Ageing, Drama, and Creativity: Translating Research Into Practice

Abstract

Ageing, Drama, and Creativity was a pilot six-session interprofessional training course delivered collaboratively by Keele University and the New Vic Theatre, Newcastle-under-Lyme, as part of our Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) funded Ages and Stages follow-on project. The course brought together a critical gerontological approach with arts-based educational practices and was designed to develop practice capabilities and age awareness among a diverse group of professionals working in arts organizations, the voluntary sector, local government, health and social services, and housing. This article describes how the course was developed and how participants were selected, details its aims and objectives, provides an overview of the sessions and a flavor of some of the exercises that were used, and considers findings from the structured evaluation alongside written reflections from participants.

KEYWORDS:

• aging
• creativity
• drama
• evaluation
• gerontological training
• intergenerational relationships
• professional development
• research in aging

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We wish to acknowledge the contributions and support of the participants on the course, the Ages and Stages Theatre Company, and colleagues at the New Vic Theatre and Keele University.

Additional information

Funding

This article arises from one element of our work on the project titled Ages and Stages: Translating Research into Practice. It was funded from 2012-13 by the U.K.’s Arts and Humanities Research Council (AH/K000764/1).