Reminiscing is good, but what about living now?
For many or most people with Alzheimer's and their caregivers, "living in the moment" is a tantalizing ideal - coming closer yet going farther with each lost neuron.
Without a clear sense of our context (what's my story? what's my past? where am I? who are these people? what did they say?), can we really live in the moment?
Dementia can of course be scary. Yet some say Alzheimer's brings out a relaxed and playful personality they never knew was possible.
You may think "This could never work in our family", yet people who seem interminably anxious have been known to relax and have fun.
People with mid-late Alzheimer's are ready and yearning to play. Caregivers can learn to say "yes and" to whatever nonsense their play partner offers.
Jonathon used to think he had to say nice lies to his mom; then he found she can be - and experience herself as - a source of delight.
When he discovered that his miserable mom was actually yearning to play, and that nowhere offered theatrical play for people with dementia, he vowed to change that.
"Can't remember cues, lines or moves? Conversations non-sequiturs?
Improv theatre is for you! We connect the unconnectable."
(All content this page copyright Imagiscape Theatre)
Next session:
Contact us: contact "@t'' imagiscape.ca or 416-763-6565
Location:
234 Keele St - 2 blocks north of Bloor, 2 bus stops from Keele subway station, southbound bus stops at the door.
(12 steps at front of house. If steps are a problem, talk to us about future locations.)
Price: 4-week Series (6 hours): $100 for TWO people (person with dementia and caregiver). Additional family members: $40 each.
Drop-in: $35 for 2 people (person with dementia and caregiver). Additional family members: $15 each.
Other workshops for Living with Alzheimer's
Advance Your Play - Caregivers often don’t like their role. This model support group helps caregivers play their role with more confidence when ‘the curtain opens’ – every day.
Part 1: Have Fun. In private homes and nursing homes, even if residents are in common areas, they tend to be isolated in their own world. They need functional help and compassion, but perhaps above all they need play. Caregivers may assume they - or the person they care for - cannot play. Imagiscape’s theatrical games help people find informal play inherent in the moment. Jonathon thought he had to say nice lies to his mom; then he found she can be - and experience herself as - a source of delight.
Part 2: Free Stuck Scripts. Experiencing home as a play you create with your family – perhaps modeling system dynamics - gives families something to talk about that’s actually interesting, and can be fun. The context turns conflict into collaboration. Moments that might have been frustrating are rich.
Part 3: From Creatures of Habit to Creators of HabitsTM. Beyond going through motions, work the imagination and let imagination inspire movement - part routine, part improvisation. Playfully change the unconscious - grow in freedom from 'automatic pilot' through observing thought and movement patterns, and try on new identities.
Grow Cognitive Reserve through Metaphorical Thinking
Drs. Bialystok, Craik et al found speaking two languages delayed onset of Alzheimer’s symptoms by four years because needing to choose from options for expression develops ‘cognitive reserve’. Can unilinguists also bring choice to their voice? Imagiscape proposes that sustained metaphors & analogies involve 'parallel processing' so grow 'cognitive reserve' – thicker & redundant neural paths. Hence, Imagiscape develops sustained metaphors: experiencing home as theatre / dance / gardening / music / business….
Grow Cognitive Reserve through Theatrical Thinking
Actors play with variables of reality, entering whole new ways of perceiving, feeling, thinking, moving, being. In the exercise "Scene Replay", a scene is immediately replayed in an entirely different way. This ‘translation’ can even be simultaneous - while witnessing an expression, I can imagine an alternative. If bilinguists benefit from choosing among options, would regular theatrical thinking, with many times more choices, also prolong brain health?
(All content this page copyright Imagiscape Theatre)
