Memory loss is lonely; this improv class helps change that.

Soundside

Fifteen years ago, actor Pam Nolte received a phone call from a friend who worked at the Greenwood Senior Center in Seattle. Her friend asked if she’d be willing to create an improv class specifically for people with early stage memory loss.

Pam was intrigued. She had zero experience with improv. But had personal experience dealing with her mother’s experience with Alzheimer's disease.

Pam eventually created a gentle and slower-paced improv class. Participants play improv games that tap into their long term memories and their senses, and instructors ask them questions like “what are some sounds you hear in the springtime?” or “what was an activity you loved to do as a kid?”

The class then builds off these prompts, to create longer form improv games.

Students and instructors say the class is a unique experience for people with early stage memory loss, who in the real world are often told “no.” For example, when their doctor tells them they can no longer drive. But in improv class, students are met with a resounding “yes!” to whatever ideas they come up with. And they’re given space and time if they forget what they’re saying mid-sentence.

Experts say improv class offers real benefits for anyone who wants to keep their mind and memory in good shape.

GUESTS:

• Pam Nolte, actor and co-founder of Taproot Theatre Company
• Dr. Danny Fisher, Memory and Brain Wellness Center at Harborview
• Students and instructors from the “improv for memory loss” class

RELATED LINKS:

• Taproot Theatre Company’s “Re-ignite the Mind” Class
• The Upfront Theatre’s “Minds Alive!” class in Bellingham

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Soundside is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network.

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