Acting for seniors on Long Island: How older actors are taking center stage

Cary Friedman, 61, of East Northport, recently stood in the Harborfields High School auditorium in Greenlawn, holding a water bottle for one of his daughters and clutching a pair of sunglasses. Nearby, actors put on microphones and prepared for an upcoming show.

But Friedman wasn’t there to see his daughter perform.

“He’s the star,” said Amy Schombs, 52, a fellow performer also from East Northport.

Friedman was playing the lead in “Pippin” — unusual, since the character is usually performed by an actor in his 20s. But in this performance, put on by the Community Playhouse of Northport last month, all the principal roles were required to be filled by people 45 and over, in an effort to give older actors a chance to portray characters they ordinarily wouldn’t.

“There’s an abundance of amazingly talented people heading toward their senior years, and the passion is still there,” said the playhouse’s executive director, Suzie Lustig, who at 56 also performed in the show, which was put on by the playhouse’s Bucket List Productions, founded last summer. “We reached an age that we can find time to explore our creative passions.”

Long Island is full of older actors regularly performing in community theater — for some, they are simply continuing with a long-held passion, while others come to acting after raising a family or retiring. There are challenges — remembering lines, for example — but many say the camaraderie and opportunity to try something new at a later stage in life far outweigh any downside.

“I’m able to experience something I always wanted to do,” said Friedman. “And to do it at this stage of my life with wonderful people who became close friends.”

PATHS TO THE STAGE

Some actors start after a long intermission, while others barely take a pause.

Mark A. Swinson, 55, a Suffolk County probation officer from Bay Shore, said he has performed in about 25 plays over the past 20 years. He has played Martinus Zoeloe in Athol Fugard’s “Playland” and recently played Walter “Pops” Washington, a retired New York City police officer, in “Between Riverside and Crazy” at Manes Studio Theatre of Long Island in Lindenhurst.

“I do it for fun,” he said.

Paul Graf, 71, of St. James, meanwhile, rediscovered acting after retiring from his job as principal of Smithtown Elementary School.

“In retirement, I found The Minstrel Players in Northport,” he said. “The Minstrels have been most welcoming.”

For the past eight years, Graf has played Ebenezer Scrooge in The Minstrels’ annual production of “A Christmas Carol.” Asked what drew him to acting, he had a Shakespearean answer: “Why theater?” he said. “Because all the world’s a stage.”

Friedman and his wife, Laurie, who also performed in the Community Playhouse production of “Pippin,” were inspired by their daughters, who acted in high school — in fact, their older daughter has performed in “Pippin” as well.

“I wanted to start doing this because of my daughters,” Cary Friedman said. “Sitting in the audience and seeing productions was how I started wanting to do this.”

LOVE NOT AMBITION

Anthony DiFranco, 70, of Northport, a playwright and founder of the Debut Theater Company of Long Island in Lindenhurst, prefers older actors and often writes older characters.

“Being no youngster myself, I write for, with and to older folks,” he said. “Maybe that’s why older actors are my favorite to work with.”

He said memory skills may start to fail, but “empathic power grows.” And, he noted, older actors often act for love rather than ambition.

“We’re way past pie-in-the-sky dreams,” DiFranco said. “We know exactly why we’re doing this theater thing.”

While performers often talk about the joy of acting, learning a script is serious work, especially later in life, when memorization might become more difficult.

So how do older performers overcome these difficulties?

“Repetition,” Swinson said, noting technology helps. “I record everybody else’s lines in my voice on my phone and I leave my lines blank. Then I read it, read it, read it.”

Friedman said he listened to “Pippin” on his phone for more than a month while commuting to work as a senior vice president of sales for a children’s wear company in Manhattan.

Deborah Cascio Plezia, 63, of Babylon, said she has struggled with remembering her lines as she has gotten older.

“I always worked hard at character development, intention, cadence of speech, back story, etc., but the challenge [now] is memorization of lines,” said Cascio Plezia, who in addition to acting is artistic director for the South Shore Theatre Experience in Lindenhurst.

“That was once very easy for me, and now I really have to work at it. It’s thrilling when it finally clicks. It’s like all of a sudden everything makes perfect sense and you’re there. I love that.”

Cascio Plezia said she has noticed a change in the kind of roles available to her now that she’s in her 60s.

It’s been “challenging,” she said, to start thinking of herself in roles like mother or even grandmother, rather than the girlfriend or wife.

“You have to change your mindset of who you think you are to who you actually are and what roles are appropriate for you as an actor,” she said.

SHIFT TO DIRECTING

Deborah Kruel Rupy, 59, of Hicksville, said the number of roles written for older actors may be low, but she remains busy acting and has even begun directing. Rupy, who works at a reproductive services practice in Manhattan, recently finished playing Falstaff (traditionally a male role) for EastLine Theatre’s production of “The Merry Wives of Windsor,” which was performed last month in Manhasset and at the Planting Fields Arboretum in Oyster Bay.

“I never really left the theater, but I see a vast change after 55 in the amount of available and meaningful roles,” she said.

Tony Chiofalo, 54, of St. James, who has been acting since high school, also lately added directing to his resume.

“As actors age, they transition to directing,” Chiofalo said. “There are fewer roles available to them, but they can still be very involved in the creative process as a director.”

‘IT MAKES ME HAPPY’

Despite these challenges, many older actors on Long Island remain committed to their craft.

“I like working with other people,” said Christopher Smith, 57, of Huntington. Smith, an elementary school teacher at Covert Avenue School in Elmont, played the role of Leading Player (one of two in each show) in the Community Playhouse production of “Pippin,” which ran July 20-22.

“Singing, dancing and acting — it makes me happy,” he said. “And I’m doing something for other people.”

Friedman said actors form strong bonds while working on plays. “We’re a tight-knit group,” he said.

Theater can be stressful, but Schombs, who performed as Player 1 in “Pippin,” said it can be rewarding. She suggested those interested in trying their hand at acting search social media for local theaters, join social media groups for acting and local theaters and check out
theater websites for information about auditions and upcoming shows.

“Put yourself out there,” she said.

Beginning actors also could consider taking classes, she said, though they are not required.

For Schombs, the benefit of acting is the chance to push herself.

“Especially at our age, you don’t get a lot of opportunities to get out of your comfort zone,” she said. “It makes me feel like I’m using my brain in ways I don’t the rest of the year.”