Senior Theatre Festivals

Senior theatre has been around forever (think elders of the tribe sharing their stories around a campfire), but senior theatre festivals are a fairly new phenomenon. The first was held in 1993, at the University of Nevada in Las Vegas—seniors from all over the country gathered to perform and workshop together. Hundreds of older performers had been creating a wide variety of theater for decades, and they finally met! It was an immediate success, and festivals have occurred every two years since. In 1995, Eliza attended the festival in Las Vegas and a seed was planted which would blossom two years later into Encore Theatre in Eugene, Oregon.

In 2001, EdTA (Educational Theatre Association) got interested—senior theatre fit right in to their “Theatre for Life” focus. With their expertise, and several dedicated senior theatre advocates, the Senior Theatre League of America was created. This organization now sponsors the festivals, and nurtures the rapidly growing senior theatre movement. According to ArtAge Publications Director Bonnie Vorenberg, author of Senior Theatre Connections, there are now more than 500 senior theatres in the United States alone!

In 2002, Encore, by then a very successful theatre company, was invited to perform at the International Senior Theatre Festival in Columbus, Ohio (see The Ohio Report ). Encore's work was enthusiastically received (standing ovations), and wonderful connections were made with theater companies from all over the world. A group from Toronto, Act II Studio, was so excited they sponsored Encore's first expansion project the following year. (see Expansion)

In 2004, Eliza returned to Las Vegas for the next festival, and co-facilitated a pre-conference Director's day, as well as conducting workshops about TRUTHeatre and Patchwork Players. Again, there was tremendous interest and appreciation for Encore's work with youth. This culminated in the presentation of a beautiful plaque, a national award honoring Encore for Community Service. ( Recognition)