The Memory Ensemble Webinar: Using Improvisation to Improve Quality of Life for Persons Living with Dementia

The Memory Ensemble is an eight-week intervention program for people with early-stage dementia that uses improvisational theater, arranged by partners that include the Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer's Disease Center, the Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine, and the Lookingglass Theater Company, reports the Administration for Community Living (ACL). A webinar scheduled for March 13 will include the history of the Memory Ensemble, a review of the literature on the impact of the arts and improvisation on dementia and aging, a review of Memory Ensemble research findings so far, an introduction to basic improvisation principles and how they relate to work with persons with dementia, examples of activities in which participants can engage in multiple environments to improve quality of life for and with people living with dementia, and suggestions for further reading. Webinar presenters will be able to list three beneficial outcomes for Memory Ensemble participants; characterize a fundamental concept of improvisation — "yes, and" — and how engaging this idea can help in working with people with dementia; and describe and implement four improvisational activities — check-in, warm-up, skill-building, and check-out — that can be used and/or adapted for working with persons with dementia in multiple settings. For this webinar series, the ACL's National Alzheimer's and Dementia Resource Center has teamed with the American Society on Aging. Registration can be found here .