February 24, 2025 • 28 mins
Audio family! We shot this episode on location at Dad's Garage, but we made sure to include our listeners to get insight on what we learned. This episode explores the transformative power of improvisational comedy in dementia caregiving. We dive into an inspiring gathering connecting science and creativity, highlighting how humor can enhance communication and understanding in caregiving.
In this episode, expect:
• Overview of the "Improving Care Through Improv" program
• Insights from experts on the benefits of using improv with dementia patients
• Personal stories from caregivers on their experiences and learnings
• Discussion on emotional wellbeing and self-care for caregivers
• The scientific foundation supporting improv as a therapeutic approach
• Encouragement to cultivate community support among caregivers
We do suggest that you check out the video on youtube.com/@parentingup
Host: J Smiles
Producer: Mia Hall
Editor: Annelise Udoye
#CaregivingJourney
#DementiaAwareness
#AlzheimersCare
#CaregiverSupport
#HumorInCaregiving
#EndAlz
#gerontology
#georgiastate
"Alzheimer's is heavy but we ain't gotta be!"
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
What's up?
Family?
It's your girl, j Smiles, and Iam on location in Dad's garage.
Nobody is fixing cars over hereor doing oil changes.
It's a wonderful theater inAtlanta, but tonight we were
doing something really special.
Actually, there was a wholeprogram with really fancy
(00:22):
scientists, gerontologists andother things that I can't
pronounce giving us researchtechniques on how come improv
that's right, a comedic tool canactually help caregivers and
caries through the whole worldof dementia.
A NIH grant, a Georgia StateUniversity grant, y'all.
(00:49):
I was here with fancy peopledoing fancy stuff.
It was so exciting, so I wantyou to stick with me.
Watch as we go along, chat withsome folks, give you some BTS.
You know behind the scenesfootage.
All right, you ready.
It's some good stuff and you'regetting it for free.
Parenting Up caregivingadventures with comedian Jay
(01:10):
Smiles is the intense journey ofunexpectedly being fully
responsible for my mama.
For over a decade, I've beenchipping away at the unknown,
advocating for her and pushingAlzheimer's awareness on anyone
and anything with a heartbeat.
Spoiler alert this shit isheavy.
(01:32):
That's why I started doingcomedy.
So be ready for the jokes.
Caregiver newbies, ogs andvillage members just willing to
prop up a caregiver you are inthe right place.
Hi, this is Zeddy.
I hope you enjoy my daughter'spodcast, is that okay?
(01:56):
Today's supporter shout out isfrom YouTube.
Today's supporter shout out isfrom YouTube Shante Carter,
hyphen Lacey, 144.
Quote thank you for guiding uson this journey of parenting up.
Emoji red heart.
(02:17):
You are so welcome.
I don't know if I'm guidingy'all or if y'all are guiding me
, but we are in this togetherand together we can make it out,
because caregiving sucks, butwe love our folks and we're
going to stay in it.
If you want to be the recipientof the caregiver.
Speaker 2 (02:58):
Supporter.
Shout out, please.
Please leave a review on ApplePodcasts, ig or YouTube.
Thank you to the organizingcommittee, dr Antonia Skipper,
dr Wendy Simons, and to CelesteGreen for the program on
publicity cover design, andespecially to the staff from
Dad's Garage, especially NateRosie.
(03:18):
Thank you so much for welcomingus and doing this with us.
Many thanks also to ourstudents, alumni, community
partners and friends ofgerontology.
You're here tonight, so you'rea friend of gerontology.
A special thanks goes out thisyear to Improving Through Improv
, led by Amanda Lee Williams andin collaboration with Dad's
(03:39):
Garage.
I think this project and theprogram you will see tonight is
a shining example of what we cando if we work closely with our
community partners to engage, becreative and use joy and
laughter to move forward towardshigh quality of life for older
adults and their care partners.
You are our Gerontology familyand we appreciate all of you and
(04:02):
thank you all for being, forbeing here and what you do for
the institute and for olderadults and their care partners
across georgia and beyond.
The gerontology institute issmall but mighty.
The best thing about thegerontology institute is our
family life and collegialculture, as you've noticed we're
doing something a littledifferent this year and bringing
the pain lecture to you fromDad's garage.
(04:33):
We're also featuring one of ourown core faculty, Dr Candice
Kemp, and I'm very sure Ted isgoing to do a great job of
showering her with accolades injust a minute.
I just need to say a few wordsabout Dr Kemp.
Candice has been a friend andcolleague of mine since 2003,
when I met her while eightmonths pregnant with my now
(04:54):
21-year-old daughter.
Over the last two decades I'vehad the privilege of working by
her side and witnessing her many, many talents.
Candice Kemp's work is ashining example of rigorous
academic research that engagesimportant issues facing older
adults and their care partners.
It is clear that she caresdeeply about older adults and is
(05:14):
moved to figure out ways tosupport them in ways that
optimize quality of life.
Speaker 4 (05:19):
Chicken in the car and the car won't go.
Even with improv training fordementia communication, I had no
idea where to go with that.
So my lovely wife Susan and Iwere up north visiting a
relative in Maori care havinglunch, and I was fishing for
(05:41):
some connection around a chanceencounter story, a humorous tale
that we had been sharing forabout 35 years.
Instead, I got chicken in thecar and the car won't go.
I'll come back to that.
I'm Ted Johnson, co-director ofGeorgia Gear.
Maybe you got a temporarytattoo when you were downstairs.
(06:03):
Georgia Gear is a federallyfunded program at Emory
University that supportsinnovations in senior care, like
this awesome example.
Tonight, here at Dad's Garage,you'll hear from Dr Candice
Pound, who will be deliveringthe Barbara Payne Lectureship,
along with her and our awesomepartner Amanda Lee Williams, a
Dad's Garage actor that'sleading a program called
(06:25):
Improving Care Through Improv.
