Aging Is Not for Sissies
– A Stage Production
Revisited With Men & Music
This touching and funny performance, based on intimate cross-cultural stories of women and men from around the world aged 60 to 100, challenges the myth that older adults are "over the hill with one foot in the grave." In self-revealing monologues, the characters bare all, contradicting the view that older adults are invisible, untouchable, and boring. Through their stories and songs, we meet real men and women with a sense of humor and a deep passion for life.
Meet the Cast & Crew
Joyce Maltby, director & actor,
Joyce Maltby's lifetime career in theatre has taken her throughout the US as an actor, director & teacher. In Hawaii, she's known for her work at MVT, DHT, ACT, UH Manoa & TAG. Professor Emeritus at HPU, Joyce founded their theatre program in 1993 & headed the department until 2015; she is the 1998 HSTC Pierre Bowman Lifetime Achievement Award recipient & has won 21 Po'okela Awards for acting & directing. She's a member of SAG-AFTRA & Actor's Equity.
Ernest Harada, actor,
starred in "Volunteers," a film with Tom Hanks & John Candy. His first film was "Rosemary's Baby," and he's guest-starred in many TV series. He was featured in the original Broadway cast of Hal Prince & Stephen Sondheim's musical "Pacific Overtures" & appeared in several productions at the Mark Taper Forum in LA, Milwaukee Rep & La Jolla Playhouse. A local bay, he trained at LAMDA (London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts)
Blossom Lam Hoffman, actor,
is a graduate of the New England Conservatory of Music, Boston, a SAG-AFTRA and NATS member. She teaches singing & ELS classes at MCSA. Theatre credits: The King & I (HOT); Eating Chicken Feet, King Kalakaua & The Poker Game, Joy Luck Club, Tea, and Folks You Meet at Longs (KKD); Talking With, Ten Million Awakenings (TAG); Joy Luck Club (DHT); Forbidden City, A Portrait of An Empress (Singapore Rep Theatre} Shanghai Lil's (N¥C-Pan Asian Rep Theatre) and numerous other theatre and Film/TV credits.
Meet the Cast & Crew
Jo Pruden, an actor,
has been active in theatre in Hawaii for more than 50 years. She has been honored with 17 Po'okela awards for acting excellence, as well as the Hawaii State Theatre Council's 2007 Pierre Bowman Lifetime Achievement Award; Jo is a member of SAG-AFTRA, I appeared in original Hawaii 5-0, Magnum P1L, Island Son, Tour of Duty, & the film Escape from Atlantis. She was mast recently seen in TAG's production of "The Road to Mecca," directed by Joyce Maltby.
Allan Okubo, actor,
began his acting career with the original Hawaii 5-0 & has worked with most of the TV series filmed in Hawaii, including Magnum PI & Jake and the Fatman; he appeared in current Hawaii 5-0. as Makoto opposite Steve McGarrett. Feature Film credits: You May Not Kiss the Bride; Obake Neko; Parts of the Same Circle; and Popolo. He has worked in 'most of the theatres in Hawaii and also LA at the Japan American Theatre.
Don Conover, pianist,
'has conducted choral groups & performed with Broadway actor/singer Ernest Harada throughout Europe & the USA. In Hawai'i, he taught Music Theory at UH/M, was Musical Director & Conductor of the Honolulu Chorale, and served for 35 years as Minister of Music at Church of the Crossroads. He has directed shows in Honolulu and Western New York and performed with Carol Channing, Loretta Ables Sayre, Buz Tennent, Shari Lynn & three of Broadway's "Phantoms of the Opera." He is a house organist at the Hawai'i Theatre & a Life Member of the American Choral Director's Association
Pratibha Eastwood, Ph.D., producer,
is a psychologist in private practice, currently preoccupied with the impact of aging. She wrote "Nine Windows to Wholeness" and is currently writing her memoirs in her "free" time when not giving therapy sessions. She loves taking life to the limit or beyond at any age.
ORIGINAL "AGING IS NOT FOR SISSIES"
The original performance of "Aging Is Not for Sissies" was a humorous and poignant exploration of the lives of aging single women. The play was based on actual interviews of women ranging from their early 60's to their late 90's and was performed by an ensemble of actresses with an affinity for the subject.
"Aging Is Not for Sissies" dealt with the hopes and fears of these aging women and covered the nuances of death and dying, sex, mature children, life in an elder care home, and loss of friends and family. The inspiration for Dr. Eastwood to write this play came from the desire to counteract the many cultural myths about aging single women. "Aging Is Not for Sissies" has been performed throughout the United States and in San Miguel Allende to rave reviews.
"It's uplifting and hits the nail on the head! This should be shown to every retirement home." Marion Vaught 90 years old
The goal of the play was to transform the way we think about and view aging. Everyone grows old and has to deal with the fact that aging changes us physically. It impacts who we are, what we do, and how we interact with ourselves, our family, our friends, and society at large. If we are fortunate enough to grow old, we want to share the thoughts and feelings of those who are there now. "Aging Is Not for Sissies" showed us how to accept aging and gain strength and courage from this lively, feisty, and spiritually evolved group of women.
If you are interested in performing the play, click here to license a script. Please enjoy a short video of the play below.
We could certainly slow the aging process down if it had to work its way through Congress.
- Will Rogers –