Abbie Johnson as Jamie and Tomas Farish as Grampy rehearse ‘Grampy’s Oatmeal’ for the Curious Legacies performance Sunday at SALA. Courtesy photo

By KIRSTEN LASKEY
Los Alamos Daily Post
kirsten@ladailypost.com

Los Alamos playwright Robert Benjamin along with the Friends of the Senior Center of Los Alamos are celebrating Older Americans Month with some theatrical flair.

A fundraiser for the Friends of the Senior Center, Curious Legacies will be held 1 p.m. Sunday at SALA Los Alamos Event Center.

The fundraiser will feature readings from three of Benjamin’s plays:

• “Grampy’s Oatmeal” directed by Terry Beery, performed by Abbie Johnson and Tomás Farish, describers how a school-age granddaughter struggles to find out why Grampy is quirky and eccentric. Surprisingly, she discovers something far more important.
• “The Petition” directed by Beery, performed by Kaity Burke (Rosa) and Pat Beck (Lou), is about activism. Lou refuses to sign Rosa’s petition until she develops better activist skills. After Rosa’s anger subsides, Lou offers her a remarkable story, which transforms Rosa’s attitude about activism.
• “Allocating the Jewels” will be performed by Beery (Joyce) and Jody Shepard (Diane). It depicts Diane meticulously giving away her treasures, contrary to Joyce’s advice. Joyce is shocked to learn where Diane wants to place her “crown jewel”. Joyce must make the most difficult decision of her life.

Benjamin explained he selected these plays because they are among his greatest hits.

“I’ve been doing plays at the Senior Center for years and these were the most popular,” he said.

“I think they’re very relatable,” Beery added. “They are easy for the audience to identify with at various stages of their lives.”

Benjamin said he feels part of these plays’ appeal is that they involve multiple generations.

“I think it’s mostly intergenerational conflict because the characters see things in a different perspective and conflict is the heart and soul of the play,” he said.

Something that is appealing to Benjamin personally is being able to collaborate with Beery.

He said he is directing “Allocating the Jewels,” and he commended its actors.

“It is cast so well,” Benjamin said. “So having Terry play against Jody – I didn’t have to do much.”

He added that  he really enjoys working with Beery, saying she is very in tuned with the material.

Beery said she feels similar.

“Bob is very engaged in the work, and I appreciate that,” she said. “I think he is a very thoughtful playwright and pays attention to detail and is very attentive to what is going on.”

Both bring a lot of theatrical experience to the table. Benjamin has been writing plays for 30 years. He said his first play was performed at the Bradbury Science Museum. It depicted Edith Warner writing letters describing all the eccentric Manhattan Project scientists who would come to her restaurant. As far as Beery, she has been acting at Los Alamos Little Theatre for 10 years.

Friends of the Senior Center President Donna Haynes said she was grateful to everyone who pitched in to put on this fundraiser.

“We are deeply grateful to the directors and performers who will so generously volunteer their time and talent to make our charity event a success,” she said. “Their dedication and passion will bring the stage to life and help us raise vital funds for a cause that truly matters – supporting our local Senior Centers.”

Tickets are $10 per adult and $20 per family (up to two adults and two children).  Tickets may be purchased at the door or in advance on the SALA website at: https://sala.losalamos.com/events/curious-legacies-a-short-play-festival-that-flips-the-script-on-aging/

To learn more about the Friends of the Senior Center, visit www.lafosc.org.