Chicken in the car and the carwon't go that's how you spell
Chicago.
Speaker 5 (06:44):
And then it clicked.
Speaker 4 (06:47):
The person that I was talking to remembered or maybe
didn't, that we had met inChicago, nearby where I was on
campus at Bethel School.
And I said we were in Chicagowhen we ran into each other on
campus, right, and suggested,exactly, you were fine, exactly,
and then the conversation justsort of floated away.
(07:09):
So, fishing for a 35 year oldmemory, I caught a 70 year old
memory about phonics.
And how do you spell the cityChicago?
Get in the car and the carwon't go.
It connected in some cosmic way.
(07:31):
This story, and that's thepower of improv finding
enjoyment in meaning where youweren't sure that there was any.
So tonight you are in for atreat.
Welcome to the Barbara PayneLecture.
Speaker 7 (07:48):
First, as you might know and if you don't, you're
going to learn it tonight improvoften involves unscripted
collaborative performance.
Yes, and is a commonly knownimprov phrase that encourages
people to accept and build onwhat others are saying or doing.
Improv training shows potentialfor enhancing creative thinking
and the ability to deal withuncertainty, including chicken
(08:10):
Chicago.
It's been shown to improveempathy, flexibility and
listening skills amonghealthcare practitioners, and
preliminary work also associatesimprov training among family
care partners with positiveoutcomes.
Speaker 1 (08:26):
Hey, what's up?
Parented Up family.
Guess what.
Have you ever wanted to connectwith other caregivers?
You wanna see more behind thescenes footage?
Wanna know what me and Zeddyare doing?
I know you do All things.
Jsmiles are finally ready foryou, even when I go live.
(08:47):
Do it now with us on Patreon.
Join us in the Patreoncommunity.
Catch everything we're doing.
Visit patreoncom.
Forward.
Slash JSmilesStudios with an S.
Tonight we are attending anevent which I love the title
(09:14):
Improving.
I don't want to mess it upImproving Care Through Improv.
Speaker 8 (09:19):
Yes.
Speaker 1 (09:20):
Improving Care Through Improv yes.
Do you agree with that and howdid you feel about the program?
Speaker 8 (09:27):
I totally agree with that, because we know, if you're
a family caregiver and yourperson is living with dementia,
we know that it can be verychallenging and we haven't been
taught and equipped with what todo and how to handle it and the
(09:50):
tools and just changing ourthought pattern, yes, that we
can use these things, yes, andintegrate these approaches, is
so eye-opening for people ifthey've never thought about it
before.
Speaker 1 (10:08):
That's right.
As a stand-up comedian, I wouldsay that I have routinely
offered people hey, if you'retrying something, use yes, and I
was so encouraged to hear thatbe a part of the program tonight
.
Yes, that's like commandmentnumber one, actually commandment
(10:28):
number two.
Yes and yes In improv.
And do you feel that that wouldhelp you and the people that
you engage with?
Speaker 8 (10:36):
I've watched it help people Okay For a long, long
time and I've been a part littlepart of this program.
I got to go through the classWonderful and provide feedback
and I watched it help people somuch.
(10:58):
It's excellent.
Speaker 1 (11:00):
Y'all heard it here Improv comedy helps caregivers
and it's somebody working withfancy people in the Science and
Gerontology Institute.
So don't you ain't got tobelieve me, a stand-up comedian,
it's fancy science.
Speaker 8 (11:15):
Well, and the person that they mentioned in there,
karen Stobbe, s-t-o-b-e, and herhusband, mundy Carter.
They are amazing and they areboth improv folks who really, I
think, started this whole focuson using improv for people
(11:43):
living with dementia.
They were actors and improvfolks on using improv for people
living with dementia.
They were actors and improvfolks and then became family
caregivers and they've actuallydone a TED Talk on it.
Speaker 3 (12:00):
Say yes and.
Speaker 5 (12:03):
Agree, don't deny.
Speaker 3 (12:04):
Accept offers and gifts.
Speaker 5 (12:06):
Be specific, listen, fully, accept the reality given
to you.
Speaker 3 (12:11):
Go with the flow.
Speaker 5 (12:13):
Share focus Give and take.
Speaker 3 (12:15):
Silence can be powerful.
Speaker 5 (12:17):
Commit 100%.
Speaker 3 (12:19):
Be in the moment.
Speaker 5 (12:22):
Those are some of the guidelines for performing
improvisation.
Speaker 3 (12:25):
Those also happen to be some of the guidelines for
being with a person who isliving with Alzheimer's.
Speaker 5 (12:31):
My name is Mundy Carter.
I have a degree in philosophyand theater, so I can really
think about not working.
I met my wife, karen, whileperforming improv.
My name's Karen Stobe.
Speaker 3 (12:44):
I love performing, but I'm lousy at memorization,
so I took up improv 30 years ago.
My dad, Manfred, passed awayfrom Alzheimer's disease in
October of 2000, and my mom,Virginia, has been living with
Alzheimer's for the past 13years.
I realized in caregiving forboth of my parents that the
(13:04):
guidelines for improv and theguidelines for being with a
person with Alzheimer's areparallel.
Speaker 8 (13:11):
That's phenomenal, so everybody needs to check out
their TED Talk.
I agree.
Speaker 1 (13:16):
Actors and activists that is a lot of what being a
family caregiver is.
Speaker 8 (13:22):
Yeah, well thank you so much.
Thank you, it was a pleasure tomeet you.
Yes, thank you.
Speaker 9 (13:27):
My name is Dr Antonia Skipper.
I'm an assistant professor ofgerontology at Georgia State
University.
Speaker 1 (13:33):
My mom getting Alzheimer's.
