About
Seniors' Acting Lab
ORIGINAL. RELEVANT. ACCESSIBLE.
We are a recognized group of all senior storytellers whose theatrical productions reflect, educate and challenge the status quo on seniors’ issues.
ABOUT US
We at Seniors Acting Lab wish to create original theatre that reflect’s what’s happening in our seniors community, These stories present issues that seniors and their caregivers should be talking about. We invite you into this unique world where the challenges are real and take their toll. While you are being entertained, we hope you leave the theatre with a greater insight and understanding of the issues confronting today’s seniors.
WHAT WE DO
We create original works written by and for the senior community. Our goals is to have 80% of the actors and backstage crew in our productions seniors.
Audience feedback and research direct our work. After the final performance of “ More than a Number,” which took a humorous look at Ageism, our talk back session gave us a list of issues our senior audiences believed should be examined. We have researched these issues and are currently in the process of producing our 4th play that focuses on them.
Seniors are underrepresented within the Calgary theatrical community. It is our desire to change that fact.
WHY WE DO WHAT WE DO
2011 was the year the first baby boomers turned 65. In 2014 170,000 Calgarians were 65 years of age or older, which comprised 10% of the population. These numbers are expected to rise significantly in the future.*
Senior stereotypes need to change. Today’s Senior’s have better health care, are more educated and are living longer. Their lives need to be filled with purpose, competence and supportive relationships. It is our desire to engage seniors in meaningful dialogue while helping to dispel myths long held about our capabilities.
Our Team
Louise Day - Producer & Playwright
Actor, playwright and producer born in Edmonton, Alberta in 1950. Day has cowritten 2 plays and written 3 independently, all of which she has self-produced locally. These include: See Me(Engineered Air Theatre,); More than a Number (Tour of Calgary Library, Senior Homes and online); Signage(Film); A Pernicious Arrangement(Pumphouse Theatre) and her latest work, Bill C773(Scheduled to be produced at Vertigo Studio, June 2023)
Day’s plays exhibit a strong social conscience focusing on the issues current for todays seniors. The plays are designed to spark badly needed conversation about what’s happening in the seniors world. See Me begs the audience to acknowledge the invisibility that accompanies aging. More than a Number takes a humorous look at ageism. Both plays have underlying messages that senior stereotyping has to change.
Formerly Acting Coordinator for FLC Acting Club, Louise is now President of the Seniors Acting Lab, a theatrical group dedicated to creating original works written by and for the senior community. Their goal is have the actors and backstage crew 80% seniors and to pay them for their valuable skills.
She lives in Calgary with her partner Gary Bodeux to allow close proximity to her three awesome grand children.
Tom Carver - Business Advisor
After retiring Carver has been involved in many aspects, both artistic and commercial, of live theatre in Calgary. Especially rewarding experiences have been his roles on stage in live performances with several senior’s theatre groups including Seniors Acting Lab. Carver has studied Acting Techniques, Playwriting, Voice, Improv and more, including his favourite, Shakespeare. After 40 years in the private sector theatre arts provide Carver the opportunity for personal expression as well as becoming a member of Calgary’s diverse artistic community. With a business background Carver also assists with the commercial Ins & Outs of a theatre production. When not studying, rehearsing, performing or adding columns of numbers Carver enjoys history, travelling, cycling and Zen moments alpine skiing
Erin Noble - Assistant Producer
Erin is a born and raised Calgarian who has been involved with community theatre from a very young age. As soon as she was old enough, she began with front of house volunteering and carried on to become involved in various capacities as an actor and assistant stage manager until moving to Sherbrooke, Quebec to pursue her Bachelor of Arts in theatre. There she quickly became a house technician at Centennial Theatre, spending all hours of the day and night working on touring dance shows, university theatre productions, and concerts. While in school, Erin discovered a passion for directing which she has been pursuing ever since.
Currently, Erin is an active instructor with the FLC Seniors' Acting Club and has been teaching with them, as well as directing their spring productions, since 2018. She has been producing for various community theatre companies in Calgary since 2017 and is excited to be continuing her work with Seniors' Acting Lab in this capacity. Select credits include Blood Wedding (Bride), The Recruiting Officer (Rose), For Whom the Southern Belle Tolls (director), Woman in Black (co-producer), and Lady in Waiting (director).
De Reid - Stage Manager
It is said that we learn best by doing. Reid took that to heart in grade four after her first theatre experience. She stayed involved in theatre throughout her school years, as she earned her BFA-Drama/BEd degrees and then taught Drama, Acting, and Technical Theatre for over 15 years. Continuing to nurture her craft, she moved on to become the owner and instructor of a theatre in Okotoks. Reid sees how the written word shapes and changes our perceptions as performance comes alive on the stage. In her role as a teacher, an actor, a director and a theatre technician, her passion for authentic process is a journey of the heart, that has inspired her evolution of creativity for over 40 years. Reid enjoys all elements of theatre as an opportunity to grow and learn about ourselves, and feels honored to work with Seniors’ Acting Lab.
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