Death Goes Public—On Stage Before
the Bright Lights
Ned Buskirk, Master of Ceremonies, YG2D
“YOU’RE GOING TO DIE.” These words
strike fear in the hearts of many people. A deafening
silence usually follows when the subject of death comes up.
But in the Bay Area, there’s a growing movement to
bring death out of the closet. Growing numbers of people
want to speak openly about death. And some of them are now
getting on stage and addressing death through storytelling,
prose, poetry, and music. Two popular performing arts
venues are providing an open forum for people to express
their deepest feelings about loss and mortality.
Stagebridge in downtown Oakland is the
nation’s oldest and most renowned theater company of older
adults. The company started
in 1978 with a mission to enrich
the lives of seniors through the performing arts. It offers
classes in acting, singing, dancing, and storytelling for
people over 50.
For Dyin’ Out Loud
Eleanor Clement Glass
In November 2019, Stagebridge presented “For
Dyin’ Out Loud,” a storytelling event about
life’s paths and the journey to the end of life.
“We wanted to create a venue where we could share our
stories and then hopefully spark discussion and thinking
and feeling about living fully and dying,” said
Eleanor Clement Glass, one of the participating senior
storytellers. An audience of fifty people listened with
rapt attention as Glass shared her stories about the death
of her father and how her mother successfully coped with
her loss. “It helped me get in very close emotional
touch with my mom and dad,” said Glass, “A
participant came up to me and said ‘this was so
heart-opening.’ And that’s exactly what I felt
and what I wanted others to feel.”
Brother Ben Tucker
Ben Tucker, also known on stage as Brother Ben, told a
moving story of his friend Ron, who died of a sudden heart
attack while hiking in Berkeley’s Tilden Park. He
ended the story by having the audience sing “Happy
Trails” with him. “It was cathartic,”
said Tucker, “It helped me bring out that last little
bit of grief and share it with the audience. And I could
see the looks on their faces. And Ron was in the room and I
think he would have been very proud that he was being
remembered in such a supportive group of people.”
