ENTERTAINMENT

“Don’t isolate yourself, get out and mingle”

It matters not, whether you’re on a fixed income, trying to save for retirement, or just looking for new ways to be smart about how you spend your money, consider the many ways you can trim your budget and increase your fun. We have some of the best ideas around.

 

Entertainment Programs

1. Theatre
2. Dancing
3. Traveling (short and long trips)
4. Movies
5. Stage Plays
6. TV Shows
7. Music
8. Seniors and Food
9. Parties and Other Social Gatherings

1) Theatre Programs 

 

What is theatre and why is it important?

 

Theatre helps you express yourself, helps you tell the stories of your life and the lives of others. It helps you create meaning through personal narratives. Theatre influences the way we think and feel about our own lives, forcing us to examine ourselves, our values, our behavior.

 

Theatre brings together communities to listen to opposing points of view, and to study social problems and attempt to find solutions. Theatre also promotes education and literacy.

 

 

Advantages and disadvantages of theatre

 

Disadvantages:

 

Theatre has many disadvantages for both the artists’ and the audiences’’ imaginations. The obvious downside is that the theatre performance is not permanent; it is gone as it is delivered. We can’t fix any mistakes like we can in film. 

 

Advantages:

 

• Self-confidence – By taking risks in class and performing for an audience teaches students to trust their ideas.
• Cooperation and Collaboration – Theatre combines the creative ideas and abilities from its artists.
• Invokes Problem Solving…
• Fun…
• Trust…
• Memory…
• Social Awareness…

 

 

Why is Theatre Important?

 

The theatre helps us express ourselves through telling not just our life story, but, also, the lives of others. We can create meaning through personal narratives. The theatre can influence the way we think and the way we feel about our lives by forcing us to examine ourselves, our values, and our behavior.

 

 

2) Acting Programs

 

Does Age Matter?

 

Many want-a-be actors want to know how old is too old to start an acting career? This question comes up a lot because in most jobs, there’s always a line which you cannot cross at a certain age.

 

There is no Age Limit for Actors!

 

• The “Senior Theatre” is a form of drama designed for older adults, where seniors are actively involved.
• In 2000, there were 85 companies in North America, today there are over 1000 groups and many more around the world.
• Many performers want to be on stage when they reach an older age. Some have never acted before, some have performed when they were young, while others have acted all their lives and know the joy of performing. A big plus for seniors is that they have the time to explore the theatre to find their best fit.

 

Here are just two of the skills, traits, and qualities of personalities that are usually well developed in individuals who complete four years of undergraduate study.

 

Oral Communication Skills

 

Students find that the theatre helps them develop the confidence to speak clearly, lucidly, and thoughtfully.

 

The more you act on stage, the more comfortable you’ll be speaking in front of a large audience, and some of your acting will give you additional experience talking to groups. Acting will teach you that clear, precise, and well-organized oral communications are the best.

 

 

You Will Gain Creative Problem-Solving Abilities

 

All students are expected to exhibit creativity in such areas as acting, design, playwriting, or directing, and many companies do recruit creative thinkers. 

 

For any production to succeed; all participants need to work together and know that there is no room for “Me” versus “They” behavior; the “Star” diva is a thing of the past. Your colleagues will let you know when you have violated the team spirit of the production.

 

It’s important that each induvial supports the others involved in the production. This will show the outside world that you know how to be a “Team Player”.

 

3) Dancing Programs

Dancing to music can connect your body to exciting and healing rhythms. While singing popular songs (even badly) in front of other people can help you enjoy the humor in your efforts and avoid taking yourself too seriously. And performing in other ways – such as acting in a skit or trying a stand-up comedy routine – can remind you of how much fun it is to tell stories in new or creative ways.  

 

Some Great Things to Try

• Line, ballroom, salsa, or swing dancing
• All ages Karaoke
• Acting in a play
• Telling Jokes to an audience
• Reading books or reciting poetry to a group
• Writing and acting out skits
• Participating in a comedic improv
• Starting a seniors’ dance troupe

 

“Click here for Professional Help and support”

 

 

4) Travel (See the BRAT club)

 

“Click here for Professional Help and support”

 

5) Movies

 Movies, Stage Plays and TV Shows have changed a lot over the years which can make satisfying older adults more difficult. With unlimited content available through the many popular streaming platforms, it can be hard to narrow down options or find entertainment that will appeal to the older generation. But movies and shows can help keep them entertained and allow for some down time to relax. To help provide these experiences here is a list of some of the best of the past.

 

Great Movies for Seniors:

• All the President’s Men (1976) …
• The Help (2011) …
• Singing in the Rain (1952) …
• Lincoln (2012) …
• Grumpy Old Men (1993) …
• The Bucket List (2007) …
• Driving Miss Daisy (1989) …
• The Wizard of Oz (1939)

 

“Click here for Professional Help and support”

 

6) Great Stage Plays:

1. Hamlet by William Shakespeare. …
2. Long Day’s Journey into Night by Eugene O’Neill. …
3. Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? …
4. Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller. …
5. Oedipus Rex by Sophocles. …
6. Angels in America by Tony Kushner. …
7. The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams. …
8. Look Back in Anger by John Osborne.

 

 

“Click here for Professional Help and support”

 

5) Great TV Shows

• Jeopardy – To satisfy the game show need when it arises
• Great British Baking Show
• I Love Lucy
• Downton Abbey

 

“Click here for Professional Help and support”

 

7) Music Programs

Look through your loved one’s music collections for their favorite songs and entertainers. Music and memory are inextricably linked – just as our favorite films Have iconic soundtracks, so do we have a soundtrack to the recollection of our own lives.

Here are some old favorites:

• When the Saints Go Marching In
• Button Up Your Overcoat
• Coal Miner’s Daughter
• I’ve Got Rhythm
• Kansas City
• Country Roads

A few of the old crooners

• Frank Sinatra – New York, New York, Strangers in the Night, Come Fly with Me, My Way, Fly me to the Moon
• Dean martin – That’s Amore, Everybody Loves Somebody, Return to Me, Volare, Sway
• Sammy Davis, Jr. – The Candy Man, I’ve Gotta Be Me, What Kind of Fool Am I, Birth of The Blues

 

A Few Top Jazz Artists

• Billie Holiday
• Charlie Parker
• Duke Ellington and John Coltrane
• Ella Fitzgerald
• Louis Armstrong
• Miles Davis

 

A Few Older Songs Everyone Might Enjoy

• Blue Skies
• Come Together
• Eight Days a Week
• Love Me Do
• Blue Suede Shoes
• Close to You
• I’ve Got the World on a String
• L-O-V-E

 

8) Parties and other Social Gatherings Programs

Socializing can be a powerful way to inject more fun into someone’s life. That’s particularly true if you get to reminisce about old times or talk about other things that interest you. In fact, a good conversation may elevate your mood and outlook more than anything else on this list, especially if you keep things jovial.

So, don’t shy away from attending other people’s parties or joining clubs. Also, consider planning some of your own events. You can plan parties around all kinds of themes such as:

• Casino night
• Murder mystery
• Trivia night
• Mexican fiesta
• Ugly sweater night
• The 1920s, 50s, 60s, etc.
• Masquerade ball
• Arabian nights
• Mardi Gras
• Pirates
• Hawaiian luau
• Jungle bash
• The Oscars
• Formal tea
• Secret Santa

 

“Click here for Professional Help and support”

 

With Respect

THE SOSOPWORLD TEAM