Woman acts up to bring arts to seniors

All the world's a stage for Lois Biette, a resident of Bishop Hubbard Apartments in Halfmoon who enjoys putting her gifts as a playwright and director to work for her fellow seniors at the Halfmoon Senior Center.

Since 1994, she has written and directed plays performed by residents of the center. Her most recent play, "The Daisy Mae Boarding House," was a mystery/comedy that took place in the gangster era of the 1920s outside Chicago.

Recently, she began working on a play dealing with the treatment of seniors in the 20th century, an idea she chose to develop because the United Nations has proclaimed 1999 as the Year of the Older Person.

Acting talents

Mrs. Biette considers herself fortunate to know specific people she wants to portray characters in her plays, and her work as a playwright becomes more fine-tuned with this knowledge.

"I write these parts knowing what [the seniors] are capable of doing. With some, I can give them anything and they're great," she said.

But since most cast members are women, casting becomes an interesting job when the plays have male characters or teenagers. For costumes, organizations such as the Salvation Army have lent clothing to the Halfmoon Players, while some cast members wear their own clothing in shows.

Dream of acting

Growing up in Green Island, Mrs. Biette dreamed of being an actress and would perform scenes from movies in her room before falling asleep at night.

She had a part in Heatly High School's production of "H.M.S. Pinafore" and later got involved in such groups as Albany Light Opera, Troy Dramatics and Troy Musical Arts. Her aunt played piano with Albany Light Opera, and Mrs. Biette remembers singing "In the Still of the Night" with the group on the radio at late night.

Troy Dramatics was a professional group, Mrs. Biette noted, and she also auditioned for a local talent show at the Palace Theater in Albany; the show never made it on the air.

After she got married, however, Mrs. Biette put singing and acting on hold and turned to writing poetry. She first wrote poetry as a teenager and resumed her hobby as she focused her efforts upon marriage and parenthood.

Back on stage

In 1994, as a resident of Bishop Hubbard Apartments, Mrs. Biette wanted to put her dramatic abilities to work again. She wrote "Christmas Forgotten," a play loosely based on Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" and got several residents of the Halfmoon Senior Center to play characters.

More plays followed, including "Do You Hear What I Say?" and "Moonshine Mountain."

For each play, cast members rehearsed each Tuesday from April to October. They have index cards with their lines, but Mrs. Biette asks them to memorize as best they can and refer to the index cards only when necessary.

Old topic

She is writing her play about the treatment of seniors in the 1900s partly for a personal reason: She had an aunt who was mistreated by family members in her senior years. "I like the good old days, but there's some things you don't want to go back to," she said.

Just because Mrs. Biette has gotten back into theater doesn't mean she's stopped writing poetry. "The Christmas Snowbird" was written especially for the lighting of the town of Halfmoon's Christmas tree, and she read her piece at a special ceremony.

Writing plays and poetry are some of the ways that Mrs. Biette tries to make the most of her senior years, and she advises her fellow seniors to stay involved in pursuits as they get older.

"Keep your mind active. Keep your body active," she said.

(01-21-99)