Actually it didn't I won't sayit for Dr Skipper because I
chose to leave my life ofengineering and law and design
and all this stuff to become acaregiver.
Then I became a comedianbecause of being a caregiver.
So all of these things that youall are working are putting
(13:53):
together scientifically forpeople to understand what humor
does.
I didn't know whether to laughor cry After I'm watching I'm
like, oh my God, somebody seesme and sees what I feel, and you
all are scientists.
So I think the way you say itis going to help me tell people
no, for real, this really works.
(14:14):
I got people with coats andletters behind their names
who've done studies funded byNIH and the government and
things.
So how did y'all even decide todo this study?
Speaker 9 (14:31):
This is a.
Really this lasted a year.
It is, it is and this is all DrKemp's baby and I think she's
had this idea for a very, verylong time and she just kind of
took it and ran with it and it'samazing to see kind of what
it's grown into and what it'sbecome.
But I think so much of it has apart of Gerontology Institute
(14:51):
in it as well, and so even if wedon't study it directly, you'll
see that Dr Jennifer CraftMorgan works on it with these
projects and you know kind ofall of us and a lot of my work
is with strong black families,and so I consider how humor
contributes to long lastingrelationships, how humor helps
families to be together for 30,40, 50 years and marriages and
(15:13):
things of that nature, and so Ithink it all kind of ties
together.
But the improv piece is justamazing and I mean it's
wonderful what Dr Kemp is doingwith it.
Speaker 1 (15:22):
You spoke of being involved in gerontology, and you
are your choice in gerontologyand you are your choice, yes,
your, your expertise is instrong black families, which I
could go ahead and start doing auh, a praise dance right here,
but I won't do that right now.
How, how did you decide that,within gerontology, that's what
(15:42):
you wanted to focus on there's alot going on with the elderly
people.
Yes, so that's a nice slice ofour community.
How did you get to that?
Speaker 9 (15:50):
I mean, I honestly got so it started in just family
research.
I got tired of the deficitnarratives around black families
.
You know, we hear a lot aboutdivorce, we hear a lot about
deficit, we hear a lot aboutdeadbeat dads, we hear all of
the negatives.
And so I wanted to understandwhat keeps black families
together and strong for a longtime, especially in marriages,
and nobody's really doing thatresearch and asking couples who
(16:12):
have been married for 40, 50, 60years, how'd you do it?
And really understanding whatgets at the crux of staying
together, what gets at the cruxof building a strong union, and
even on the caregiving aspect,and understanding how these
couples come together andthere's no individual.
If you have a sickness, we'resick and you don't have to get
through it.
We're going to get through it.
(16:32):
And so just understanding theblack family and how the black
family stays strong has justbecome my life work.
You know it's amazing to do.
Speaker 1 (16:40):
I love it.
I saw that with my grandparents.
They really were one unit asthey aged and parts of their
body started to fail them.
My grandfather couldn't see,but my grandmother had
osteoporosis and was weak, andmy grandfather went blind from
diabetes.
To watch them figure out howthey were going to fold and wash
(17:03):
the clothes, who was going tosort and who was going to take
it to the washing machine andthe dryer.
At first I was upset that mymama and her siblings hadn't
like god, I'm gonna better do itthemselves, I say.
But you know what?
Actually, they still havepurpose right and they're taking
care of each other, and thenumber of people who have told
(17:23):
me hey, jade smiles the reasonwhy I'm still with this man, or
the reason why I'm with this,this sister, she makes me laugh
yeah, humor is a big piece it'shard out there I have a piece
that's been accepted, um withmarriage and family review, so
it'll be published soon, butit's on understanding humor in
the role of, uh, strengtheningfamilies across the life force
(17:47):
and so it
Speaker 9 (17:47):
really is considering .
I mean bringing across theimprov and just comedy and all
of that stuff.
I mean you think about blackfolks, like we've been taught
since forever.
You know you laugh through it,you smile through it, you laugh
to keep from crying and all ofthat.
And so you know we don't have achoice.
We don't have a choice a lot oftimes when you don't have other
resources.
You know that's alwayssomething you can look toward,
(18:13):
that's always something you canlean on.
Speaker 1 (18:14):
So I think it just intersects so well with a lot of
the work that we're doing inJared's Island.
I love it and so I look forwardto having you on the podcast,
maybe having you in a skit,maybe having you at a comedy
show, Maybe I come talk to youand your people and your team.
I'm just saying let's make ithappen.
You're doing the heavy liftingso I could just come in and tell
some jokes.
Speaker 9 (18:32):
I mean, that's the beauty of it is because, like
you know, we publish and we dothe research, but so often those
messages don't get out to thecommunity.
So you're doing the work in thecommunity that really you know.
That's where it needs to be told, right, because the people I'm
writing, for they don't havesubscriptions to these different
journals and know about what'sgoing on with my grants and
(18:52):
things of that nature.
So I need you to be the voicethat can get my message out to
the community.
So I appreciate it.
Doc needs me.
We're going to make it happen.
Speaker 1 (19:00):
A doctor of gerontology, which my
grandfather would not even knowhow to spell, needs me.
I appreciate it.
I love it.
I love it.
Thank you, honey, thank you,okay, we just attended this
fancy program, yes, tellingpeople how you can use improv to
help caregivers dealing withpeople with dementia.
(19:23):
How did you feel about theprogram?
Speaker 10 (19:26):
You know my expectations.
I didn't have any coming, butwhatever, if I had, they would
have exceeded it.
I think it was a greatopportunity to get a chance to
see a different perspective oncommunication with dementia and
older care, and I think it wasawesome.
Speaker 6 (19:46):
Yes, I thought it was amazing as well.
I've been working withlong-term care and persons
living with dementia for manyyears and to see those best
practices really put into suchan interesting way that everyone
can be a part and learn from itand I think it would be
(20:06):
successful with persons livingwith dementia either at home or
in a community it was amazing.
