Wayne B. has always enjoyed going to the theatre. “It’s been a lifelong interest,” he says. That’s why, after volunteering for Vancouver’s Bard on the Beach for two years, he took the plunge to further his passion by joining Bard for Life—a programme founded in 2016 by Bard’s Director of Education, Mary Hartman, that brings Shakespeare’s words “to life.”
“It’s been a totally different experience than I’ve ever had before,” adds the financial services professional and festival patron. “While it’s daunting at first to delve into the speeches of Shakespearean characters, I’m now really enjoying the challenge of it.”
“Live theatre is a venue where anything can happen,” Wayne muses, after returning from a trip to London, UK, where he saw six theatre performances in seven days. “It’s more than entertainment. You get pulled in.”
Bard for Life is a programme for adults, “designed to be responsive to the needs of the participants,” says Hartman, “and it supports people in their personal learning.”
Whether he sees himself going further in his on-stage interests doesn’t matter, says Wayne. For now, the experience of rehearsing speeches and mini-scenes with skilled actor-coaches — and then performing them in front of a live audience — refocuses his attention and provides a welcome contrast to a day of left-brain work.
It was also her love of theatre — and teaching Shakespeare to secondary school students in Surrey — that inspired Carolyn P. to re-engage with the stage.
“I’ve always loved public speaking, and I did theatre as a young adult,” she says. “I know the Shakespeare plays, especially the tragic ones that are part of the B.C. school curriculum, because I taught them all. After I retired, it seemed natural that I would pursue my own theatre interests in the Shakespeare world.”
“It was an opportunity to reinvent and reinform myself in my new role as a retiree.”
Joining the programme in 2024 and delivering her first monologue shortly thereafter, Carolyn says, “I thought I would die.” But once she’d completed her presentation, she saw it as a success.
She adds that she started to find a home for her creativity.
“Classroom teaching is a daily performance — putting all the pieces together for the students. Now I’m doing it for myself, and I love it,” says Carolyn.
“You have to look at everything about yourself and be prepared to take risks with that. The experience of performing in front of others stretches you.”
Studies on engagement in the theatre arts document mental and physical benefits, including improvements in memory, problem-solving, and cognitive functioning, along with the added value of social interaction.
Mary Hartman adds that everyone is welcome in the adult programme and respected in their learning, within the context of a collaborative community.
“Participants are coming in from vastly different life experiences, with various reasons and goals for attending. But they develop a generosity of spirit with each other and mutual support in their collective experience. It’s not competitive; it’s supportive — and it builds many new friendships.”
That collective spirit was evident in their end-of-season presentation at the BMO Theatre Centre in Vancouver.
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