Question: I love to read, and now feel I’d like to write. What do I need to know about writing
Answer: The ability to create as a writer – in fact, through any venue – depends on your perspective of what you see; an emotional connection to the subject that will motivate you; and your imagination. If you’ve ever had “writer’s block,” a period of time where words and thoughts do not seem to flow.....
I was in the audience wondering what to expect from the large group of retirees slowly gathering on stage. I’ve sat through many concerts by professionals and mature choral groups and have heard both triumphant and disappointing performances. This group, more than 100 strong, looked somewhat ragtag. Looks are deceiving, but they are not a sign of musical talent. The group settled in and began tuning their voices. Introductions were made, the conductor entered the hall and the audience hushed.
Tears streamed down my cheeks. I could not stop laughing. I was watching a Jim Carey movie and yes, he was “beating himself up.” It wasn’t the first time I’ve laughed until I cried while watching a funny movie. Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Henny Youngman, George Carlin, Richard Pryor, Robin Williams and many more comedians have given me the gift of laughter.
A Mind Uncluttered: Using Creative Experience to Free Elderly Minds
I learned Liz* had passed away a few days ago at 95 years of age. At the retirement home, I’d come downstairs every morning, during the aft ernoon and occasionally in the evening, and there she would be – sitting in the same comfortable chair, sometimes asleep, sometimes talking with an acquaintance.....
WHAT IS A CREATIVE LIFE - NOV/DEC 16
Question: I know travel can be interesting and fun, but what lasting influences will remain?
Reply: It has been three years since Sandi, my wife, and I traveled to Dubai. Yet the experiences we encountered there – the art, architecture, landscape, culture and, most of all, the memories of the people and their hospitality – remain strong. We use travel for motivation, to gather memories that will further....
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the cast under the age of 85, all acting and moving in unison, you’d probably think you were dreaming. Well, folks, older adults all over the country are involving themselves in theater, acting on stage and performing in musical reviews and musical comedies. They’re doing reader’s theater, storytelling, radio drama, playwriting and technical theater. It is no dream. It is a movement growing and diversifying, offering large numbers of senior adults hours of creative activity. Now creative senior adults can explore traditional theater as well as videography, animation, movement and music, historical drama and documentary. It is an explosion, a creative immersion unforeseen just a few years ago but now entirely possible for those with advanced skills or novices new to creative theater.
The senior adults I know want opportunities to laugh and be individually creative. They’re searching for satisfaction through many venues because they want to advance society and institutions in positive ways. Why don’t you?
We laugh at ourselves, at others, at situations, at the way others interpret everyday life, at politicians with their solutions to problems of living. Situation comedies such as “I Love Lucy” made us laugh on a weekly basis and standup comedians, observing humor in real life, make us laugh daily. Many people need to see and hear a more knockdown, roll-on-the-floor kind of humor before they give up and laugh. The pratfalls and visual comedy of Sid Caesar and Milton Berle made us laugh hysterically.
Laughter is “feel good” medicine. Buoyancy returns to our step, our mood changes and happiness returns. Laughter often displaces a dark mood and can turn a non-productive period into a better day for older adults who often fall into depression.
Some words I remember from an old song sung by Frank Sinatra describe my philosophy of life: “Laugh till you cry, live till you die.”
If you were sitting in an audience watching a performance with not one member of
Donald Hoffman is the former director of the Donovan Scholars/ Council on Aging at the University of Kentucky and author of Arts for Older Adults: An Enhancement of Life.