Speaker 1 (20:12):
So both of you are in gerontology programs.
Speaker 10 (20:16):
Yes, yeah, that's a mouthful.
Speaker 1 (20:18):
Did I say it right?
Gerontology Okay, how did youget into the study of old people
?
Speaker 10 (20:24):
Okay, well for me.
I was introduced through aprofessor of mine and my
undergrad is in speech-languagepathology.
So I was torn in between did Iwant to work with older people
or did I want to work with theyouth?
And so, just aftercontemplating and weighing all
my options, I figured thatworking with older adults was
best for me.
(20:45):
As a child, I always wanted tobe a nurse.
So, even though I went adifferent route, I'm still kind
of like in the medicalhealthcare field.
My great grandmother had astroke when I was 10 years old
and so she was kind of like thepillar for me to want to be into
the medical field.
And so I was calling her littlenurse when I was 10 years old
(21:05):
and I was helping my grandmothergive her her medication, just
sitting in her um room, justtalking to her, communicating
with her.
So I always had a thing forolder adults.
I think I understand them, theyunderstand me.
So that's how I was introduced.
With a little push from myprofessor, she was like I think
you, you know what you need todo that's right, that's right.
So that's what you should youlike old folks, I like old folks
(21:28):
, I'm old folks, I'm old, so Ihave an old soul.
I don't want to be ages, but Ido believe that I have an old
soul and I do have thatconnection right, that's
beautiful, you've been doingthis, yeah, I've been doing this
.
Speaker 1 (21:40):
So the name of the program is improving care
through improv.
Did you see anything?
Or were you exposed to anythingat tonight's program when
you're like you know what,that's hot.
I think I'm gonna try to dothat, or I'm gonna tell my
clients you should try thattechnique, because improv is way
(22:02):
better than what I was doingbefore definitely.
Speaker 6 (22:06):
I saw a lot of um of ways that I would really like to
see this program, or somethinglike it, with people that I work
with, because persons livingwith dementia.
There are people who sometimescome to that field at different
levels and they really don'thave a lot of education
(22:26):
regarding persons with dementia,but I feel like it was
something useful that everyone,at any level of their education,
can benefit from.
Whether you're a CEO, a doctor,a CNA, I think that there's
something everyone can learnfrom here.
I love it.
I love it.
Speaker 1 (22:42):
Thank you all so much .
As a stand up comedian, as astand up comedian living with my
mom we were like in year 13 ofher having Alzheimer's it just
warms my heart to know thatthere are professionals in
science who are willing to leaninto improv as a way to engage
(23:02):
clients.
So thank you, thank you so much.
Thank you so much.
I appreciate it.
The Parenting Up podcast willbe looking for you all too.
All right, spread the word.
Speaker 10 (23:12):
Y'all know we keep it lit, thank you.
Speaker 1 (23:16):
Okay, it's over.
I attended the program.
It was so fantastic.
So Georgia State University,dad's Garage, five or six other
organizations came together togive us a program.
It was half lecture and halfwatch.
What these improv people aredoing.
(23:36):
I love it.
I mean, I'm a stand-up comedian.
How could I not love that?
On the real, though, as afamily caregiver, I felt seen.
I felt so seen in a way thatnormally doesn't happen.
There were researchers andscientists, people with PhDs in
a multitude of areas, whoactually have spent years
(24:01):
putting together tests andstudies and programs to prove
scientifically that, yes, improvand improv techniques can
actually make a caregiver's lifebetter and it can make the
caree's life better.
I've been saying that for like10 years, but I don't have a PhD
(24:23):
and nobody believed me.
But now I think, when I tellthem about this stuff, I'm like
yep, it's not just me, I ain'tcrazy.
Y'all this was so dope.
I can't wait.
I can't wait, I can't wait toshare even more.
I think I'm going to put someof this in my stand-up.
The Snuggle-Ups Number one hey,caregivers, there are
(24:52):
scientists out there right now,even in 2025, fighting for us to
figure out ways to make thingseasier for us Talent and
technique.
Can you believe that, even at atime when, I mean, let's just
call a spade a spade, we don'tknow where money is coming from,
(25:14):
we don't know where researchdolls are going, we're under
attack from our own federalgovernment, but it's people out
here, nonprofits and privateinstitutions who are like, get
on our back, we're going tocarry you through FCGs.
Number two there are peoplegoing to school to major in.
(25:37):
How can we make life better forold people?
Ain't that great?
Like I mean, gerontology is notwhat you hear people talking
about anywhere.
I mean in the street, on theairplane, at the coffee shop.
When have you met somebody sayyou know what?
I'm just trying to make sure Iget my GMAT score up, get my
(26:01):
SATs right so I can go be agerontologist.
Like, first of all, what thehell is it?
Does everybody even understand?
It is the study of how you age.
I mean really age.
You got to be like over 65.
You can't just be getting older.
We met and saw so many peopleof different genders, of
(26:26):
different ethnicities who areright now, in this day and age,
getting their undergraduate andmaster's in gerontology just to
learn how we age and grow andlive better.
That is promising as hell.
People want to say we're goingto hell in a handbasket.
(26:48):
I say no, I say drink somewater, take a nap and wait for
some of these young kids to fixthis shit that we broke.
Number three Listen, it's toughon us out here right now.
How are you feeling?
Especially if you are a womanand double down if you are a
(27:12):
woman of color.
How are you doing?
The world has a lot of anxiety,a lot of mistrust and a lot of
dissension in it, which hasnothing to do with your loved
one.
The political stuff that'sgoing on, you know fires
breaking out and planes crashing.
(27:36):
How are you doing?
Please stop, take a beat, takea breath.
