Abstract
This article discusses “Are We There Yet?”, the culminating performance in a 14-week intergenerational workshop exploring issues of age, aging, and the so-called “generation gap.” Participants in the project revised previously-held stereotypes associated with age and aging, coming to view themselves less as “two generations” (under 25 and over 60) and more as both unique individuals and as a unified whole. Problematically, revised stereotypes of old age may have been replaced with unrealistically positive views of aging for the young people involved. Ultimately, the performance served as a reminder to live life fully and in the present.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This project was made possible by support from the Department of Communication Studies and a grant from the Johnston Center for Undergraduate Excellence at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
The author would like to thank Beverly Whitaker Long for her guidance and support during this project.
Notes
1. The participants in “Are We There Yet?” auditioned and/or volunteered to be a part of the project, based on their own interest in treating issues of aging through performance. Half of the twenty workshop participants were in their teens and early 20s and the other half were over the age of 60. Four of the younger members were college students participating for independent study credit. There were slightly more female participants than males, and the group was predominantly Euro-American. I refer to all of my participants by their real names, as none desired that pseudonyms be used in my written research on the project.
2. Among what Basting and Petitt (2000) describe as a “handful” of U.S.-based intergenerational troupes are Roots&Branches and Elders Share the Arts (both in New York City), StAGE Bridge in Oakland, California, and Generations Together in Pittsburgh.
3. My interpretation of the project will be limited by these texts in significant ways. Because only four students provided written reflections on their experiences, a significant part of my analysis is limited to the insights of these representatives of the younger generation. Taking seriously CitationHarwood's (1998) concerns that intergenerational research has focused too heavily on the perceptions and attitudes of young people, I make every attempt to bring in the voices of older participants whenever those perspectives are available.
4. It should be noted here that although cast members did not share age groups, they did largely share other important social factors such as race, class, education and culture, making it far easier for them to find common experiences and values.