Acting their age: In this troupe, actors have to be AARP-qualified By MICHAEL SMITH World Scene Writer 2/24/2005 Cyndi Vetter hasn't asked the ages of the performers who make up the Round the Bend Players -- the new seniors theater troupe formed at Heller Theater -- because she figures she can trust that they qualify based on face value "I'm taking it on wrinkles," she said with a laugh. "The policy is that you've got to be AARP-qualified to be in this group, so although I'm a baby, at 51, they've let me in."

Jennifer Pruett (left), Lee Studerus, Carole Joyce, Donovan Hamilton and Charles Whitson are members of the Round the Bend Players. The new troupe will present “After-Play” at the Heller Theater. A. CUERVO / Tulsa World

The group presents its first production this week with "After-Play," a broad-based comedy written by actress Anne Meara, but members already have plans to take their talents to the people.

Now that Rita Boyle and Sherry Zyskowski have seen their dream of a theater program for Tulsa's mature actors become a reality, with encouragement from Heller artistic director Julie Tattershall, they hope to take their talents as well as those of other senior entertainers into nursing homes and assisted-living facilities.

"I think it's really needed. There's a line in the show about laughter being the best medicine, and I believe that," said Vetter, a house manager for the Tulsa Performing Arts Center. "It's about taking the entertainment to them because it can be so difficult for them to go out."

The cast of this show, which will be presented in the form of a staged reading, with perform ers referring to scripts, includes Curt Bradshaw, Donovan Hamilton, Carole Joyce, Karyn Lee Maio, Jennifer Pruett, Lee Studerus and Charles Whitson.

"After-Play" introduces three couples, following a night at the theater, renewing friendships over dinner at a fancy restaurant. They tell stories and they laugh a lot. It might seem like pretty standard fare, but there's a twist, Vetter said.

"It's a bit of a bizarre play, in which Donovan plays this waiter who's really an angel, and there's a big car wreck and the people who come into the restaurant are all dead -- but they don't know it. I think it's important for the audience to know that, because that's not directly addressed in the play."

More information about Round the Bend Players and their upcoming projects is available by calling Heller Theater at 746-5065 and online at www.hellertheatre.com.

Michael Smith 581-8334
michael.smith@tulsaworld.com