Whether it's a long, longerbath, or maybe you use your
favorite lotion extra, go ahead,use it all up.
Who gives a shit?
I mean, somebody will figureout how to buy you some more
(27:56):
next week.
The point is, there is so muchstress that is happening in the
world around us externally, yougot to find a way to release it.
How are you doing?
Check in with yourself.
You matter the most.
If you didn't think so, jaceMiles just told you yeah, hell,
(28:18):
yeah, you matter the most.
Yes, yes, you do.
I said you do.
I said you do, damn it.
You matter even more than yourLO.
Fight me.
What's up?
Family?
It's your girl, j Smiles, and Iam on location in Dad's garage.
Nobody is fixing cars over hereor doing oil changes.
It's a wonderful theater inAtlanta, but tonight we were
doing something really special.
Actually, there was a wholeprogram with really fancy
(00:22):
scientists, gerontologists andother things that I can't
pronounce giving us researchtechniques on how come improv
that's right, a comedic tool canactually help caregivers and
caries through the whole worldof dementia.
A NIH grant, a Georgia StateUniversity grant, y'all.
(00:49):
I was here with fancy peopledoing fancy stuff.
It was so exciting, so I wantyou to stick with me.
Watch as we go along, chat withsome folks, give you some BTS.
You know behind the scenesfootage.
All right, you ready.
It's some good stuff and you'regetting it for free.
Parenting Up caregivingadventures with comedian Jay
(01:10):
Smiles is the intense journey ofunexpectedly being fully
responsible for my mama.
For over a decade, I've beenchipping away at the unknown,
advocating for her and pushingAlzheimer's awareness on anyone
and anything with a heartbeat.
Spoiler alert this shit isheavy.
(01:32):
That's why I started doingcomedy.
So be ready for the jokes.
Caregiver newbies, ogs andvillage members just willing to
prop up a caregiver you are inthe right place.
Hi, this is Zeddy.
I hope you enjoy my daughter'spodcast, is that okay?
(01:56):
Today's supporter shout out isfrom YouTube.
Today's supporter shout out isfrom YouTube Shante Carter,
hyphen Lacey, 144.
Quote thank you for guiding uson this journey of parenting up.
Emoji red heart.
(02:17):
You are so welcome.
I don't know if I'm guidingy'all or if y'all are guiding me
, but we are in this togetherand together we can make it out,
because caregiving sucks, butwe love our folks and we're
going to stay in it.
If you want to be the recipientof the caregiver.
Speaker 2 (02:58):
Supporter.
Shout out, please.
Please leave a review on ApplePodcasts, ig or YouTube.
Thank you to the organizingcommittee, dr Antonia Skipper,
dr Wendy Simons, and to CelesteGreen for the program on
publicity cover design, andespecially to the staff from
Dad's Garage, especially NateRosie.
(03:18):
Thank you so much for welcomingus and doing this with us.
Many thanks also to ourstudents, alumni, community
partners and friends ofgerontology.
You're here tonight, so you'rea friend of gerontology.
A special thanks goes out thisyear to Improving Through Improv
, led by Amanda Lee Williams andin collaboration with Dad's
(03:39):
Garage.
I think this project and theprogram you will see tonight is
a shining example of what we cando if we work closely with our
community partners to engage, becreative and use joy and
laughter to move forward towardshigh quality of life for older
adults and their care partners.
You are our Gerontology familyand we appreciate all of you and
(04:02):
thank you all for being, forbeing here and what you do for
the institute and for olderadults and their care partners
across georgia and beyond.
The gerontology institute issmall but mighty.
The best thing about thegerontology institute is our
family life and collegialculture, as you've noticed we're
doing something a littledifferent this year and bringing
the pain lecture to you fromDad's garage.
(04:33):
We're also featuring one of ourown core faculty, Dr Candice
Kemp, and I'm very sure Ted isgoing to do a great job of
showering her with accolades injust a minute.
I just need to say a few wordsabout Dr Kemp.
Candice has been a friend andcolleague of mine since 2003,
when I met her while eightmonths pregnant with my now
(04:54):
21-year-old daughter.
Over the last two decades I'vehad the privilege of working by
her side and witnessing her many, many talents.
Candice Kemp's work is ashining example of rigorous
academic research that engagesimportant issues facing older
adults and their care partners.
It is clear that she caresdeeply about older adults and is
(05:14):
moved to figure out ways tosupport them in ways that
optimize quality of life.
Speaker 4 (05:19):
Chicken in the car and the car won't go.
Even with improv training fordementia communication, I had no
idea where to go with that.
So my lovely wife Susan and Iwere up north visiting a
relative in Maori care havinglunch, and I was fishing for
(05:41):
some connection around a chanceencounter story, a humorous tale
that we had been sharing forabout 35 years.
Instead, I got chicken in thecar and the car won't go.
I'll come back to that.
I'm Ted Johnson, co-director ofGeorgia Gear.
Maybe you got a temporarytattoo when you were downstairs.
(06:03):
Georgia Gear is a federallyfunded program at Emory
University that supportsinnovations in senior care, like
this awesome example.
Tonight, here at Dad's Garage,you'll hear from Dr Candice
Pound, who will be deliveringthe Barbara Payne Lectureship,
along with her and our awesomepartner Amanda Lee Williams, a
Dad's Garage actor that'sleading a program called
(06:25):
Improving Care Through Improv.
Chicken in the car and the carwon't go that's how you spell
Chicago.
Speaker 5 (06:44):
And then it clicked.
Speaker 4 (06:47):
The person that I was talking to remembered or maybe
didn't, that we had met inChicago, nearby where I was on
campus at Bethel School.
And I said we were in Chicagowhen we ran into each other on
campus, right, and suggested,exactly, you were fine, exactly,
and then the conversation justsort of floated away.
