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Article
“The Play’s the Thing”: Theatre as a Scholarly Meeting Ground in Age Studies
International Journal of Ageing and Later Life
  • Valerie Barnes Lipscomb, University of South Florida
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
1-1-2012
Abstract

Addressing three current critical turns in gerontology, this article proposes the theatre as a fertile ground for various theoretical angles in age studies - including the performative on and off stage, the narrative in the script and the critical questioning of age and ageism in the multiple realities of performance. Beginning from a shared site in the theatre, researchers may be able to establish greater common ground, resulting not only in multi-disciplinary efforts but also in truly interdisciplinary work. With a foundation in performance studies, this article suggests promising directions for age studies and theatre scholarship by examining three aspects of theatrical production: a play script, Jan de Hartog’s popular The Fourposter (1951); a collaborative development of a script and production, Jeanette Mathewes Stevens’ 2010 senior drama ElderSpeak; and a performance, a 2011 song-and-dance revue staged by an established senior theatre troupe, the Sarasota Senior Theater

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
https://doi.org/10.3384/ijal.1652-8670.1272a6
Rights Information
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0
Citation / Publisher Attribution

International Journal of Ageing and Later Life, v. 7, issue 2, p. 117-141

Citation Information
Valerie Barnes Lipscomb. "“The Play’s the Thing”: Theatre as a Scholarly Meeting Ground in Age Studies" International Journal of Ageing and Later Life Vol. 7 Iss. 2 (2012) p. 117 - 141
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/valerie-lipscomb/1/