Intergenerational workshop
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I want to develop a summer program for our church families which would be intergenerational. This would be a group of families and couples or single people. I envision having some team building activities, some skill building activities, and finally working on a one act play in which all ages could be involved. An example might be Aesop's Fables, animal stories, or fairy tales. Does anyone have suggestions for materials or activities that work well with a wide range of ages? There are a few in our community with experience, but mostly it will be a group of people with a wide range of abilities who want to learn about theater and want to have fun.I do have a theater background, but have been out of education for about 10 years and don't have access to the school materials I used before. Any suggestions for materials to order or plays that may work with this kind of group will be appreciated.
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Wow Pam, this sounds like a really cool idea! The first thing that came to mind was GODSPELL for 2 main reasons... 1) it would be very appropriate for your church group! and 2) you can really do whatever you want with it. Almost every production of GODSPELL is done differently and shares a different story through a different perspective. For example, two recent productions that I remember seeing included an "around the world" type of spin, where Jesus was sharing his teachings with many different countries and cultures. The other that I saw involved poor hobos under a bridge, in sort of a RENT type style. So, long story short, you can direct GODSPELL any way that you want to, and you could certainly utilize the different age ranges in your group... something like the young teaching the old and the old teaching the young. It's definitely a community-building type of show!
Other shows to consider that are multi-generational include ANNIE, HONK!, THE MUSIC MAN, SEUSSICAL and WILLY WONKA. Since your show will have performers over the age of 18, you're not eligible for any Junior Edition Shows, but perhaps you would consider TYA or Theatre for Young Audiences editions of SEUSSICAL or WILLY WONKA. These shows are somewhere around an hour long, are geared for younger audiences, and have simpler musical arrangements.
This sounds like such an interesting project! Please keep me updated on what you're doing!