LEIMERT PARK : Senior Actors Take Show on the Road

The Jan. 17 earthquake caused widespread destruction, but some theatrically minded senior citizens are proving it shook them up for the better.

Last week, the OASIS Ensemble, a performance troupe of senior citizens, presented its first program of original works at the Vision Complex Theatre.

They managed to put on the show despite the fact that the quake closed down the headquarters of their senior center, OASIS, housed in the Robinsons-May store in the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza. The damaged store, and OASIS, will not reopen until June.

The OASIS introductory drama class had met only once before the quake, and the closure forced it and other senior programs to scramble for temporary space.

The drama students found a haven at Crossroads Arts Academy, part of the Vision Complex in Leimert Park. It did so well that instructor Sharon Neumann, Crossroads Executive Director Avril Harris and OASIS Director Cynthia Berry decided to not only put on a show, but also to take it on the road.

“The teacher was so impressed with the material that she was getting from the students that she called me, and that’s when we all sat down and decided to make this a tour,” Berry said.

The players scripted their own material from improvisations inspired by life experiences and personal issues as senior citizens.

Berry and Harris say they are shopping the troupe around to other senior citizen centers, convalescent and nursing homes, churches, schools, and other organizations and venues.