Using improv theater to build resilience and improve livability

"The vehicle of interactive theater is flexible enough to be utilized wherever people have an issue," Primmerman explains. With MSIIT's help, the 12-member Resilience in

Action troupe created vignettes on aging-related issues such as food insecurity, losing the ability to drive safely, and grandparents raising grandchildren.    Although such performances

carry an air of informality, their effectiveness depends on careful planning and strict guidelines. Training was led by Parks and several members of her company — including Bob Mcintire,

another Maine Department of Education veteran (and chair of Age-Friendly Hallowell), who has acted with MSIIT for a dozen years.  "If you do it right," Mcintire says,

"it's not like watching a performance. The idea is to get people to buy into the scenario — to become so engaged that they're willing to work on solving the problem you’ve

presented." To make that happen, the performers must follow certain rules. Among them: * KEEP IT SHORT: Scenarios should run three minutes or less   * KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE: The troupe

does advance research to tailor its performances for maximum impact * USE SIMPLE SETS AND REAL PROPS: Audiences shouldn't be distracted by fancy staging * FORCE THE AUDIENCE TO FEEL:

Speak plainly, and never play for laughs * PRESENT UNRESOLVED CONFLICT: Tension should build to the snapping point, signified by a predetermined "cut line" — as when the

overburdened grandfather bursts out, "_Something’s got to give!"_ At that juncture, the facilitator stops the action and invites the audience to interact with the characters.

Another essential element of the performance is to provide support for audience members who need help for the kind of problem being portrayed, or who are emotionally triggered by what they

see onstage.  "You don't do this without a safety net," says Primmerman. "We had handouts on a table with relevant resources, and we made sure there were people in the

room to talk to if someone wanted to continue the discussion." Post-show feedback is important, too — and not just in the form of cheers or boos. After each presentation, the troupe

passed out questionnaires, using a five-point scale, to gauge whether the show deepened audience members’ understanding of the issues discussed. In December 2019, after Resilience in

Action's first batch of performances, Primmerman presented a preliminary assessment to the Bingham Foundation. "Self-reported knowledge/understanding increased for all groups of

respondents," he wrote. "The overwhelming preponderance of responses were positive, with respondents saying the presentations were positive, powerful, thought-provoking,

informative, engaging, realistic, and definitely recommended to friends and colleagues." Soon afterward, however, the global COVID-19 pandemic brought the troupe’s work to a halt.

Actors Marie Labrecque and Sean Landry perform a scenario about homeless youth. The performers volunteer their time. Many work in a public health or community advocacy related field. Photo

by Somerset Public Health HOPING FOR A REVIVAL More than a year later, there are no plans to resurrect Resilience in Action.  “Our central missions are preventing substance abuse and

promoting physical activity and good nutrition,” explains Matt L’Italien, director of Somerset Public Health. "The program would probably be a better fit for a behavioral health

organization that works with older adults, or an Area Agency on Aging, if they had programmatic money to work on the social determinants of health.” "BY ENGAGING IN CONVERSATION WITH

THE CHARACTERS, AUDIENCES CAN OPEN THEIR MINDS TO ISSUES THAT MIGHT HAVE SEEMED TOO SCARY TO TALK ABOUT WITH EACH OTHER."  — _Patricia Oh, age-friendly consultant_ Still, he adds, 

“We're keeping our eyes open for opportunities to pass the reins to another player, if we can find the right one.” Should that happen, says Primmerman, “I don’t want be the lead person,

 but my wife and I would consider being part of the troupe.” Susan Parks, for her part, doesn't pretend to be certain about the future of MSIIT. "The pandemic has defeated a lot of

worthy groups, unfortunately," says Parks. Yet she remains optimistic. Maine has one of the highest vaccination rates in the United States, and case rates (despite a recent uptick) are

a fraction of their 2020 peaks. Live performance is feasible again. A workplace safety training for a Portland corporate group, originally scheduled for the spring of 2020, has been

tentatively rescheduled for this fall. Once COVID passes, prospects for the kind of theater that Marti Stevens pioneered could be stronger than they’ve been in years. At a time of intense

polarization, efforts to foster empathy and problem-solving on a community level seem particularly relevant. And such theatrical projects — though interrupted by the virus — have never

really gone away. In Europe, a nonprofit called AgeingEqual has been using interactive improv to raise awareness of elder abuse. At U.S. colleges, student organizations have used it to

combat racism, homophobia and sexual assault. At migrant camps in Virginia, a legal-aid group has employed it to help agricultural workers learn their rights. "The approach that we use

is powerful," Parks says. "It gets the audience excited and a little agitated. After we leave, their minds are working. I don’t think there's a better way to get people to

talk about topics that are hard to discuss." _Kenneth Miller is an award-winning writer and editor based in Los Angeles. His work has appeared in Time, Life, Esquire, Rolling Stone,

Discover, Mother Jones, Salon, Reader’s Digest, Parade, Prevention, Los Angeles Times Magazine and many other publications._ _Page published August 2021_