Meet the delightful actor and improviser Dan Dumsha who is bringing improv to people with Parkinson’s disease and their care partners. He is currently involved in a research program with Mount Sinai Neurology Department in NYC where they are looking at the many benefits improv gives people with Parkinson’s. We had so much to talk about and it was exciting to get the opportunity to meet him. As we both work with improv for Parkinson’s, I had an instant sense of connection with him and his easygoing style and humor. Dan is the Director of Improv for the Workplace and for Health and Wellness at the Tightrope Theatre in Vancouver. His passion is to bring learners into the moment together, where co-creation can happen. A graduate of Queen’s University Drama (B.A.H) and Artist in Community Education (B.Ed), Dan has been performing and teaching theatre and improv for over twenty years.
Using his background as a high school teacher and corporate trainer, Dan loves to apply the concepts of improv to the way teams work together. Dan has been training professionals in applied improv for the workplace since 2014. As a facilitator with Improv for Business, he has led successful and impactful training for teams from VanCity, Telus, PCL, ReThink, Microsoft, YVR, BC Children’s Hospital, Amazon, and many more organizations in BC and across North America. Dan trained and went on to perform as a mainstage ensemble player at Vancouver Theatresports for seven years and taught improv on the faculty of the Improv Comedy Institute.
In 2015, Dan moved to New York City with his husband Jonathan and studied improv with UCB and Annoyance Theatre. There he founded the Dirty Little Secrets Improv show, which still runs monthly in the East Village of Manhattan. Returning to Vancouver, Dan co-founded Momentous Comedy and continues to produce improv shows across the city. Dan serves as the President of the Queer Improv Society of Vancouver where he builds community through improv, guiding the non-profit board, directors, and a troupe of over 40 members.
Dan is also a Leadership Communications Consultant with The Humphrey Group and continues to deliver leadership training and executive coaching across the globe to Fortune 500 companies, governments, professional associations, first nations councils, and Universities including UBC Sauder Executive Education programs. Dan brings the joy he finds in collaborative performance to every training he facilitates. After resisting for a long time, Dan finally created an Instagram account for his dog, Kai. @kaidangerfloof To learn more about his work and the Tightrope theatre please visit dan@tightropetheatre.com www.tightropetheatre.com
You might want to listen to my fascinating discussions with other improv teachers and innovators including Colin Mochrie and Anne Beatts *Improv Interviews podcast‘ is introduced by Susan L. Parker of yourinternationalvoice.com