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Event
WHEN MENTAL ILLNESS IS A LAUGHING MATTER!
Most people think you have to be nuts to do stand-up comedy. However, Vancouver-based counselor and stand-up comic David Granirer is teaming up with VSA Texas to offer it as a form of therapy.
Granirer, who himself has depression is the founder of Stand Up For Mental Health, a program teaching stand-up comedy to people with mental illness as a way of building confidence and fighting public stigma. His newly trained group of Austin residents debut their acts at the Dougherty Arts Center, 1110 Barton Springs Road on Friday April 26, 2012 at 8:00 pm. Tickets are $15 for the Undiagnosed and $10 for the Diagnosed. This event is an official satellite event of the Moontower Comedy and Oddity Festival and we will be letting the first 20 Festival Badgeholders into the event for free.
"Doing stand-up comedy is a great way to give the public a completely different perspective on what it means to have a mental health issue," says Celia Hughes, Executive Director of VSA Texas. "People with mental illness are often perceived as dangerous, in this show you'll see how funny and creative they can be."
For more information go to http://www.standupformentalhealth.com.
For more information:
VSA Texas
512-454-9912; info@vsatx.org; www.vsatx.org
David Granirer MA, Registered Professional Counselor
604-205-9242; david@standupformentalhealth.com; http://www.standupformentalhealth.com
Photos available.
Stand-up comedy is also great therapy. According to Granirer whose work was featured in the VOICE Award winning documentary Cracking Up, "Laughing in the face of pain makes people go from despair to hope, and hope is crucial to anyone struggling with a mental illness."
Granirer got the idea for Stand Up For Mental Health from watching students in his Langara College Stand-Up Comedy Clinic course in Vancouver. "I've had students overcome long standing depressions and phobias, not to mention increasing their confidence and self-esteem. There's something incredibly healing about telling a roomful of people exactly who you are and having them laugh and cheer."
Since founding Stand Up For Mental Health in 2004, Granirer has partnered with mental health organizations to run the program in over 30 cities across North America.
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LocationDougherty Arts Center (View)
1110 Barton Springs Rd.
Austin, TX 78704
United States
Categories
| Kid Friendly: Yes! |
| Dog Friendly: No |
| Non-Smoking: Yes! |
| Wheelchair Accessible: Yes! |
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