This Article Full Text (PDF) Services Download to citation manager

Lessons From Creativity: Music & Drama

E-mail: yahnk001{at}umn.edu

As a humanist and teacher of film studies, I am always interested in sharing the lessons of artists and other creative individuals—especially as their work relates to the aging process. The two videos reviewed below, both produced in Canada, are excellent examples of the lessons gerontologists can learn from the creative process. In On Wings of Song: Music Therapy at the End of Life, music therapist Deborah Salmon sums up her work by noting:

We all die as we all live, and there are many different styles of dying. We find people who want to do that inner work, we find those who don't have the psychological energy to do that work, and we find people who have spent their entire lives not wanting to reflect on deep meaning—and they're not going to start in their last days.

Most of the film flows along using the techniques of direct cinema—during scenes of the therapist interacting with the patients, the editor cuts away to reaction shots of a relative in the room, inserts close-ups to provide details, or cuts away to shots of the hallway or exterior of the hospital. Although some scenes include Salmon on camera, talking about her work, the reflective, intense, and intimate moments between the therapist and patients are the core of the video's appeal. Through this organization, the video illustrates what the music therapist can do for people in end-stage illnesses and provides insights into the "why" of music therapy—that is, some of the principles of its therapeutic use in clinical settings.

The second video, Handle with Care?, is a videotaped performance of a stage production by a small company of actors that addresses the emotional and psychological difficulties people face interacting with women with metastatic breast cancer. Many of the actors have survived breast cancer. The tone of the performance is upbeat and hopeful, and the actors use humor effectively to portray what in real life are often awkward, uncomfortable moments between family members, friends, and health care professionals. The actors give voice to the often unspoken frustrations and anxieties felt by these women. As one of the actors says, "We often handle them with care. Sometimes we treat them like they're fragile and might break." She adds that the production "is intended to provoke and stimulate discussion." Ross Gray and Christina Sinding, two members of the production, later coauthored Standing Ovation: Performing Social Science Research About Cancer. This book was inspired by their experience mounting the various productions of Handle with Care? across Canada.

As this column went to press, I learned that Laura Sky, the director of Handle with Care?, completed a longer and more complex video inspired by the experiences of the performers in the production reviewed below. How Can We Love You? (2002; distributed by Fanlight Productions) tells the story of two of the performers as they participate in the production's tour. Please watch for further information on this video in a future column.

This Article Full Text (PDF) Services Download to citation manager