"No Sex Please, We're Retired."
That's the title of one of the most-requested performances of the Psychodramatists, an improvisational troupe that explores mental health issues relevant to retired South Floridians through comedy.
For 13 years, the troupe has been performing in condominium communities, country clubs and synagogues, and is now expanding its repertoire with new themes, which they encounter in their own lives as they enter their 60s, 70s and 80s.
Audiences request the topic they want to explore, ranging from "Marriage: In Sickness and Health" to "Seniors, Sex and Dating: The Second Time Around."
"Sex is definitely a popular topic," said Mike Shapiro, 75, one of the actors and a retired elementary-school counselor. "We laugh at this time in our lives. These situations do exist."
The volunteer troupe consists of 22 seniors, most with an interest in acting and comedy but some who retired after a career in psychology. It's sponsored by the Faulk Center for Counseling, which offers therapy, support groups, speakers and educational programs on mental health.
Each Psychodramatists show consists of three acts. After each act, the performers come out, in character, to discuss the issues presented with the audience.
"They present all kinds of family problems," said Sylvia Gralnick, who has watched several shows in her Boca Chase neighborhood. "There's a lot of participation from the audience."
It's not always easy to remain in character as audience members ask questions, performer Rosie Sherman said. Sherman has played a single woman in a bar trying to pick up men. But Sherman has been married for 30 years and rarely visits bars.
"My honest response is usually different from my response on stage," said Sherman, 62, a Toronto native and retired interior designer. "Getting up on stage constantly challenges you. To see people laugh, to wake up, if you will, it gets you hooked."
A Faulk Center volunteer is usually on hand to explain the center's counseling services. The plays are designed to entertain and raise awareness of mental health issues, not to serve as therapy, said Holly Katz, the center's programs and training director.
"The actors are not trained to do counseling," Katz said. "They are not responding as therapists. The plays definitely raise issues and awareness of typical family challenges, and then the idea is to get more information after the program."
Actress Bernice Wolfson said her goal is not to offer advice but to provide comic relief. She volunteered as a comedian and actress for 10 years when she lived on Long Island and now finds humorous fodder as she listens to her friends' stories.
Recently, she suggested a Psychodramatists scene in which a daughter-in-law expects her husband's mother to pay for private school tuition, a story she had heard from a friend.
"There is a wealth of comedy here," said Wolfson, 77, a grandmother of five. "So much of it is so close to the truth."
The troupe's next performance will be Nov. 1 at Temple Beth Tikvah in Greenacres. For more information, call Ali Rubin at the Faulk Center, 561-483-5300.