Footlights at the Chelsea - Chelsea Retirement Community in Chelsea, Michigan

Nursing Homes, Oct, 1999 by Laura Bruck

Tuesday nights at Chelsea Retirement Community would never be the same after volunteer Julie Vorus performed a dramatic reading of a short story for a dozen or so independent living residents who had gathered in a small parlor. From those humblest of beginnings in the fall of 1992 arose an innovative program that would become a cherished tradition at the Chelsea, Michigan, continuing care community.

Established in 1907, Chelsea Retirement Community is home to 350 to 360 residents, and provides four levels of care on a 57-acre campus. So positive was the response to that initial story reading that Vorus enlisted some of her friends to help make the readings a regular Tuesday evening event. But it wasn't until she brought in a script from a play that the Chelsea residents were truly bitten by the drama bug. As they sat in a circle and read the roles assigned to them by Vorus, spectators became performers, and the Reader's Theater was born.

It wasn't long before the group of 12 to 15 became gatherings of 20 to 30. A larger space was needed, and the Reader's Theater moved to its present venue known as the Town Hall, a multipurpose room on the second floor of Dancey House, Chelsea's newest independent living apartment building.

Over the years, the script readings began to take on a life of their own. Reader's Theater members raided their closets and bureaus for simple costumes and props, and the group began to not only read scripts but to rehearse and produce them as costumed readings for live - and appreciative - audiences. The group "took the stage" for the first time in 1994, with a costumed reading of Amahl and the Night Visitors. Encouraged by the rave reviews of the 20 to 30 residents in the audience on that first opening night, the group has since performed several other costumed readings, including Caesar and Cleopatra and Anastasia.

A Tradition Evolves

What makes the Reader's Theater especially remarkable is what happened after its founder left Chelsea and moved out of state. To ensure that that Reader's Theater would live on, Vorus entrusted her script collection to 91-year-old Dancey House resident Berniece Frederick, who gradually assumed the role of group leader. Miss Frederick has since become an eloquent spokesperson for the group, in addition to wearing any number of hats - stage director/casting director/narrator/promotions coordinator/actor - and the list goes on. Miss Frederick, who modestly describes herself as the group's "go-fer," does everything from selecting scripts, to assigning roles, to scheduling rehearsals, to posting performance announcements, to - in the present case - interviews with the media. "She's the heart and soul of the group," says Marketing Coordinator Shirley Mitchell. "There's nothing she can't - or won't - do."

Miss Frederick, along with the group's other members, has made some changes since Vorus's departure. The group, which used to run year-round, now has a nine-month production cycle, from late September to June. Along with the change in scheduling came expanded offerings. The group recently began a rotating schedule of performance events: script readings on the first and third Tuesdays of the month, poetry on the second Tuesday, and a free-for-all on the fourth. Storytelling is the most common form of entertainment on free-for-all night but, occasionally, two or three residents put on a skit. Both additions to the schedule are well received, says Miss Frederick, but the script readings remain the main attraction.

The Reader's Theater incurs no expenses at all. The performances are "advertised" on Chelsea's activity calendar, and notices of upcoming productions are posted for all to see.

Everyone is welcome to attend the performances (free of charge). The group can usually count on an audience of 25 or 30, but as many as 40 have attended a single performance. The audiences consist primarily of residents, but visiting family members sometimes attend, as well. Unfortunately, staff members who want to attend the 6:30 p.m. performances would have to return to Chelsea after a day of work, and only a few have been able to do so.

Benefits Abound

Since its inception, the Reader's Theater has consisted of a core group of participants, but additional residents are always encouraged to join in the activity. Miss Frederick, who was once a drama teacher for fifth- through eighth-graders in the Detroit school system, is one of the few Reader's Theater members with any background in the dramatic arts. "For most of us," she says, "getting up and performing in front of an audience is a first - even for those of us in our 80s and 90s."

Because women are in the majority in the Reader's Theater - as they are in the Chelsea community - they are often called upon to read men's roles, and minor rewrites (such as "Mr." to "Mrs.") are agreed upon. Miss Frederick notes, however, that one of the handful of men in the group might best exemplify its benefits. A rather private man, he has, since joining the group, gone on to become involved in other activities.