Thursday, October 1, 2026
It is never too early or too late to start your acting career, which is what members of the Steel Magnolia improv group are doing at the Magnolia Senior Center.
The 13-person group, who’s ages range from 60 to 92, started 18 years ago under the direction of Johanna Mathieson. Initially a script-reading class, Lisa Engellis, the troupe leader, said many of the seniors did not enjoy memorizing lines. It forced her to pivot to today’s format — improv games — which resembles the hit TV show, “Whose Line is It Anyway?”
“That’s how the improv idea was born,” She said. “We’ve been together ever since.”
The group, Engellis said, has some members they describe as “O.Gs” or “Original Grandparents,” who have been with the improv troupe for a long time.
Bernie Genzer, 92, said he joined the troupe before the Covid pandemic, after longtime friends, Carolyn and Warren Perlman, invited him to a performance. The performance, which turned out to be the Steel Magnolias, reconnected Genzer with Engellis, who he met 25 years prior.
Genzer, who has a speech arts degree from Brooklyn College, said he had a keen interest in acting. He participated in two Shakespearean shows while at Brooklyn College. He also sings in a four-part a cappella group — also known as barbershop harmony.
“I really enjoy the camaraderie of the group,” Genzer said, noting their weekly practices on Thursdays from noon to 2 p.m. “It’s a chance for me to open up.”
From the practices, the Steel Magnolias perform shows, like the one last Sunday, at the recreation center. A Herald reporter described them as fast-moving improv games, where performers react in real time to unexpected prompts from audience members, often leading to unpredictable and hilarious moments. Scenarios varied, from acting out scenes using names of items picked from a bag, to audience members reading random lines from books — including titles like “Fifty Shades of Grey” — which performers must instantly incorporate into scenes.
The games are fast-moving, but not for Marie Quigley, 83, who is deaf. “The improv group makes me feel like nothing’s impossible,” she said. “It’s so good for my mental health.”
Henrietta Staub a retired educator in the New York City public school system, joined during the monologue reading phase — she picked out “Sun Dried,” a monologue by Edna Ferber depicting the life of an aspiring writer dealing with romance.
“It took forever to memorize but it was fun and exciting to perform,” Staub said.
Staub said she enjoys participating because it’s good mental stimulation and allows her to be in the spur of the moment. Staub noted she has friends who watch her perform, and are flabbergasted by her decision to participate.
“Friends of mine who are in the audience don’t understand how I get up on stage,” Staub said. “I don’t think that’s frightening at all. You must be able to incorporate whoever you’re working with and let them get a laugh. It’s fun, it’s interesting.”
For Engellis, she said she always looks forward to seeing the group every week. She recalled an 80-year-old member who pretended she was pregnant, describing the scene as “pure comedic gold.”
“That’s what makes them so fun to watch,” Engellis said. “Because they aren’t afraid to put it out there. They’re not afraid to be a little ridiculous.”
