Ask The Activities Director #2
Denise Weiss, Activities Director at the Montgomery Nursing and Rehab Center answers our questions.
Thank you Denise Weiss for answering questions that will help entertainers and musicians get work! Denise is the Activities Director at the Montgomery Nursing and Rehab Center in Orange County, NY. This is one of my favorite places to play. Denise has such a generous upbeat spirit and the whole place seems to follow suit! I played there Easter Sunday 2023 and New Year’s Day 2024. Wonderful experiences!
What type of new acts are you looking for?
I often ask the residents what types of entertainment they’d like to see. I do this in both informal written surveys conducted monthly and also orally in scheduled monthly resident council meetings. While the residents often enjoy singers/musicians, they’ve also asked for magicians, visual artists, dancers, and comedy acts.
What has traditionally worked best?
The residents often react positively to musical entertainers who they can relate to and who they feel genuinely care about them. This comes through when an entertainer interacts with their audience, shows their personality, and invites the residents to make song requests. The residents then feel that they are part of the show and are more engaged.
How do you find talent now?
I have a roster of about 10-12 different entertainers of all different types and styles that I’ve worked with in my eight years working at my long-term care facility. Every now and then a new entertainer will reach out either by phone, e-mail, or by sending me a flyer (as Bibi had done!). I’m very fortunate in that most entertainers have actually found me!
What are crucial "do’s and don’ts" for musicians?
The most important “do” for a musician is to show their personality and have fun. The residents are very perceptive and can truly tell when an entertainer has a passion for what they do and wants to be performing in front of them. The most important “don’t” for a musician is not engaging and interacting with the audience.
How would you like to be approached by entertainers?
I prefer to be approached by entertainers either by phone, e-mail, or by mail flyer. For new talent, I will always ask for a reference (either a website that has a past performance or a physical demo reel). I really do need to hear what an entertainer offers and what their performance will sound or look like before I can confidently hire them.
What are the circumstances where there may be room in the budget for a duo or trio?
Though not often, about once or twice a year our budget can expand to accommodate the cost of a duo or trio (assuming this doubles or triples the overall performance fee). National Skilled Nursing Home Week occurs in May and we can often accommodate a larger budget this month, in addition to months that don’t have many holidays (April, June and August, for example).
Have you tried room to room strolling programs?
Absolutely, and it worked well! During the early months and years of the COVID19 pandemic (March 2020 through summer 2021), we were forced to do “strolling minstrel” programs both inside and outside of our facility or we weren’t permitted to have entertainment at all. When residents are quarantined and our common rooms are closed, we also do this and it’s a great workaround.
Do you work with agencies as well as individuals?
I’ve only worked with individual musicians in my eight years of working in long-term care.
Any memorable experiences, good or bad, you’d like to share?
We’ve definitely had more positive memorable experiences than negative! I’ll never forget the performance when one of our regular piano entertainers brought residents to tears when he played “Ave Maria” for the group. It brought back memories of one of the resident’s late husband and the next time he came she invited her daughter to the performance. To this day, she always requests that beautiful song!
Do you welcome volunteers?
Yes! We recently updated our Volunteer Policy and Procedure. We have three church choirs that currently come in to perform for the residents on a regular basis. We also have children’s youth groups that come in to sing for the residents, often during the holidays.
Thank you so much for doing this! Anyone who has ever performed in a nursing home or had relatives in a nursing home is well aware of the joy that entertainers can bring to residents.
Sitting alone all day in an institution is no fun. Believe me, I know. I had fun once.