Theatre for Lifelong Learning is now available!
By Rae Mansfield and Linda Lau
This handbook is for instructors interested in teaching higher education-level theatre courses for older adults (OA). It features a step-by-step guide for designing and teaching theatre arts curricula for the OA classroom, including strategies, resources and templates. Numerous studies show that the involvement in theatre has a positive impact on quality of life for OA, enhancing a sense of community, connectedness and creativity. However, both OA students and educators who are interested in theatre (as scholars, audiences and practitioners) face a lack of resources outside the realm of community theatre and volunteerism. While these resources focus primarily on fun, they do not take theatre seriously as a form of study. The models outlined in Theatre for Lifelong Learning have academic rigorousness and challenge, while also encouraging a sense of fun.
