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6th
Age Puppet Group Debuts
Pictured above are the puppeteers and their puppets
from left Bert Sutton, the Serpent; Roz Gerst, Belinda; Eldie Johnston,
the Sorceress; Ruth Rothman, Aeneas; and Dona Sherburne, Dido.
Bravo!
The Sixth-Age Puppet Opera Company from the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute
at the University of Southern Maine made their debut in the late fall in
Portland. The group will
perform at the American Society on Aging in Philadelphia in 
March.
All the performers are 65 years of age or older.
The group; which includes a retired teacher, nurse, accountant, and
librarian; came together more than a year ago to study the 1689 opera;
create the 3 foot puppets; make the scenery; and practice, practice,
practice. The puppet artists
are in full view of the audience operating their characters that include
dueling divas, death-defying choristers, and even a singing snake.
The group came together nearly a year ago to create and stage their
first complete opera—Henry Purcell’s seventeenth-century tragedy Dido
and Aeneas. Keith Sherburne produced and directed the performance and
David Murray was the set designer and handled the sound and lighting.
 The
Opera Company is the brainchild of OLLI member, Keith Sherburne, of
Scarborough, who has always wanted to create puppets and decided to take a
chance when he saw a puppet production of Mozart's Don Giovanni in Prague
a number of years ago. He
started the company at OLLI when he found “industrious, creative
souls” to try it with him..
Pictured top left: Eldie Johnson and her
puppet, the Sorceress.
Pictured bottom left: Roz Gerst and her puppet, Belinda
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What
We're Doing
Maine Senior Colleges have a very
exciting line up of Fall courses. Here's a sample of just a few of the
interesting courses being offered around the state:
 Et tu, Latin? Members of
SAGE in Presque Isle have an ongoing affection
for things Latin. An ongoing course, Latin 1.5 continues this fall taught
by Guy Gallagher. The class is studying about the history and culture
of Ancient Rome, from texts read in Latin.
Midcoast Senior College is
taking a Musical Walk through time this fall by listening to Renaissance,
Baroque, Classical, Romantic and 20th Century Composers to discuss their
context and how the music effects its listeners.
Out and about. A new class at
Lewiston Auburn Senior College finds its members hitting the road to
historical points of interest. Each week during "Special
Destinations" class participants will take a field trip to a number
of sites including Longfellow House, Norlands, and Poland Springs
Gold
Leaf, the Senior College affiliated with the University of
Maine, Farmington is working creatively with campus and local resources.
The University has opened a new observatory and they are having a
class there this fall. They've also scheduled a canoeing
and kayaking trip during Fall foliage and a course on the life of Maine's
favorite daughter, Margaret Chase Smith. Gold
Leaf will continue its interest in current events with several
political discussions.
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Maine 