From the February 9, 2007 issue of The Cape Cod Times
Cape theater project brings kids and elders together
Audio Slideshow: Sound and photos as masks are made
One Book, One Cape, Two Old Women
Although not all details are available, the celebration of aging, interdependence and creativity by Big and small Mask Troupe will include:
March 31: A walk and book discussion group from 2 to 4 p.m. along the Cape Cod Canal in Bourne, ending at the Bourne Senior Center. Three other walks will follow in other Cape towns.
June 16: Panel discussion at the Cape Cinema in Dennis.
Oct. 21: Two-woman play featuring Pat Carroll and Betsy Palmer.
By ROBIN LORD, STAFF WRITER
BREWSTER - The young teenager leaned against her elder and watched her mold the features of a papier-mâché mask.
''I love her,'' crooned Liz Cox, 13, of South Wellfleet, about her new friend, Barbara Stafford, 69, of Eastham.
The pair, who were creating masks at the First Parish Church barn in Brewster on Tuesday and again yesterday, demonstrate exactly what Yarmouthport theater producer Karen Dowcett hopes to achieve in her latest project.
''One Book, One Cape, Two Old Women,'' is about exploding myths about age and exploring the strength and wisdom inside everyone, she said.
Over the next four months, schools, senior centers, and libraries across Cape Cod will discuss an Alaskan Indian legend about aging and survival, ''Two Old Women,'' by Velma Wallis.
Excerpts from "Two Old Women":
"Her friend had seen eighty summers, she, seventy-five. The old ones she had seen left behind when she was young were so close to death that some were blind and could not walk. Now, here she was, still able to walk, to see, to talk, yet ... bah! Younger people these days looked for easier ways out of hard times."
"Many days went by before the women caught more rabbits. It had been some time since they had eaten a full meal. They managed to preserve their energy by boiling spruce boughs to serve as a minty tea."
"The younger men sat quietly and listened to the exchange between their elders. Now, one of them spoke out in a youthfully passionate voice, 'I, too, will protect you if anyone ever tries to do you harm again.' Then all of his peers also vowed to protect the two women, for they had been witness to a miraculous survival and regained a stronger sense of respect for the old ones."
The story revolves around two elderly women cast out by a chief trying to save the rest of his starving tribe.
The women at first believe they will die, but eventually survive and prosper by calling on skills and strengths they had relinquished in old age.
Beginning next month, four walks will be held around the Cape. Participants will go a short distance together to a local library or senior center and then sit down to talk about the book.
On June 16, a panel of experts on art, aging and health will hold a panel discussion at the Cape Cinema in Dennis. ''My goal is that the book will be used as a talking piece to help shift the ground about how we think about age and our elders in our midst,'' Dowcett said.
The project will culminate Oct. 21, when well-known actresses Pat Carroll and Betsy Palmer will take on the roles of the two women in the book, using masks and scenery. A location has not been set.
About a dozen students and seniors have been making the masks over the past couple weeks. Each portrays an emotion chosen by the student; some will be used in the play.
Bank of America is the lead sponsor for the $100,000 project, said Dowcett, who still needs to raise about half the money. Her nonprofit theater group, Big and small Mask Troupe, is behind the event. The group's last production, ''Missa Gaia,'' with the Chatham Chorale, had an environmental theme.
Students at the Lighthouse Charter School in Orleans were the first to join with Dowcett and the project's co-producer, Ruth Shapiro, and its executive director, Karen Billard.
Students in grades 6, 7 and 8 read the book in their language-arts class last fall, said English teacher Amy Woods. Later, 45 seniors from the Orleans Council On Aging and some of the students' grandparents came into school to talk about the book, Woods said.
''We're in an older community, and (the kids) look at the older people in certain way, and the older people look at the 'crazy teenagers,' so this was so helpful,'' she said.
Cape Cod Lighthouse Charter School student Rob Marcantonio, 13, of Centerville said he liked ''Two Old Women'' because it speaks to the value of friendships and the power of two people. It has helped him gain greater appreciation for his grandparents and other elders, he said.
Stafford, who was part of the Lighthouse School discussion group, said she received a copy of ''Two Old Women'' from a friend last summer and loved it. A few months later, she learned about Dowcett's project in a Council On Aging newsletter, and knew she had to get involved.
''I've had a dream about integrating art and intergenerational concepts,'' she said.
Robin Lord can be reached at rlord@capecodonline.com.
(Published: February 9, 2007)