Improv Is For All Ages, Including Older Adults with Paula Dirkes

05/25/24 • 125 min

Paula Dirkes is an improvisational theater fan, actor, and facilitator based in metro Detroit, Michigan. She has spent over 20 years in the improv theater community as a performer and improv games leader. She is the owner and Chief Play Officer of Vintage Improvisation Detroit, which brings her love of improv games and older adults together through her unique brand of in-person life enrichment programming in senior living facilities and senior centers in metro Detroit since 2019.
In 2021, she created Senior Improv Games, which is designed specifically for improvisation actors, improv game leaders, improvisers, and activity leaders who want to earn an income and bring joy to the older adult population.
In this episode, Paula discusses the joys and challenges of providing improv experiences to seniors in different senior settings. (Paula does not call them workshops, she calls them experiences). Paula has found ways to navigate around these challenges, and she wants to help other improvisers not feel as intimidated to work with this population.
Improv is not just for the young. It's for all ages and abilities! Paula's mission is to make improv accessible and available to older adult populations wherever they gather, and it's so inspiring to hear her stories of how she is making that happen.
You can find out more about Paula here:

Website - seniorimprovgames.com
Website - vintageimprovisationdetroit.com
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulacdirkes/
I reference an old This American Life tv episode (yes, tv episode) at the end. Here is that episode if you want to check it out -- https://www.thisamericanlife.org/s1e5/growth-spurt-2
Since recording this episode, Paula has also started a private Facebook Group page called "Improvisers for Older Adults. You can ask to join the group here - https://www.facebook.com/groups/improvisers4olderadults

Loved the episode? Now you can send a text message with your thoughts and comments! Your message might just get a shoutout in another episode!

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Want to learn more about Improvly Speaking? Here are all the ways to get in touch:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/improvlyspeaking/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daynagowan/
Email: [email protected]
Website: https://www.improvlyspeaking.com/
Join the Mailing List - https://www.improvlyspeaking.com/mailing-list
Pod Mom Gear: https://improvlyspeaking.threadless.com/
WhatsApp Group - Reach out to Dayna for the link! :)

Website - seniorimprovgames.com
Website - vintageimprovisationdetroit.com
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulacdirkes/
I reference an old This American Life tv episode (yes, tv episode) at the end. Here is that episode if you want to check it out -- https://www.thisamericanlife.org/s1e5/growth-spurt-2
Since recording this episode, Paula has also started a private Facebook Group page called "Improvisers for Older Adults. You can ask to join the group here - https://www.facebook.com/groups/improvisers4olderadults

Loved the episode? Now you can send a text message with your thoughts and comments! Your message might just get a shoutout in another episode!

-------------------------------------------------
Want to learn more about Improvly Speaking? Here are all the ways to get in touch:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/improvlyspeaking/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daynagowan/
Email: [email protected]
Website: https://www.improvlyspeaking.com/
Join the Mailing List - https://www.improvlyspeaking.com/mailing-list
Pod Mom Gear: https://improvlyspeaking.threadless.com/
WhatsApp Group - Reach out to Dayna for the link! :)

Previous Episode

Access the Issue and Push It Out of the Tissue with Susan Bartley

I promise the episode title will make more sense once you listen to the episode. :)
It's amazing all that can happen in a year! My bestie Susan Bartley joins the podcast again for a part 2 episode to give some updates about all that happened in her business in 2023.
In the first episode, which was released in April 2023, Susan shared all about her pole journey and why and how she got into pole fitness in the first place. In this part 2 episode, Susan tells us about her new pole studio called Studieaux Heaux! Yes, that's right — Susan now has a brick and mortar pole fitness and aerial sports studio in Columbia, SC! It was always her goal to own a studio, but she thought it would take a few more years to reach that point. However, the opportunity presented itself in 2023, and Susan knew she had to take it!
We talk all about the new studieaux and also about Be Activated, which is a technique that can help reset the nervous system and correct dysfunctional breathing and movement patterns to decrease injury risk and chronic pain. Susan has been using the Be Activated principles for over 5 years to prevent injuries and stay grounded. She has recently developed a workshop around incorporating the Be Activated principles into Pole practice. The workshop is called Activate Your Pole. She has also added Be Activated techniques into the warm-up routines at Studieaux Heaux.
This episode has lots of giggling and a little bit of everything else — including Susan calling Dayna out for being a perfectionist (which she's right...for now at least).
You can find out more about Susan here:

Website - https://www.studieauxxxheauxxx.com/
Linktree - https://linktr.ee/studieauxxxheauxxx
Studieaux Heaux IG - https://www.instagram.com/studieaux.heaux/
Heaux Apparel IG - https://www.instagram.com/heaux_apparel/
Activate Your Pole IG - https://www.instagram.com/activateyourpole/
Follow on Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/@heauxxxapparel9169
Activate Your Pole Workshops - https://heauxxxapparel.com/pages/activate-your-pole
Warm-Up and Cool-Down Routines at Studieaux Heaux

Loved the episode? Now you can send a text message with your thoughts and comments! Your message might just get a shoutout in another episode!

-------------------------------------------------
Want to learn more about Improvly Speaking? Here are all the ways to get in touch:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/improvlyspeaking/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daynagowan/
Email: [email protected]
Website: https://www.improvlyspeaking.com/
Join the Mailing List - https://www.improvlyspeaking.com/mailing-list
Pod Mom Gear: https://improvlyspeaking.threadless.com/
WhatsApp Group - Reach out to Dayna for the link! :)

Next Episode

Putting Yourself Out There and Making Discoveries On Stage with Amanda Bonar

Amanda Bonar is an improv and sketch comedian based in Los Angeles. You can find her performing in the Sober Show and Do the Dumb shows at UCB, as well as other shows at the Clubhouse in LA.
Amanda shares her improv journey and how she fell in love with improv around age 10 when her parents took her to a family-friendly improv show. She performed on her high school and college improv teams, and she has been doing some form of improv for almost 20 years now! (That's amazing!)
In this episode, Amanda and Dayna get vulnerable and discuss the ups and downs of trying to improve as a performer. Amanda gives some great tips and advice on reframing our mindsets and managing expectations as beginners and even experienced performers. Amanda also shares about her sobriety and how The Sober Show at UCB got started last year.
We also discuss nerves and how nerves affect us before shows and during shows. Nerves are normal and may never go away, but there are ways to manage your nerves so that once you hit the stage, you start your performance confidently.
You'll definitely want to listen to hear all the crazy and wacky things that Amanda's team Dick Cannon has done on stage for the Do the Dumb Shows, thus making some fun and very interesting discoveries! :)
You can find out more about Amanda here: