44 | NOVEMBER 21 • 2019

Arts&Life

A

s they approach their
70s and 80s, baby
boomers should take
the stage instead of taking a
seat in a rocking chair. That’
s
the take from lifelong thespian
and playwright Laura Levine
Gumina of Oak Park, who
recently formed the Jewish
Senior Theater Ensemble
(JSTE).
Members of the genera-
tion that refuse to be invisible
will perform “
An Evening of
Tragedy/Comedy” at 7:30 p.m.
Wednesday, Dec. 18, at Jewish
Senior Life’
s Anna and Myer
Prentis Apartments, 15100 W
.
10 Mile Road, Oak Park.
The production includes
a dramatized reading of The
Invisible Man, written in 1897
by H.G. Wells and adapted for
the stage by Len Jenkin, along
with some additional short-
scene sketches Gumina penned
called Slices of Life.
For now, JSTE includes eight
cast members. Though The
Invisible Man has been cast,
the theater troupe welcomes
seniors 67 and older to rehearse
and read and take on one of
the many characters portrayed
in the Slices of Life sketches.
For details, contact Guimina at
improvtalk@gmail.com.

At 69, Gumina knows from
her own experience and from
concrete studies that loneliness
in advanced age is physically
and mentally unhealthy. Getting
involved with group activities,
such as participating in theater,
can stave off heart disease and
dementia, plus it can help shed
the stigma of old age, she said.
“Boomers have never been
the generation to sit quietly on
the sidelines,
” Gumina said.
“Now that we are seniors, we
are still vital people. We have
much wisdom, and when we
work as an interdependent,
supportive theater group, we
improve our performance skills
as we coach each other to bring
our life experiences into our

work on stage.
”
Gumina’
s foray into the
theater began in adolescence
at the Will-O-Way Apprentice
and Repertory Theatre, a long-
gone company that was housed
within an apple storehouse in
Bloomfield Hills from 1942
to 1982. There, Gumina per-
formed in You Can’
t Take It
with You and A Midsummer
Night’
s Dream, among oth-
ers. After studying theater at
Northwestern and Wayne State
universities, she spent decades
directing dozens of youth and
adult productions, mainly at
the Trinity House Theater in
Livonia.
The later-in-life dating scene
inspired her in 2017 to write

How Old Is That Photo?, a one-
act play detailing the struggles,
challenges and successes of
a demographic not typically
portrayed in the online dating
community: seniors. It was
performed at Trinity House in
2017.
Gumina’
s longtime acting
friend Rob Papineau, 68, of
Livonia, plays Griffin, the sci-
entist who takes science a bit
too far in The Invisible Man.
He worked professionally as
an actor doing dinner mystery
theater and educational produc-
tions as well as a puppeteer.
“What I like about this sci-
ence fiction role is that it looks
at an out-there science exper-
iment gone too far,
” Papineau
said. “But, at the same time, it
carries an underlying message
about the impact far-out science
has on a person who loses him-
self, and all of the rest of society
is turned upside down.
”
He said older actors can
bring something to the stage
their younger counterparts
cannot: life experience. This is
harder to deliver for younger
actors.
“You know, we are not dying
off at 55 anymore, right?”
quipped Papineau. “We have so
much life experience to bring to
parts, such as joys, disappoint-
ments … I have loved working
with other actors my age, whose
experience on stage varies from
expert to beginner.
“But we all understand
each other, and the program
is tailored to the ability of the
people. We may not do much
physical acrobatics, but there
is much depth we can reach in
our acting, even when we are
sitting.
”

We have much wisdom and …
we improve our performance
skills as we coach each other to
bring our life experiences into
our work on stage.

— LAURA LEVINE GUMINA

Michele Stevenson, Yehudis
Brea, Phil Berns, Eunice Kiefer,
Joel Fabian and Laura Levine
Gumina, seated

COURTESY LAURA LEVINE GUMINA

Experiences

Jewish Senior Theater Ensemble taps into older adults’
vitality.

STACY GITTLEMAN CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Life’s