Western Oregon Journal

Issue date: 4/1/09 Section: News

"We all age," explained Roshani Shay, co-producer of "Aging is not for sissies," a nationally performed show featuring the self-revealing monologues of real women and their stories about being 60-100 years old in a culture that worships youth.
"I wish I had had a better understanding of the aging process and the lives experienced by older women when I was a young woman. I would have known a bit more about the joys, as well as the trials, of being an older, aging woman," said Shay, who is a member of the original cast and a retired Western political science professor.
Challenging the myth that women over 60 are only on their way to the grave was the driving force behind the creation of "Aging is not for sissies," which started with a series of interviews with women from all walks of life and all birth dates, about the experience of aging. Collectively, the touching and humorous monologues aim to lessen the emphasis placed on being young and staying young.
"The U.S. has long been a 'young' culture, perhaps because we are a young country, perhaps just due to media projections, perhaps because we have a difficult time dealing with death," said Shay, who believes that an upcoming generation of women are going to change the way society sees older women. "With their great numbers, better health and higher education, [the baby boomer generation] will automatically transform the meaning of what it is to age and become an elder."
The faces who will tell the stories of these women are no strangers to Western's campus. The cast will include Addyse Palagyi, retired Western theater professor, Kathy Hill, administrative assistant to the Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Meredith Brodsky, retired Education and Teaching Research professor and Solveig Holmquist, music professor. Writer and producer, Pratibha Eastwood, will also be joining the production.
"Aging is definitely not for sissies. I feel young people find it unfathomable that they'll ever be 50-70 years old, but we're there before we know it," said Hill, who will be portraying the character Blossom in the show. "I believe the performance will give young people a glimpse of what's in store for them."
Holmquist, who will play a woman who is 66 years old and shy, and another woman who is outspoken, gutsy and 73 years old, hopes that the audience will leave with "courage for themselves and empathy for others. There are some amazing gifts that come into people's lives as they age."
The performance, sponsored by Abby's House, will be held on April 6, at 6 p.m. in the Columbia Room of the Werner University Center. Tickets are $10 and can be reserved or purchased from Jeanne Deane in HSS 231, by calling 503.838.8288 or by emailing deanej@wou.edu.
Pictured above: Photo of the orginal cast of "Aging is not for sissies".
Photo taken by Karen Archibald.

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