Prudence Barry: Creativity At Any Age
June 21, 2016
Prudence Barry’s life has always been about the arts and creativity. “I was determined, as a senior citizen, to continue being creative,” she says, “We can be creative at any age.” A lifelong actress and poet, she saw no reason why that should change when she reached a certain age.
A longtime resident of Columbia, Prudence founded the Actors Company in 1973 and helped to launch the Howard County Poetry & Literature Society the following year. More than 40 years later, she’s still stretching her own creativity and encouraging others to do the same.
Shortly following her move to Vantage Point in 2014, she’s organized an Actors’ Workshop and helped start a camera club and a poetry group. Her own poetry is often published in Vantage Views, the Vantage House residents’ newsletter.
The Actors Workshop isn’t so much about performing as it is about “understanding and practicing the craft of acting and looking at conditions particular to the actor,” Prudence says. “It’s made my life at Vantage House a joy,” she says of the Actors’ Workshop. “I just love working on it, and I’m so proud of what we’re doing.”