{"id":16357,"date":"2019-12-12T09:09:45","date_gmt":"2019-12-12T09:09:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/?p=16357"},"modified":"2023-06-08T18:27:19","modified_gmt":"2023-06-08T18:27:19","slug":"memory-theater","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/news\/2019\/12\/12\/memory-theater","title":{"rendered":"Students share transitions with elders"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"
From left, student Brandon Vuong, Kevin Johnson, student Sofonias Shiferaw and Sue Simpson, Johnson’s sister-in-law, at the Edmonds Center for the Arts. Marc Studer photo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

By Douglas Esser
\nFirst-year college students and older adults who are starting to experience memory loss have something in common. Both are in a transition phase of their lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Students from the University of Washington Bothell and people who are receiving care for memory loss shared their different transition experiences in a program at the Edmonds Center for the Arts<\/a> called Making Art Together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Students
Students on stage. Marc Studer<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

It was an opportunity for students to find community with people they wouldn\u2019t normally meet, said Deborah Hathaway, a lecturer in the School of Interdisciplinary Arts & Sciences<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re really old, and the students are really young, but we both feel the same when we\u2019re up on stage,\u201d one woman at the center said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The program was a series of generation-bridging workshops that culminated in a performance Dec. 2 on the center\u2019s stage before an audience of the elders\u2019 friends and family members.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Discovering life connections<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Deborah
Deborah Hathaway gives students some last-minute direction. Marc Studer<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Hathaway teaches a course called Words, Voice, Movement: Reimagining Performance. Part of the interdisciplinary Discovery Core for first quarter, first-year students, the class mixes creative writing and performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe way I teach theater is more about finding the skills and opportunities for growth rather than on how to become an actor,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s more about how this is going to help you in your life, in your career.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Deborah
Deborah Hathaway. Marc Studer<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\nHathaway has been teaching the course since 2014. This autumn was the first time she has partnered students with elders. In the workshops, the generations listened to each other and found an unexpected commonality, Hathaway said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat\u2019s an amazing moment of growth outside of the confines of a class \u2014 just to be able to connect with someone in a meaningful way and see beyond stereotypes what it means to be old or have memory loss,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Making it happen<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Edmonds
Edmonds Center for the Arts. Marc Studer<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The idea for some kind of collaboration between UW Bothell and the arts center came from Ann McMahon, who works in the UW Bothell\u2019s Office of Research and also serves on the center\u2019s board of directors. Then, Kara Adams, UW Bothell\u2019s director of community engagement, introduced Hathaway to Gillian Jones, the center\u2019s director of programming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hathaway and Jones then partnered with Silver Kite Community Arts, a Seattle company that facilitates intergenerational experiences, to design workshops under the theme \u201cnew beginnings.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 30 students and 15 elders and caregivers were organized in small groups of about four students and two elders each for simple exercises. In one, the elders talked about collages they made from magazine pictures and what the images meant. In another, they passed around a small car and told a progressive story. The first person says something like, \u201cToday, this little car went to Idaho\u201d and hands it to the next person who adds to the car\u2019s story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere was a lot of laughter and good conversation happening,\u201d said Hathaway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Added Jen Kulik, Silver Kite\u2019s chief executive, it was a \u201cmagical experience.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Having an impact<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Seniors
Seniors on stage. Marc Studer<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

At the final workshop, the elders and caregivers gave a reading about the \u201cintimidating but exhilarating\u201d experience, shared a poem and sang the Beatles song \u201cHere Comes the Sun.\u201d For their part, the students gathered in eight groups to put on 3-minute skits about topics such as the awkwardness of making new friends in college, fear of failure, managing expectations and keeping in touch with family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jones, the center\u2019s programming director, said Making Art Together exceeded her expectations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Gillian
Gillian Jones. Marc Studer<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTo have the seniors living with memory loss and caregivers in the program have an opportunity to interact with young people in the way they have \u2014 and to really see there are some similarities in what each of the groups is going through, in terms of having a new stage of life \u2014 that has been really rewarding,\u201d Jones said. \u201cWe\u2019ve gotten great feedback from the participants about the impact.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the participants in the program, Kevin Johnson, who was guided by sister-in-law Sue Simpson, said that he hasn\u2019t done anything like it before but would do it again, calling it a \u201cgreat\u201d experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Changing perspectives<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

UW Bothell students also said the workshops expanded their perspective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe elders told me to be more outgoing and take more risks and do more things,\u201d said Brandon Vuong, who said he tends to be introverted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sofonias Shiferaw said the course gave him hope for the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m going to enjoy my time when I\u2019m old,\u201d said Shiferaw. \u201cIt opened my eyes to try new things. This whole class in general was out of my comfort zone.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Hathaway, the best part may have been seeing her students on the center\u2019s stage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was cool to see both parties challenged and sharing something meaningful.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

First-year students in a Discovery Core class and older adults who are starting to experience memory loss shared their different transition experiences in a program at the Edmonds Center for the Arts.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_is_archived":false,"_archived_contact_email":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[202,218,204],"tags":[318],"school":[419],"class_list":["post-16357","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-campus-news","category-community-engagement","category-students","tag-discovery-core","school-school-of-ias"],"acf":{"related_links":{"toggle_visibility":false,"link_1":null,"link_2":null,"link_3":null,"link_4":null,"link_5":null},"highlight_box":{"toggle_visibility":false,"title":"","content":"","button":null,"button_style":"angled-purple-button","button_screen_reader_text":""},"contact_type_1":{"toggle_visibility":true,"contact_title":"","email":"","phone":"","box":"","address_line_1":"","address_line_2":"","location":""},"contact_type_2":{"toggle_visibility":false,"contact_title":"","email":"","phone":"","box":"","address_line_1":"","address_line_2":"","location":""},"social_media":{"toggle_visibility":false,"facebook_url":"","instagram_url":"","linkedin_url":"","twitter_url":"","youtube_url":""},"blog_archive_sidebar_visibility":false},"yoast_head":"\nStudents share transitions with elders - 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