(07:09):
So, fishing for a 35 year oldmemory, I caught a 70 year old
memory about phonics.
And how do you spell the cityChicago?
Get in the car and the carwon't go.
It connected in some cosmic way.
(07:31):
This story, and that's thepower of improv finding
enjoyment in meaning where youweren't sure that there was any.
So tonight you are in for atreat.
Welcome to the Barbara PayneLecture.
Speaker 7 (07:48):
First, as you might know and if you don't, you're
going to learn it tonight improvoften involves unscripted
collaborative performance.
Yes, and is a commonly knownimprov phrase that encourages
people to accept and build onwhat others are saying or doing.
Improv training shows potentialfor enhancing creative thinking
and the ability to deal withuncertainty, including chicken
(08:10):
Chicago.
It's been shown to improveempathy, flexibility and
listening skills amonghealthcare practitioners, and
preliminary work also associatesimprov training among family
care partners with positiveoutcomes.
Speaker 1 (08:26):
Hey, what's up?
Parented Up family.
Guess what.
Have you ever wanted to connectwith other caregivers?
You wanna see more behind thescenes footage?
Wanna know what me and Zeddyare doing?
I know you do All things.
Jsmiles are finally ready foryou, even when I go live.
(08:47):
Do it now with us on Patreon.
Join us in the Patreoncommunity.
Catch everything we're doing.
Visit patreoncom.
Forward.
Slash JSmilesStudios with an S.
Tonight we are attending anevent which I love the title
(09:14):
Improving.
I don't want to mess it upImproving Care Through Improv.
Speaker 8 (09:19):
Yes.
Speaker 1 (09:20):
Improving Care Through Improv yes.
Do you agree with that and howdid you feel about the program?
Speaker 8 (09:27):
I totally agree with that, because we know, if you're
a family caregiver and yourperson is living with dementia,
we know that it can be verychallenging and we haven't been
taught and equipped with what todo and how to handle it and the
(09:50):
tools and just changing ourthought pattern, yes, that we
can use these things, yes, andintegrate these approaches, is
so eye-opening for people ifthey've never thought about it
before.
Speaker 1 (10:08):
That's right.
As a stand-up comedian, I wouldsay that I have routinely
offered people hey, if you'retrying something, use yes, and I
was so encouraged to hear thatbe a part of the program tonight
.
Yes, that's like commandmentnumber one, actually commandment
(10:28):
number two.
Yes and yes In improv.
And do you feel that that wouldhelp you and the people that
you engage with?
Speaker 8 (10:36):
I've watched it help people Okay For a long, long
time and I've been a part littlepart of this program.
I got to go through the classWonderful and provide feedback
and I watched it help people somuch.
(10:58):
It's excellent.
Speaker 1 (11:00):
Y'all heard it here Improv comedy helps caregivers
and it's somebody working withfancy people in the Science and
Gerontology Institute.
So don't you ain't got tobelieve me, a stand-up comedian,
it's fancy science.
Speaker 8 (11:15):
Well, and the person that they mentioned in there,
karen Stobbe, s-t-o-b-e, and herhusband, mundy Carter.
They are amazing and they areboth improv folks who really, I
think, started this whole focuson using improv for people
(11:43):
living with dementia.
They were actors and improvfolks on using improv for people
living with dementia.
They were actors and improvfolks and then became family
caregivers and they've actuallydone a TED Talk on it.
Speaker 3 (12:00):
Say yes and.
Speaker 5 (12:03):
Agree, don't deny.
Speaker 3 (12:04):
Accept offers and gifts.
Speaker 5 (12:06):
Be specific, listen, fully, accept the reality given
to you.
Speaker 3 (12:11):
Go with the flow.
Speaker 5 (12:13):
Share focus Give and take.
Speaker 3 (12:15):
Silence can be powerful.
Speaker 5 (12:17):
Commit 100%.
Speaker 3 (12:19):
Be in the moment.
Speaker 5 (12:22):
Those are some of the guidelines for performing
improvisation.
Speaker 3 (12:25):
Those also happen to be some of the guidelines for
being with a person who isliving with Alzheimer's.
Speaker 5 (12:31):
My name is Mundy Carter.
I have a degree in philosophyand theater, so I can really
think about not working.
I met my wife, karen, whileperforming improv.
My name's Karen Stobe.
Speaker 3 (12:44):
I love performing, but I'm lousy at memorization,
so I took up improv 30 years ago.
My dad, Manfred, passed awayfrom Alzheimer's disease in
October of 2000, and my mom,Virginia, has been living with
Alzheimer's for the past 13years.
I realized in caregiving forboth of my parents that the
(13:04):
guidelines for improv and theguidelines for being with a
person with Alzheimer's areparallel.
Speaker 8 (13:11):
That's phenomenal, so everybody needs to check out
their TED Talk.
I agree.
Speaker 1 (13:16):
Actors and activists that is a lot of what being a
family caregiver is.
Speaker 8 (13:22):
Yeah, well thank you so much.
Thank you, it was a pleasure tomeet you.
Yes, thank you.
Speaker 9 (13:27):
My name is Dr Antonia Skipper.
I'm an assistant professor ofgerontology at Georgia State
University.
Speaker 1 (13:33):
My mom getting Alzheimer's.
Actually it didn't I won't sayit for Dr Skipper because I
chose to leave my life ofengineering and law and design
and all this stuff to become acaregiver.
Then I became a comedianbecause of being a caregiver.
So all of these things that youall are working are putting
(13:53):
together scientifically forpeople to understand what humor
does.
I didn't know whether to laughor cry After I'm watching I'm
like, oh my God, somebody seesme and sees what I feel, and you
all are scientists.
So I think the way you say itis going to help me tell people
no, for real, this really works.
(14:14):
I got people with coats andletters behind their names
who've done studies funded byNIH and the government and
things.
