30 pm, Thompson Senior Center

What comes up for us when we read? We may have been taught we should analyze, but what about our associations and memories and gut reactions? And then again, what is actually on the page? We will read short pieces of literature aloud and discuss together. (Marv Klassen-Landis, Ham Gillett)

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The Norman Williams Public Library and the Thompson Senior Center are excited to offer a series of weekly workshops presented by three longtime friends and collaborators (who are also older adults): Marv Klassen-Landis, Ham Gillett, and Michael Zerphy.

We invite community elders to participate in arts activities that will provide fun and creative ways to strengthen cognition and well-being through learning new things, interacting with others, and exploring their own identities through personal expression and sharing with the community.

These workshops are free and open to the public. Come for one, two, three, or all of them! Registration is requested; please email Programs@ThompsonSeniorCenter.org.
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We’ll introduce the program leaders and their ideas at a special opening event at the Library.

Opening Event: We’re Never Too Old to Play
February 9, 4:00 pm, Norman Williams Public Library
Project Artists Ham Gillett, Michael Zerphy and Marv Klassen-Landis will present a performance for the public and for future workshop participants introducing the humor and pathos of aging and a sampling of the kinds of genres and activities introduced in the workshop series—readings, storytelling, poems, songs, skits, play excerpts, improvisation.
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The weekly workshops will be held at the Senior Center right after lunch over the next 7 Fridays:

Workshop 1: Read and Discuss
Postponed until April 5, 1:00-2:30 pm, Thompson Senior Center
What comes up for us when we read? We may have been taught we should analyze, but what about our associations and memories and gut reactions? And then again, what is actually on the page? We will read short pieces of literature aloud and discuss together. (Marv Klassen-Landis, Ham Gillett)

Workshop 2: Oral Interpretation
February 23, 1:00-2:30 pm, Thompson Senior Center
Do you read aloud to your grandchildren or to yourself? Would you like to be a bit more expressive? Bring a favorite children’s story, a poem or a prose passage. We’ll read them aloud to each other and consider ways to bring them to life. (Ham Gillett, Michael Zerphy)

Workshop 3: Storytelling
March 1, 1-2:30 pm, Thompson Senior Center
We all have stories; we all are stories. Storytelling isn’t rocket surgery, but there are skills you can gain by playing storytelling games and telling stories from your life in a small group of good listeners. (Michael Zerphy, Marv Klassen-Landis)

Workshop 4: Personal Writing
March 8, 1-2:30 pm, Thompson Senior Center
Ever try writing in a journal? Ever get stuck while writing? Does personal writing help you sort out thoughts and emotions? We will try a variety of writing techniques and exercises to overcome writer’s block, tap into our playful, intuitive side and get to know ourselves a little better—any sharing of this writing will be completely optional. (Marv Klassen-Landis, Ham Gillett)

Workshop 5: Stepping Out of the Shower
March 15, 1-2:30 pm, Thompson Senior Center
Everyone sings in the shower, right? We will set up the curtains; you give it your best shot. We’ll cheer you on. Then, if you feel like it, we’ll pull back the curtain and sing with you. Or we can just sing as a group. Who knows, we might even have a good time. All participants will be fully clothed. (Ham Gillett, Michael Zerphy)

Workshop 6: Theater Games
March 22, 1-2:30 pm, Thompson Senior Center
If you ever enjoyed a round of charades, you will love this! Play imaginative theater games in which there are no losers, no wrong choices, no audience. Just creative play and lots of laughter. (Michael Zerphy, Marv Klassen-Landis)

Workshop 7: Readers Theater
March 29, 1-2:30 pm, Thompson Senior Center
Let’s pick a play and read it out loud together. We’ll switch roles around and see what happens. Comedy or tragedy? TBD/What’s your pleasure? (Ham Gillett, Marv Klassen-Landis)
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We’ll wrap up the series with a fun final event at the Library:

Final Event: Sharing Our Creative Play!
Friday, April 12, 4:00, Norman Williams Public Library
Participants and artists will share with the community something they have created during the series. Not a requirement for participants but we expect enough enthusiastic volunteers to make for a fun sharing event! (If you decide to share a poem or story or skit or song–individually or in groups–at our final event, join us at the library at 2 for a rehearsal. All three artists will be on hand for coaching and moral support.)

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About the presenters:

Michael Zerphy is a storyteller, clown, poet, musician, banjo jokester and mirth instigator. His inventive and diverse performances have captivated audiences of all ages across the US and Europe for decades. His shows include FoolzJourney, Zany Acts and Codger!

Marv Klassen-Landis is a poet and storyteller who believes in the power of creative expression for healing and discovery. A Vermont Arts Council roster artist and a Children’s Literacy Foundation presenter, he also was the founding creative writer in Dartmouth Health’s arts program. He collaborated with Michael in co-creating and touring Children’s Voices.

Ham Gillett‘s representative roles during his fifteen years as a professional actor include Captain Hook in Peter Pan, Don Quixote in Man of La Mancha, Sir Toby Belch in Twelfth Night and Reverend Hale in The Crucible. Locally, he performs with We the People Theater and Bel Canto Chamber Singers. He starred in Love Letters at Pentangle, and his reading of “A Child’s Christmas in Wales” has been a perennial favorite in Woodstock for 23 years.

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These workshops are free and open to the public.

The series, hosted by NWPL and the Thompson Senior Center, is supported in part by the Vermont Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts.