Cue The Comedies: Why Mature Actors Deserve Great Roles
Who Says the Young Ones Get to Have All the Fun?
Great Roles Don’t Have to Come With an Expiration Date
When Michael and I set off to write Sex Please We’re Sixty, we wanted it to be hilarious, based on a twist on ‘men-o-pause’, but we also wanted it to have six seniors who would have their well-deserved moment in the sun.
However, being in that spotlight didn’t mean they were going to be sitting around quietly dispensing wisdom, as in so many plays, while everyone younger had all the fun. We wanted them to cause trouble. They were going to get romance, rivalry, questionable decisions, and frankly, a little blue pill that would be at the center of it all. (With, of course, a delightful twist to the plot.)
Michael and I knew for a fact that life doesn’t stop being funny after 60, which is also part of the reason we titled it Sex Please We’re Sixty. But sex in your sixties? Of course! However, we realized that with this particular topic, some people might become a bit squeamish, especially with those over a certain age. So we added in life’s humor! Now it becomes extremely relatable and laugh-out-loud funny. As I said: fun in life doesn’t stop at sixty.
Key Takeaways for Busy Theatre People
Directors who provide meaningful, creative roles and opportunities for later in life actors can tap into a whole new experience for audiences with this often overlooked talent pool.
There’s a difference between having an older character in a play and giving a mature actor a character worth playing.
Humor has a wonderful way of breaking down assumptions about age. A well-written comic role can remind an audience that aging doesn’t mean becoming invisible.
Great roles shouldn’t come with an expiration date, and neither should getting the biggest laugh of the night!
Substantial Roles - Not Cameos
As a playwright, I feel that since life doesn’t stop being funny, adventurous, or romantic after sixty, then the same should be true of the roles written for mature actors. It’s not enough to simply put an older character on stage. They deserve the same kind of rich, complicated, entertaining characters that actors of every other age get to play.
Seasoned actors definitely need scripts with not just more roles, but substantial roles. There’s a difference between having an older character in a play and giving a mature actor a character worth playing.
Older actors need roles where the characters:
Have relationships, desires, flirt, and fall in love.
Make terrible decisions.
Are clever-witted with a great sense of humor.
Have problems that need to be solved.
Drive the plot and what happens next.
Les Waters, the former artistic director of Actors Theatre of Louisville spoke about this point. He talked about the shortage and the quality of roles for older actors.
“It wasn’t just the lack of representation, it was the misrepresentation.”
He went on to say that as actors age, the roles written in a show for them tend to be ones where they come in and out of scenes with nothing much to do, are incapacitated or sick and dying. Believe me, (as I am of a certain age) this is only a tiny part of aging people’s lives.
Life’s Experiences Bring Authenticity To the Stage
By sixty, most of us have accumulated quite a collection of human behavior to draw upon. Some of it we’ve observed. Some of it we’d prefer not to discuss. And some of it we have no problem flaunting in public (on stage of course), if given the chance.
Comedy depends on timing, listening, reactions and understanding human behavior. The decades of life experience a seasoned actor has provides more ways they can lean into giving an authentic performance, not a caricature of an old person.
When a play provides substantial roles, the actors have the opportunity to play characters whose lives and experiences actually resonate with them. Perhaps Vicky Morrison summed it up best when she appeared as Victoria Ambrose in Sex Please We’re Sixty at the HAWK Theatre.
“This is a very funny play, and the subject matter is all about where I am in life, so it fits perfectly!”
And isn’t that something every actor deserves, the chance to play characters who are where they are in life? No matter what stage of life you’re in?
The Next Act: Creating Opportunities for Mature Actors
The old saying, “Don’t throw out the baby with the bath water” might apply here. In community theatre, sometimes it’s easy to forget an incredible resource right in front of us: actors who are fifty, sixty, seventy, or older.
Directors who provide meaningful, creative roles and opportunities for later in life actors can tap into a whole new experience for audiences with this often overlooked talent pool.
I saw this first-hand with an actor who played Henry in Sex Please We’re Sixty. I went to see the show and afterwards, he thanked me for writing such a great role. What made this so memorable was that this was his first journey into acting. (At his unmentionable age!)
Think about that. His first experience on stage came from a role that interested him and because a director gave him an opportunity he was bit by the acting bug. Now, when there’s a role for a mature male actor, he is at auditions.
Shakespeare Never Said Exit Stage Left at Sixty
He did say “all the world’s a stage,” and spoke that life is a series of roles we play as we age. But he never said you had to surrender center stage when you turned sixty.
James Roose-Evans, an award-winning theater director who founded a company specifically to provide opportunities for older performers said,
“I think the lack of roles for older actors is to do with society’s attitude towards aging and not realizing older people have a lot to give.”
Humor has a wonderful way of breaking down assumptions about age. A well-written comic role can remind an audience that aging doesn’t mean becoming invisible. Quite the opposite: sometimes the years give an actor even more to play with. And doing it in a humorous way is always fun.
Shakespeare did suggest that age changes the role we play, but he never defined what that role should be. It’s possible that overtime, somewhere in theatre land, it was decided that as actors get older, their part on the stage should get smaller. I disagree.
Parker Plays: Because Mischief Doesn’t Retire at Sixty
In the Parker Play What Is Susan’s Secret? The main two characters, Susan and Michael, (yes, we used our own names) are elderly, but very crafty. They have their aging moments, which the audience recognizes and laughs along with – but never at. The plot is driven by their ingenious contracts that outsmart their guests in order to renovate their inn. They have juicy roles, with comedic energy, lovable characters, and center-stage action. This play is a challenging yet rewarding opportunity.
Theatres do a wonderful job developing young talent through workshops, youth programs, and auditions. But what if we applied that same thinking to older adults? A few theatres around the country have found success engaging senior performers, and thousands more may have older adults eager for their chance to take the stage.
By producing plays with substantial roles for mature actors, community theatres don't just retain experienced older actors, they create a new pool of actors. Perhaps the next wonderful actor in your theatre isn’t someone who has been performing for 40 years. Maybe they’re 60 and haven’t auditioned yet.
Great roles shouldn’t come with an expiration date, and neither should getting the biggest laugh of the night!
See you at the theatre!
BONUS TAKEAWAYS
Snapshot of Roles for Actors 60+ in Parker Plays
Title of Play | Roles Available |
Money Matters | 3 roles (2 male, 1 female) |
Sex Please, We’re Sixty Sex Please, We’re Sixty: The Musical | 6 roles (2 male, 4 Female) |
Sandy Toes & Salty Kisses | 2 roles (1 male, 1 female) |
Whose Wives Are They Anyway? | 1 role (male) |
Lone Star Love Potion | 1 role (male) |
What Is Susan’s Secret? | 4 roles (3 male, 1 female) |
The Amorous Ambassador | 2 roles (male) |
The Sensuous Senator | 2 roles (male) |
Sin, Sex & the CIA | 2 roles (male) |
Hotbed Hotel | 3 roles (3 male, 1 female) |
Who’s In Bed With The Butler? | 2 roles (1 male, 1 female) |
Love, Lies and the Doctor’s Dilemma | 3 roles (1 male, 2 female) |
There’s A Burglar In My Bed | 1 role (male) |
No Sex Please: It’s Christmas | 2 role (male) 1 role (Female) |
FUN FACTS:
My Thoughts: I love visiting theatres doing a production when I can or when invited (hint, hint)!
Review: Sandy Toes & Salty Kisses
“You name it, it happens, as confusion triumphs in this classic farce that unfolds at the Lovers’ Landing Beach Hotel on the Gulf Coast. Witty dialogue and an appealing script grease the action” Cape Cod Times
Our most-licensed play of the 2026–27 season to date: Sin, Sex & the CIA: 2 Acts, 2 hrs + Int. / 3M/4F / location: a cabin in the woods (And yes, a great role for someone 60+)
Don’t Miss This Valuable New Resource: A Free Guide for Directors & Producers
I’d genuinely love to hear from you and help support your production in any way I can. Whether you have questions about casting, choosing the right play for your season, staging farce, or simply want to chat comedy, I’m always happy to connect. -- Susan
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