So how did y'all even decide todo this study?
Speaker 9 (14:31):
This is a.
Really this lasted a year.
It is, it is and this is all DrKemp's baby and I think she's
had this idea for a very, verylong time and she just kind of
took it and ran with it and it'samazing to see kind of what
it's grown into and what it'sbecome.
But I think so much of it has apart of Gerontology Institute
(14:51):
in it as well, and so even if wedon't study it directly, you'll
see that Dr Jennifer CraftMorgan works on it with these
projects and you know kind ofall of us and a lot of my work
is with strong black families,and so I consider how humor
contributes to long lastingrelationships, how humor helps
families to be together for 30,40, 50 years and marriages and
(15:13):
things of that nature, and so Ithink it all kind of ties
together.
But the improv piece is justamazing and I mean it's
wonderful what Dr Kemp is doingwith it.
Speaker 1 (15:22):
You spoke of being involved in gerontology, and you
are your choice in gerontologyand you are your choice, yes,
your, your expertise is instrong black families, which I
could go ahead and start doing auh, a praise dance right here,
but I won't do that right now.
How, how did you decide that,within gerontology, that's what
(15:42):
you wanted to focus on there's alot going on with the elderly
people.
Yes, so that's a nice slice ofour community.
How did you get to that?
Speaker 9 (15:50):
I mean, I honestly got so it started in just family
research.
I got tired of the deficitnarratives around black families
.
You know, we hear a lot aboutdivorce, we hear a lot about
deficit, we hear a lot aboutdeadbeat dads, we hear all of
the negatives.
And so I wanted to understandwhat keeps black families
together and strong for a longtime, especially in marriages,
and nobody's really doing thatresearch and asking couples who
(16:12):
have been married for 40, 50, 60years, how'd you do it?
And really understanding whatgets at the crux of staying
together, what gets at the cruxof building a strong union, and
even on the caregiving aspect,and understanding how these
couples come together andthere's no individual.
If you have a sickness, we'resick and you don't have to get
through it.
We're going to get through it.
(16:32):
And so just understanding theblack family and how the black
family stays strong has justbecome my life work.
You know it's amazing to do.
Speaker 1 (16:40):
I love it.
I saw that with my grandparents.
They really were one unit asthey aged and parts of their
body started to fail them.
My grandfather couldn't see,but my grandmother had
osteoporosis and was weak, andmy grandfather went blind from
diabetes.
To watch them figure out howthey were going to fold and wash
(17:03):
the clothes, who was going tosort and who was going to take
it to the washing machine andthe dryer.
At first I was upset that mymama and her siblings hadn't
like god, I'm gonna better do itthemselves, I say.
But you know what?
Actually, they still havepurpose right and they're taking
care of each other, and thenumber of people who have told
(17:23):
me hey, jade smiles the reasonwhy I'm still with this man, or
the reason why I'm with this,this sister, she makes me laugh
yeah, humor is a big piece it'shard out there I have a piece
that's been accepted, um withmarriage and family review, so
it'll be published soon, butit's on understanding humor in
the role of, uh, strengtheningfamilies across the life force
(17:47):
and so it
Speaker 9 (17:47):
really is considering .
I mean bringing across theimprov and just comedy and all
of that stuff.
I mean you think about blackfolks, like we've been taught
since forever.
You know you laugh through it,you smile through it, you laugh
to keep from crying and all ofthat.
And so you know we don't have achoice.
We don't have a choice a lot oftimes when you don't have other
resources.
You know that's alwayssomething you can look toward,
(18:13):
that's always something you canlean on.
Speaker 1 (18:14):
So I think it just intersects so well with a lot of
the work that we're doing inJared's Island.
I love it and so I look forwardto having you on the podcast,
maybe having you in a skit,maybe having you at a comedy
show, Maybe I come talk to youand your people and your team.
I'm just saying let's make ithappen.
You're doing the heavy liftingso I could just come in and tell
some jokes.
Speaker 9 (18:32):
I mean, that's the beauty of it is because, like
you know, we publish and we dothe research, but so often those
messages don't get out to thecommunity.
So you're doing the work in thecommunity that really you know.
That's where it needs to be told, right, because the people I'm
writing, for they don't havesubscriptions to these different
journals and know about what'sgoing on with my grants and
(18:52):
things of that nature.
So I need you to be the voicethat can get my message out to
the community.
So I appreciate it.
Doc needs me.
We're going to make it happen.
Speaker 1 (19:00):
A doctor of gerontology, which my
grandfather would not even knowhow to spell, needs me.
I appreciate it.
I love it.
I love it.
Thank you, honey, thank you,okay, we just attended this
fancy program, yes, tellingpeople how you can use improv to
help caregivers dealing withpeople with dementia.
(19:23):
How did you feel about theprogram?
Speaker 10 (19:26):
You know my expectations.
I didn't have any coming, butwhatever, if I had, they would
have exceeded it.
I think it was a greatopportunity to get a chance to
see a different perspective oncommunication with dementia and
older care, and I think it wasawesome.
Speaker 6 (19:46):
Yes, I thought it was amazing as well.
I've been working withlong-term care and persons
living with dementia for manyyears and to see those best
practices really put into suchan interesting way that everyone
can be a part and learn from itand I think it would be
(20:06):
successful with persons livingwith dementia either at home or
in a community it was amazing.
Speaker 1 (20:12):
So both of you are in gerontology programs.
Speaker 10 (20:16):
Yes, yeah, that's a mouthful.
Speaker 1 (20:18):
Did I say it right?
Gerontology Okay, how did youget into the study of old people
?
Speaker 10 (20:24):
Okay, well for me.
I was introduced through aprofessor of mine and my
undergrad is in speech-languagepathology.
So I was torn in between did Iwant to work with older people
or did I want to work with theyouth?
