Each group participated in theater activities that encouraged group members to identify the strengths of their age groups. Participants brainstormed lists of positive attributes they felt LGBTQ people their age had.

Older group members said things like:

• We have learned survival skills;
  • We know how stories turn out;
  • We are closer to answering the big questions of life;
  • We can pass on our experience to younger people since we didn’t have that;
  • Been there, done that, ain’t dead yet!
  

Younger group members said things like:

• We use the internet to build community;
  • We have stamina;
  • We have freedom to define ourselves;
  • We are aware of segregation within the gay community;
  • We have a choice to make our sexuality part of our identity, but not all of it.
  

These brainstorms then became inspiration for creating short scenes in the style of commercials. Rather than selling a concrete product such as a car or a smartphone, group members created commercials that sold the essence of positive attributes about their age group. Both groups created theatricalized commercials peppered with jingles, spokespersons, and product descriptions that made us laugh as well as think about the complexities and challenges faced by each generation of LGBTQ people.

Since Bridging the Gap is about using theater to spark conversations between LGBTQ people of different generations, the commercials each age group created will be presented back to the other generation when we bring both groups together for the first time in our second session. We are excited to see what sparks fly when both generations come together in one room for more group building and theater making on October 4.

Tags: LGBTQ, Intergenerational, Queer, Lesbian, devised theater, Applied Theater, Gay, Transgender,