'Stories' on stage. (Not-For-Profit Report).

Presented by MusicalFare Theatre, a nonprofit professional musical theatre in residence at Daemen College in Amherst, New York, Stories of Life is an original theater production based on the life experiences of residents at Beechwood Continuing Care in Getzville, New York. MusicalFare Theatre Artistic/Executive Director Randall Kramer envisioned Stories as a community outreach project in which older people would not only share their memories, but also see them brought back to life on stage. To accomplish this, Kramer met with Beechwood Continuing Care President/CEO Robert Meiss who eagerly agreed to collaborate on this life-affirming project. "This is not a costly program," says Meiss. "Foundations in this area really liked the concept and recognized it as a wonderful opportunity to fulfill their missions, as well."

To gather original material for this production, actors from MusicalFare met in small groups with 20 eager residents three times a week beginning in the autumn of 2001. The actors, serving as facilitators, introduced a general life topic at each session. "For example," says Kramer, "a facilitator might ask questions like: 'What was school like when you were young?' 'What was dating like then?' 'What was your favorite music?' 'What do you remember about the war?"' At first residents couldn't imagine that they had done anything interesting, but as they heard the memories of others, they soon got into the rhythm and began to share personal episodes from their pasts.

When asked about memories of the war years, one man recalled an incident when he and his fellow soldiers on a B-52 bomber were surprised when they discovered that what they thought were their parachutes turned out to be a pile of blankets. That story led a lady to remember that hosiery was hard to come by during the war because nylon was used to make parachutes and other defense items. Using typical American ingenuity, women drew black lines down the backs of their bare legs to simulate stocking seams.

Meiss maintains that these meetings between actors and residents were not a "clinical" process. "Facilitators were not there to analyze or question anything that was said. The main purpose was to share memories, form friendships, and gain an appreciation for the commonality of experiences," he says. The program was beneficial, however. To assess its effectiveness, Daemen College's Psychology Department has conducted a study to evaluate the program's effect on residents' social, behavioral, and activity levels. Kramer and Meiss agree that residents benefited. "Residents need this mental and memory stimulation," says Kramer. "It keeps them sharp, invigorated, and upbeat."

"Participants represented the entire campus: independent living, assisted living, and our two nursing facilities," says Meiss. "We discovered that the only difference between levels of care was that the nursing home residents needed more assistance in gathering as a group, but the stories were still there," he explains.

Stories of Life has been written, scored, and staged and is ready for its premiere at MusicalFare Theatre this month. Before its public opening, Stories of Life was presented to the residents at Beechwood. Meiss says that the actors noticed residents responding to their stories and how they translated to the stage. One resident would nudge another and say, "Oh, that's your story."

Kramer, who wrote and scored the production, explains that the challenge and opportunity of this undertaking is not just to tell a traditional story, but to create a universal story by using different voices and viewpoints, whether through monologue or interrelated vignettes. Stories celebrates the value and insights of an incredible generation.

Kramer considers the dramatic story of Beechwood resident Barbara Swansfeger a metaphor for the project. An original melody composed by Kramer weaves around and through the tale during the performance. Mrs. Swansfeger relates, "Before my father left the Philippines, where he spent six years as a school superintendent, he cut down some tropical trees, had them milled into planks, and shipped home with plans to turn them into furniture. Two of the spaces in our family's four-car garage where taken up by those ugly planks.

"During the war, when heating oil was in short supply, the house was often very cold and I was very tempted to throw the wood into the furnace," admits Mrs. Swansfeger. In retrospect, she is glad that she didn't, because those shapeless piles of wood were eventually transformed into three bedroom sets, two desks, two single beds, and a game table. She adds, "My brother and I made a pact never to sell any of the furniture to anyone outside the family. We've handed down those ugly 'planks' to our children."

Each of the stories is appealing, but when blended together, they provide the audience with a living history lesson. They also show parallels across generations, in that "the more things change, the more they remain the same." For 90 minutes the encapsulated events gleaned from many lives take the audience from the verge of tears to sidesplitting laughter and pure enjoyment.

The project was so successful that Beechwood continues to hold sessions, with staff now acting as facilitators--although the actors still drop by to visit their new friends. According to Meiss, this joint participation has given residents and staff new respect and appreciation for each other.

Even without the professional staging at the MusicalFare venue, residents in the audience were so impressed by the effect of these simple stories that some of them have joined the Stories of Life groups. "One gentleman in assisted living," says Meiss, "was deaf but very alert. After seeing the excitement generated by the play, he purchased a hearing aid, joined the group, and has been talking about his life and the program ever since." So popular are these sessions that residents rearrange family visits to avoid a time conflict.

"We see this as a wonderful opportunity for MusicalFare to become involved not only throughout our region but beyond," says Kramer. MusicalFare has compiled an instruction manual to show how a facility can replicate this program to gather the stories of its residents.

For further information, contact Robert R. Meiss, CEO/president, Beechwood Continuing Care, at [phone] or fax [phone]. Randall Kramer, artistic/executive director at MusicalFare Theatre, can be reached at [phone] or by fax at [phone]. To comment on this article, please send e-mail to [e-mail].