Have a Senior Moment Festival launches with the world premiere of HOME, October 3 to 5
Western Gold Theatre festival continues to October 11 with play readings, a karaoke dance party, improv classes, and more
SPONSORED POST BY Western Gold Theatre
(Clockwise from top left) Patti Allan, Melody Anderson, Jacob Leonard, Sherry Bie, Beatrice Zeilinger, and Dolores Drake.
Western Gold Theatre’s Have a Senior Moment Festival is an event that turns the notion of “having a senior moment” on its head. Normally understood as a moment of forgetfulness, a foolish mistake, or a lack of understanding based on age, the term is being reclaimed as a moment showing older adults living their lives to the fullest.
Have a Senior Moment Festival returns for a third edition from October 3 to 11 at the PAL Studio Theatre. This year’s programming is anchored by an OOF! (On Our Feet!) Staged Reading production of Melody’s Anderson’s brand-new comedy HOME from October 3 to 5. Directed by Roy Surette, HOME is a broad, farcical revenge comedy that features an elderly woman who seeks justice after the death of her husband and a subsequent home invasion. Prepare to be tickled by this production that’s equal parts hilarious and compassionate. It stars Patti Allan, Sherry Bie, Dolores Drake, Jacob Leonard, and Beatrice Zeilinger.
OOF! plays are a beloved Western Gold tradition. In four short days, the actors are up: books in hand, flying by the seats of their pants, unleashing every iota of technique, intuition, and unbridled creativity that Canada’s most experienced artists have to offer.
The festival lineup also features readings of two new plays by B.C. theatremakers Peter Zednik and Mairy Beam that will be directed by Johnna Wright and performed by a wonderful array of Vancouver’s best older actors. Both plays celebrate senior and elder queer love, and were selected by an independent jury with the playwrights’ names redacted to ensure impartiality.
In Sandsprite by Zednick on October 9, teenage lovers Brogan and Si meet again after 50 years, creating uncertainty around whether their vastly different lives can intersect with a happy ending. Beam’s What Difference Does It Make on October 10 revolves around Lucy, who finally finds the courage to tell their partner they are non-binary—but Carmelle isn’t thrilled. When the pandemic hits, they must navigate shifting identities while confined to a small apartment.
Elsewhere at the Have a Senior Moment Festival, festival-goers can unleash their inner singer at a karaoke dance party, try cold-cast script readings, sign up for creative workshops and improv classes, and much more.
Tickets to the Have a Senior Moment Festival and HOME are available through Western Gold Theatre.
Post sponsored by Western Gold Theatre.
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