In Our Twenties: Exploring Memory, Mobility, and Independence through Verbatim Theatre

Ever since my summer internship, I've been interested in verbatim theatre and how to create plays based on real-life interviews. For this independent project, I have interviewed elderly community members and will make a play... [ view full abstract ]

Ever since my summer internship, I've been interested in verbatim theatre and how to create plays based on real-life interviews. For this independent project, I have interviewed elderly community members and will make a play from their life stories. The piece will focus on participant's lives when they were in their twenties, as well as the challenges, lessons, and reflections of later life. This project will provide the research and content for my thesis next year, where I plan to develop and create the script by working with student actors in a devised, collaborative setting. In this talk I will discuss initial inspiration, the process of interviewing and creative research, and future goals for the project. I am interested in both verbal life stories but also those told through movement and dance, and hope to explore how issues such as dementia, using a walker, etc. are physically realized. The piece will be read and performed for the elderly participants next semester. Over the year my interests in playwriting, theatre education, and community-based arts work have merged, I hope I can leave Middlebury having made a meaningful piece of theatre for the community.