Improving Through Improv (ITI) believes that the techniques of improvisation can be used in any community. ITI currently reaches many communities including people who stutter and people with anxiety, however their primary program has been centered around developing novel education programs designed to improve care experiences for persons living with dementia and their care partners.
ITI’s dementia based program, Improving Care through Improv was developed by Amanda Lee Williams in partnership with Dr. Candace Kemp, from the Gerontology Institute at Georgia State University. This collaboration includes training health care workers, including direct care workers and students as well as care partners who are family and friends. The goal is to improve dementia care experiences through the application of improv techniques.
Improving Through Improv started as three separate passion projects of Program Director Amanda Lee Williams. After spending 20+ years in the theatre industry, 5+ years in the field of mental health, and 10+ years as a secondary caretaker of her father who had the diagnosis of Parkinson’s Dementia, Amanda began putting it all together. We hope to expand to other communities in the mental health space in the future. Courage, flexibility and staying in the moment are all at the heart of improv and ITI plans to continue to spread the word and change the lives of many future communities.
Make sure to check out our amazing partners below. None of our work would be possible without them. If you are interested in working with us, let us know!
Our Team
Amanda Lee Williams
Amanda Lee Williams is the Program Director of Improving Through Improv. She has been improvising and acting professionally since 2003.
Amanda began her career as Director of Education at Youth Theatre Northwest, was a company member at Jet City Improv, and a regular actor and director around town with companies such as Seattle Children's Theatre, Book It Repertory Theatre and Annex Theatre. Amanda moved to Atlanta and joined the company of Dad's Garage Theatre in 2016. There, she is both an ensemble member and the Director of Youth Programming.
Amanda is a Licensed Professional Counselor in the state of Georgia. Creating Improving Through Improv and combining improvisation and mental health is truly a dream come true.
Candace Kemp
Candace L. Kemp, co-creator of “Improving Care through Improv,” is thrilled to work with Amanda Lee Williams on the design and delivery of dementia care training that is helpful and effective and fun, engaging, and memorable. She holds a PhD in Sociology from McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. In 2005, she joined the Gerontology Institute and Department of Sociology at Georgia State University, where she is a professor who teaches and does research on aging, family ties, social relationships, and long-term care. A long-standing member of Georgia’s Long-term Care Ombudsman Advisory Council, Dr. Kemp is passionate about identifying ways to enhance quality of life, including care experiences, among older adults, especially those living with dementia, and their paid and unpaid care partners. Much of her work is supported by the National Institute on Aging at the National Institutes of Health and Georgia Gear. Dr. Kemp's research informs, "Improving Care through Improv," and she leads evaluation efforts. Recent select publications include:
Kemp, C. L., Morgan, J.C., Bender, A. A., Hill. A. M., Anglin, E., Burgess, E. O., Epps, F., Perkins, M.M., & (2024). “Just join them: Improv and dementia care. Journal of Applied Gerontology, 43(3), 302-309, https://doi.org/10.1177/07334648231203195
Kemp, C.L., Bender, A.A., Morgan, J.C., Burgess, E.O., Epps, F.R., Hill, A.M., & Perkins, M.M. (2023). Understanding Capacity and Optimizing Meaningful Engagement among Persons with Dementia. Dementia, 22 (4), 854-874. https://doi.org/10.1177/14713012231162713
Kemp, C. L., Bender, A. A., Ciofi, J., Craft Morgan, J., Burgess, E. O., Duong, S., Epps, F. R., Hill, A. M., Manley, P. R., Sease, J., & Perkins, M. M. (2021). Meaningful engagement among assisted living residents with dementia: Successful approaches. Journal of Applied Gerontology, 40(12), 1751–1757. https://doi.org/10.1177/0733464821996866
Margaret Miller
Margaret Miller, MA, CCC-SLP is a speech-language pathologist at the Atlanta office of the American Institute for Stuttering, where she treats people who stutter of all ages. Margaret runs regular groups and workshops for adults and teens, and regularly attends conferences and meetings in the stuttering community.
