Vancouver is home to Canada’s first Parkinson’s Disease performance troupe

From the offices of Tightrope Theatre on Vancouver’s Main Street to an international stage in Barcelona, one improv theatre troupe is making a difference for people living with Parkinson’s Disease.

Dan Dumsha says it all began when his neurologist husband asked him to host an improv workshop for some of his patients living with Parkinson’s disease.

“He watched his patients light up like he had never seen before,” Dumsha, director of improv for work and wellness at Tightrope Theatre, said about the workshop.

From there, the workshops evolved into two fully-fledged courses and Canada’s first-ever Parkinson’s Disease Performance Troupe.

Studies have shown improvisation can be used as an effective tool in improving the symptoms of people living with Parkinson’s Disease. As Dumsha explains, skills taught in an improv class, such as listening or collaboration, easily overlap with the skills somebody living with Parkinson’s Disease may use to cope with everyday life.

“This course is specifically about the way Parkinson’s shows up (in life),” he said. “Whether it’s risk-taking, being louder, trusting yourself, letting go of control a little bit… these themes that come up with Parkinson’s just fit so nicely with what we’re working on to make great improv.”

An example of the overlap is ‘masking’ — or when someone with Parkinson’s stops being as expressive in their face, Dumsha says. In improv class, the teacher might ask the class to practice showing a certain emotion, such as self-pity, as a way to practice being expressive while acting. Then, that tool of expression can be translated into their daily lives.

The Parkinson’s Disease Performance Troupe holds hands and raises them in the air after their first in-person performance titled “Tremors and Triumphs” in Barcelona in July, 2023. (Photo provided by Rosemary Morrison)

Strong bonds formed, despite virtual format

There are two levels of Improv for Parkinson’s courses students can take at Tightrope Theatre, before advancing to become part of the Parkinson’s Disease Performance Troupe, if they so choose.

Historically, Tightrope Theatre’s programs have been pay-by-donation.

But thanks to a brand new partnership with Parkinson Canada, Morrison and Dumsha say they’re excited to announce the theatre’s level one course can now be offered completely free of cost.

All courses and troupe rehearsals are held virtually, Dumsha says, which is a key part of why this program works so well for its participants.

“The benefits are huge because, especially with movement disorders like Parkinson’s, if your medications aren’t functioning, you might walk really slow and it might take you a long time to get to a class,” he said. “So for people to be able to join from the comfort of their own home, means they can join on a day when their medications are off.”

Due to its Zoom-based nature, he says the troupe features members from across North America, connecting people in Vancouver with people in places like New York.

Despite being virtual, Dumsha says the connections people form by being a part of this troupe are extremely strong. For Dumsha, he says he found this out the hard way when one of the troupe members passed away around Christmas last year, and the loss he felt was deeply impactful.

“It showed me that these virtual relationships are so real. I had never met him in person and I really had to grieve the loss of that friend, that person who was in the troupe and joking around and learning with us,” he said.

“For me, it showed that this is creating real connections and that it really matters.”

Every week, the 12-person troupe meets over Zoom to rehearse and work towards their two virtual showcases. The next showcase takes place Oct. 25.

Most recently, the troupe performed in Barcelona at the World Parkinson Congress. Titled “Tremors and Triumphs,” it was their first in-person performance.

Rosemary Morrison, improv for wellness coordinator at Tightrope Theatre, says she was at the performance and the reaction to the live show was visceral.

“What hit me was being in a room full of 70 people, plus our performers, and having everybody just killing themselves laughing because everybody’s in on this show and understands the real-life part of it,” she said.

Now, the future is full of hope, says Dumsha. With the theatre’s recent partnership with Parkinson Canada, he says course spots could fill up more quickly and more cohorts can be added to each course.

Whether or not participants get hooked and choose to continue with courses after level one, Dumsha says the theatre’s mission remains to just help people cope.

“We wanted it to be something that we could give these skills to people and then they don’t have to become improvisers, they can just take this mindset and apply it to their life,” he said.