The Memory Ensemble: improvising connections among performance, disability, and ageing

ABSTRACT

There is a recognised need for research that illuminates mutually beneficial connections among performance, ageing, disability theory, and praxis. One such project is the Memory Ensemble™, an improvisational theatre intervention for persons with early stage Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD). This case study explores how the programme productively disrupts and expands notions of all three: performance, disability, and ageing. The mission of the Memory Ensemble is to improve the quality of life for persons living with ADRD through the intervention of improvisational performance; to investigate the benefits of this non-pharmacological intervention; and to translate these benefits to other communities.

KEYWORDS:

• Ageing
• disability
• performance

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Christine Mary Dunford is an Associate Professor of Theatre at University of Illinois at Chicago and Lookingglass Theatre Company Ensemble Member.

Hailee M. Yoshizaki-Gibbons is a Doctoral Candidate in Disability Studies at University of Illinois at Chicago.

Darby Morhardt is an Associate Professor of Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer’s Disease Center at Northwestern University.

Notes

1. An activity called ‘Yes, it is!' reinforces basic skills like listening, concentration, and imagination, while at the same time embodying an ensemble ethic and a commitment to saying ‘yes' to ideas in the room. In the activity, participants stand in a circle and take turns transforming an object into something that it is not by naming it and using it. For example, a participant may pick up a shoe, pretend to throw it through the air, and say ‘it’s a football!' In response, the others in the room shout ‘yes, it is!'

2. An ensemble ethic involves a commitment to respecting individual voices and expertise in a group in order to achieve a commonly recognised goal. Objective-based teaching involves a commitment to engaging in activities with a specific learning objective, and, often, on group reflection and/or analysis of achievement of objectives.

 

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported in part by Northwestern Alzheimer’s Disease Core Center, Northwestern University (NIH P30 AG13854).