And so, just aftercontemplating and weighing all
my options, I figured thatworking with older adults was
best for me.
(20:45):
As a child, I always wanted tobe a nurse.
So, even though I went adifferent route, I'm still kind
of like in the medicalhealthcare field.
My great grandmother had astroke when I was 10 years old
and so she was kind of like thepillar for me to want to be into
the medical field.
And so I was calling her littlenurse when I was 10 years old
(21:05):
and I was helping my grandmothergive her her medication, just
sitting in her um room, justtalking to her, communicating
with her.
So I always had a thing forolder adults.
I think I understand them, theyunderstand me.
So that's how I was introduced.
With a little push from myprofessor, she was like I think
you, you know what you need todo that's right, that's right.
So that's what you should youlike old folks, I like old folks
(21:28):
, I'm old folks, I'm old, so Ihave an old soul.
I don't want to be ages, but Ido believe that I have an old
soul and I do have thatconnection right, that's
beautiful, you've been doingthis, yeah, I've been doing this
.
Speaker 1 (21:40):
So the name of the program is improving care
through improv.
Did you see anything?
Or were you exposed to anythingat tonight's program when
you're like you know what,that's hot.
I think I'm gonna try to dothat, or I'm gonna tell my
clients you should try thattechnique, because improv is way
(22:02):
better than what I was doingbefore definitely.
Speaker 6 (22:06):
I saw a lot of um of ways that I would really like to
see this program, or somethinglike it, with people that I work
with, because persons livingwith dementia.
There are people who sometimescome to that field at different
levels and they really don'thave a lot of education
(22:26):
regarding persons with dementia,but I feel like it was
something useful that everyone,at any level of their education,
can benefit from.
Whether you're a CEO, a doctor,a CNA, I think that there's
something everyone can learnfrom here.
I love it.
I love it.
Speaker 1 (22:42):
Thank you all so much .
As a stand up comedian, as astand up comedian living with my
mom we were like in year 13 ofher having Alzheimer's it just
warms my heart to know thatthere are professionals in
science who are willing to leaninto improv as a way to engage
(23:02):
clients.
So thank you, thank you so much.
Thank you so much.
I appreciate it.
The Parenting Up podcast willbe looking for you all too.
All right, spread the word.
Speaker 10 (23:12):
Y'all know we keep it lit, thank you.
Speaker 1 (23:16):
Okay, it's over.
I attended the program.
It was so fantastic.
So Georgia State University,dad's Garage, five or six other
organizations came together togive us a program.
It was half lecture and halfwatch.
What these improv people aredoing.
(23:36):
I love it.
I mean, I'm a stand-up comedian.
How could I not love that?
On the real, though, as afamily caregiver, I felt seen.
I felt so seen in a way thatnormally doesn't happen.
There were researchers andscientists, people with PhDs in
a multitude of areas, whoactually have spent years
(24:01):
putting together tests andstudies and programs to prove
scientifically that, yes, improvand improv techniques can
actually make a caregiver's lifebetter and it can make the
caree's life better.
I've been saying that for like10 years, but I don't have a PhD
(24:23):
and nobody believed me.
But now I think, when I tellthem about this stuff, I'm like
yep, it's not just me, I ain'tcrazy.
Y'all this was so dope.
I can't wait.
I can't wait, I can't wait toshare even more.
I think I'm going to put someof this in my stand-up.
The Snuggle-Ups Number one hey,caregivers, there are
(24:52):
scientists out there right now,even in 2025, fighting for us to
figure out ways to make thingseasier for us Talent and
technique.
Can you believe that, even at atime when, I mean, let's just
call a spade a spade, we don'tknow where money is coming from,
(25:14):
we don't know where researchdolls are going, we're under
attack from our own federalgovernment, but it's people out
here, nonprofits and privateinstitutions who are like, get
on our back, we're going tocarry you through FCGs.
Number two there are peoplegoing to school to major in.
(25:37):
How can we make life better forold people?
Ain't that great?
Like I mean, gerontology is notwhat you hear people talking
about anywhere.
I mean in the street, on theairplane, at the coffee shop.
When have you met somebody sayyou know what?
I'm just trying to make sure Iget my GMAT score up, get my
(26:01):
SATs right so I can go be agerontologist.
Like, first of all, what thehell is it?
Does everybody even understand?
It is the study of how you age.
I mean really age.
You got to be like over 65.
You can't just be getting older.
We met and saw so many peopleof different genders, of
(26:26):
different ethnicities who areright now, in this day and age,
getting their undergraduate andmaster's in gerontology just to
learn how we age and grow andlive better.
That is promising as hell.
People want to say we're goingto hell in a handbasket.
(26:48):
I say no, I say drink somewater, take a nap and wait for
some of these young kids to fixthis shit that we broke.
Number three Listen, it's toughon us out here right now.
How are you feeling?
Especially if you are a womanand double down if you are a
(27:12):
woman of color.
How are you doing?
The world has a lot of anxiety,a lot of mistrust and a lot of
dissension in it, which hasnothing to do with your loved
one.
The political stuff that'sgoing on, you know fires
breaking out and planes crashing.
(27:36):
How are you doing?
Please stop, take a beat, takea breath.
Whether it's a long, longerbath, or maybe you use your
favorite lotion extra, go ahead,use it all up.
Who gives a shit?
I mean, somebody will figureout how to buy you some more
(27:56):
next week.
The point is, there is so muchstress that is happening in the
world around us externally, yougot to find a way to release it.
How are you doing?
Check in with yourself.
You matter the most.
If you didn't think so, jaceMiles just told you yeah, hell,
(28:18):
yeah, you matter the most.
Yes, yes, you do.
I said you do.
I said you do, damn it.
You matter even more than yourLO.
Fight me.
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