Senior Center for the Arts

Located in FiftyForward Donelson Station, 108 Donelson Pike (between the train tracks and Lebanon Road), the Senior Center for the Arts (SCA) offers a full range of entertainment, learning, exhibition, and performing experiences for both senior adults and the community at large.

SCA theater performances originate in the center’s auditorium, usually as Nashville Dinner Theatre. Past musicals have included Annie, Spitfire Grill, Dream Girls, Steel Magnolias, Miracle on 34th Street, Hello Dolly, The Wizard of Oz, Mame and Sweeney Todd.

Senior adults appear in all SCA productions. An original musical by Kaine Riggan, Could It Be Love?, enjoyed such a successful run at the SCA, it has been presented twice at the SCA and at the historic Ryman Auditorium in downtown Nashville.

Most performances operate under the Nashville Dinner Theatre program, for which a $20 ticket assures a topnotch dinner and play. Parking is free.

To produce high-quality arts experiences for all ages of the community, dozens of center volunteers are involved in everything from set design and construction to costume design and production; from ticket selling to ushering or serving dinner; and from taking dancing classes to performing as singers, dancers, actors, etc. These older adults are combining lifelong or new skills with long-held aspirations and eagerness to be of use; and they are experiencing positive, tangible results of their efforts

The SCA's programs give Nashville area residents of all ages the thrill of live theater, provide exposure to other artistic experiences and showcase the talents of seniors – all at consistently affordable prices and in a safe and convenient location. The SCA offers learning and performance experiences not otherwise available in the community – including an inexpensive kids' theater "camp" each summer that culminates in a production in which the young actors perform.

The Nashville Business Journal has named the Senior Center for the Arts among the top 25 tourist attractions in the Nashville area. Recently, the same publication ranked the Nashville Dinner Theatre #3 in Performing Arts Organizations for number of performances and #4 in attendance for Organizations on the Rise.

The SCA currently is in a joint capital fundraising campaign with FiftyForward Donelson Station to renovate the facility, including developing 18,616 sq. ft. of unfinished space for classroom and performance space for the SCA.

The Senior Center for the Arts, a 501(c) 3 corporation, is led by producing director Kaine Riggan and a volunteer advisory board, bolstered by staff and volunteers of FiftyForward Donelson Station. For more information about the Senior Center for the Arts, please call 883-8375 or visit its Web site www.SeniorArts.org. To order tickets online, visit www.seniorarts.tix.com.

Music for Seniors

A division of Senior Center for the Arts, Music for Seniors is a new program that links professional area musicians with homebound older adults, with FiftyForward Adult Day Services participants, and with area residents in assisted living or long term care facilities in Middle Tennessee.

Under the direction of Sarah Martin McConnell, musicians make a six-month commitment to Music for Seniors to enable them to establish a relationship with their audiences and for the audiences to get to know them. Visits are monthly – whether in a frail senior’s home or in a residential facility.

For more information about Music for Seniors, please visit www.musicforseniors.org or contact Sarah McConnell at (615) 330-1937 or sarah@musicforseniors.org.