Program Helps Them Put On Show
Susan Rabinowicz has been running the Young Israel of Forest Hills Senior League for 23 years, steering her senior center through the ups and downs of funding crises and managed a major renovation that increased accessibility to its services.
She has been there for her constituents as they negotiated the daily challenges of living on a fixed income in a changing neighborhood. But Rabinowicz is embracing a new challenge. She is partnering with “Everybody Act!” to offer “Our Play’s the Thing” to Queens’s older adults, age 60 and up, who want to create an original play through storytelling, improvisation and theater games.
Rabinowicz has a close relationship of three years’ standing with the Master’s program in Applied Theatre at the City University of New York- School of Professional Studies. So when CUNY graduates Kevin Ray, founder of Everybody Act!, and Sherry Teitelbaum approached Susan about piloting their theater project at the Senior League.
Rabinowicz didn’t hesitate a minute and agreed to host the program. As She co-planned the project with Ray and Teitelbaum, she stated her main goal: “Some of the seniors that come to this center are isolated, without someone to talk to at home. It’s Everybody Act! Theater in Education & Communities important to give them a voice. And that’s what I hope this project will do.”
Up to 15 older adults may regis- ter for the free playbuilding program, which runs hrough August 10 at the Young Israel of Forest Hills Senior League, located at 68-07 Burns St. in Forest Hills. Workshops take place from 12:45 to 2:45 p.m., Mondays through Thursdays, and on Fridays from noon to 1:30 p.m.
On Thursday, Aug. 9 at 1 p.m., the group will perform the short play they created in the senior league’s multi-purpose common room. The performance is open to the public and free of charge. No reservations are necessary.
To see a short video of prospective participants talking about the project, visit https://www.indiegogo.com/ourplaysthething?a=66 9276 .
For more information, call Rabinowicz at 1-718-520-2305 or send an e-mail to foresthillsseniorctr @nyc.rr.com.
