It’s already been a year since the Chapel Hill Senior Center on Elliott Road closed and the Robert and Pearl Seymour Center opened on Homestead Road. Not only did it move, the name has stuck — the seniors who use it have dropped “senior†from their vernacular when they refer to their center — it’s the Seymour Center (period).
The folks who delight in the activities there have planned several celebrations to honor the occasion, including the MayTime Merriment Gala Friday and Saturday.
The Prime Time Players, a group of about 20 talented participants at the Seymour Center, will knock some socks off with their displays in two shows, featuring performances of classical music and show tunes either sung or performed on instruments, a vaudeville number, poetry reading, performed skit written by Carol Burnette, storyteller and performances by the Taptations and the Village Review.
The Prime Time Players is a theater troupe, ages 55 and over, started four years ago as a committee of the Friends of the Seymour Center (formerly Friends of the Senior Center).
Bobbi Lubker chairs the committee and has been involved with it since it started.
“Janice Tyler was always interested in having a theater group,†Lubker said of Tyler, the Orange County Senior Centers Administrator. “The Friends appointed a committee to look into developing a group,†because there were a lot of talented people around needing an outlet. Besides providing emoting time, their annual performances raise funds for the Friends, which provide support to the Seymour Center staff in bringing programs and activities to Orange County seniors.
“Our seniors have a myriad of interests and we try to cover all of them,†said Lee Pavao, chairman of the Friends.
Since the senior center started on Elliott Road, the Friends have kept it going by covering expenses beyond the county budget. Pavao said their current needs include enhanced audio equipment, solar shades for the great room to cut down on glare, better lighting and “additional things that don’t come into the realm of programming.â€
This will be the third show the Prime Time Players has presented and the first in the Seymour Center, capping off a month of activities recognizing May as Older Americans Month.
Anniversary cake will be served at intermission in celebration of one year at the Seymour Center.
“This will be my last effort as chairman,†Lubker said of her year at the helm of the committee.
With the host of talented people interested in performing, the effort has been rather large. Choosing the slate of performers after four hours of auditions and creating a timed program from it can be trickier than arranging the numbers of a Sudoku, but these variety shows require less time commitment and scheduling than performing a play or musical.
“We started with very ambitious thinking and decided on the galas as a way to get a lot of people involved without the stress of producing (a written show),†Lubker said.
Not only will it be an entertaining show, it’s a great opportunity for experiencing the Seymour Center and getting a taste of what one can aspire to do given enough age.
For more information, call 968-2070.
MayTime Merriment Gala
7:30 p.m. Friday, May 30
2 p.m. Saturday, May 31
Robert and Pearl Seymour Center
2551 Homestead Road
Tickets $5 at the door
Contact Valarie Schwartz at valariekays@mac.com or 923-3746.
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