Theater Class At LIFE's Senior Center Helps Seniors Boost Creativity

A new theater class put on by LIFE Senior Services is giving older adults an outlet to express themselves.

The Performance Theater class meets every Tuesday from 11 a.m.-12 p.m. at Roma Berry Senior Campus. 

The senior center is a community hub for adults 50 and older. It costs $100 a year and gives members access to the facility and all its activities. Julie Tattershall leads the theater class and has four decades of experience teaching improvisation.

"Improv makes you think fast," she said. "Theater connects people on an emotional level with empathy and community and is one of the best art forms to get to know each other."

Through storytelling and humor, the students are improving their memory and tapping into their creativity.

Charla Martin said, "I like to be different people, you know, and wear different hats."

She likens it to her 30 years as a kindergarten teacher. "You know kindergarten you have to act a lot and after I retired, I still wanted to act," Martin added.

She joined the class around the same time as Chris Robinson.

"We can bounce things off of each other, it is a lot of fun," said Robinson.

During a point in their lives that can feel isolating, both ladies found community.

"It helps me to not be so shy," Robinson continued saying, "Which is really funny because people go, you were shy?"

For Martin, it also gave her something to do.

"It is so good to come to a place where you can just be who you want to be and meet people and just have fun," she said. "It is really important as you grow older."

It is the one-hour-a-week Tattershall looks forward to most. "What I love about the seniors is they are so appreciative of what you do, and they come in wanting to be here, wanting to have a blast and I think I have more fun than them," she said.

To learn more about the Performance Theater class and all of Roma Berry's activities visit

LIFE Senior Services website.