We've got your back
This is partially a response to who we, the board of Parkinson’s Place Las Vegas are, the partners we are growing with and why we are ready to lead Southern Nevada in helping all those affected by PD get what they need. Bear with me as I side-segue with a bit from another company I run called “ComedySportz”.
We play competitive improvisational comedy - it’s performance without a net and can be quite scary. To gain each others trust, we say “I’ve got your back” to one another before we go out on stage - assuring our teammates that no matter what happens, we’ll be there for each other. If we trust the show, each other and play the way we’ve trained, there’s almost no way we’ll put on a bad show.
There are strength in numbers and, at the same time, a vulnerability in being led as a group - especially when the system breaks down. It’s the same in our PD community. We have to work with each other in order to be heard and get the resources we need to thrive.
One of the ways we’re expanding our reach outside of the PD community to meet those needs is with the March Madness Improv Tournament. We’re working to get prominent local businesses to come play with us in a great venue, a place we’re proud to call our home arena, The Space. Mark Shunock, owner of The Space, is also the Voice of the Golden Knights and runs the very successful non-profit fundraising entertainment program, “Mondays Dark”.
One of the best things we do at ComedySportz is, currently at least, something lesser known: Applied Improv is put team-building in action, and we’ve done it at Fortune 500 companies. The idea is simple: Everyone plays - and most of us, as adults, don’t play enough. We’ve forgotten not just the joy and health benefits of pure play, but the neurological freedom that space provides. At true play, in an interactive and improvisational environment, everyone is at once vulnerable and empowered. It is intentionally messy at times. We push boundaries in safe spaces - and we always have each other’s back. We’re not perfect, but we do believe in our system and the results it has turned out over the last 30 plus years for companies like Nike, Google and Southwest Airlines.
Parkinson’s Place Las Vegas is proud to partner with ComedySportz, The Space, UNLV, The Lou Ruvo Center, Motorvation USA, Rock Steady Boxing, the Davis Phinney Foundation and many other local businesses to bring this highly refined system of observing, connecting and responding to Southern Nevada for all of our benefit. Remember, everybody plays…and together, we rise.
-written by Robert Cochrane