Parkinson's Performance Troupe

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Detours are an inevitable part of my life. Detours to paths not typically trodden by the cautious. I welcomed them all as challenges, though I was thrown some formidable ones, I conquered them and kept moving onward!

But a Parkinson detour? No! This I wanted to retract from. Not an option, I realized. Had to keep moving…

Whew, I was worn out when vigorous exercise, diet and various other run of the mill suggestions failed. Ready to crawl into a hole and call it quits…or find a divergence. I stumbled upon an old cast out comrade. 

Improv! 

And I found the perfect move to: A Parkinson’s Improv Performance Troupe!

Goodbye hole! Hello heal!

Wit and Play are the fuel that empowers me. Reviving an old friend is renewing me!,

Diagnosed with PD 2013. Since the diagnosis my wife and I have travelled to (not in chronological order) Iceland, Denmark, Germany, France, Greece, Portugal, Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Japan, Thailand, Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Bali, Australia, New Zealand, Mexico,  western USA, Nova Scotia, Ontario and too many to mention BC locations.  Individually I have parachuted and paraglided  (both dual), bobsledded, zip-lined, scuba dived, walked around the Aukland Sky Tower on the Sky Walk, bungie jumped and canoed the Bowron Lakes.  I am still able to ski, although I was ready to quit just before I was diagnosed with PD.  I was golfing until we moved and covid became an issue, I was able to drop my handicap to under 100 after my meds were readjusted. Aways enjoying a change we moved from a land based house in Tsawwassen to a float home (1760 sq ft) in Mosquito Creek Marina, North Vancouver in 2018.  We have experienced and enjoyed our daughter’s wedding, our grandson’s birth, although I was just the voice behind the curtain, and recently his 5th birthday.  Looking forward I am hesitant to say we will complete our bucket list since it is always morphing moment to moment.  I also facilitate a PD Support group on the North Shore.  I have PD but PD does not have me.  PD can try and pry my life from my cold, dead hands. 

Peter is a relative newcomer to Tightrope Theatre and improv, having taken up improv in 2018 to help him deal with the cognitive impacts of Parkinson’s Disease. It’s working so far and Peter can be found supporting Improv programs focused on cognitive wellness and serving the PD community. Prior life experience includes an Economics degree from the Royal Military College, a law degree from University of Victoria and 30 years in the traces as a commercial lawyer. All quite conventional aside from a habit of tending towards the sardonic and wordplay. Peter lives in Vancouver and enjoys a broad range of outdoors activities. 

Larry Gifford, 50, started his improv training by finding new and creative ways to hide mushy Brussels sprouts on his dinner plate as a child. After a 45 year hiatus he’s discovered shredding is the key to great tasting Brussels sprouts. Yes! And… he’s realized life is one big improv scene – say yes to what life offers you. For instance, Parkinson’s disease. Not funny? Larry bets he can make you laugh about the degenerative brain disease. And he insists on shaking on those bets. Laughter is one of the ways Larry takes care of himself and continues to a live a full life despite a Parkinson’s diagnosis in 2017. An Ohioan at birth, Larry moved to Canada to continue his 30+ year career in radio. He’s the National Director of Talk Radio for Corus Entertainment. He loves soup. In fact, he and his wife both love soup. And they can talk or not talk forever. 

Stephen Gardner was diagnosed with Parkinson Disease in 2003, at the age of 43.  He underwent successful Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS)  surgery in March 2013.  Living in Tsawwassen British Columbia with his wife of 29 years, he enjoys working out at the gym and keeping up to date with the latest research into Parkinson Disease.  Until the COVID-19 pandemic he led a local voice and speech group for people with Parkinson,.  He provides support to people with Parkinson who are considering DBS.   He is an original member of the Troupe. 

Shabbir used to be an Electronic Engineer. At the age of 55 he got his M.S. in Therapeutic Recreation. The patient/client is involved in activities that create “leisure state of mind” as part of the treatment or therapy. He is a member of a specialised Toastmasters club that includes improv activities besides the standard Toastmasters program. Check out: www.meetup.com/SVImprovMasters . He has taken part in five classes in the Improv for Parkinson’s program. 

Diagnosed with young onset Parkinson’s in 2008 at the age of 44, Miriam lives with determination in the face of the unknown. Among the many silver linings has been her introduction to Tightrope Theatre’s Parkinson’s
Performance Troupe. Improv helps her to be quick on her “slowed-down” feet.  She loves to laugh and make others laugh. She’s a cyclist, swimmer, yogi and hiker. Miriam lives in Manhattan with her husband, two daughters and Cavapoo named Winnie. 

 Always open to mirthful whimsy, Clara is a proud Canadian whose diagnosis of PD a decade ago re-kindled her creative passions. After a precocious start in fine arts and a fulfilling career in a variety of teaching and therapeutic roles focused on deaf and hard-of-hearing populations, Clara has returned to a broader palette of artistic endeavors. Her recent artistic adventures include visual arts in digital and paint media, textile work, acting, designing and crafting plays, and improvisational merry making. All these activities have been fueled by the laughter and joy she’s able to spark amongst and for persons with PD and their supporters. International efforts to harness and enhance creative spirits with the wider PD community have included the Crane Dance Project highlighted at the WPC in Kyoto in 2019 and the “I am Dance” project currently underway with a path toward the WPC in Barcelona scheduled for July, 2023.