The Creative Centre Society is giving people living with mental illness an opportunity to showcase their stand-up comedy skills in the Fraser Canyon.
The Laugh or Die tour features eight to 10 comics performing their own original material, which covers a range of topics including mental health.
“The idea is to reach out and tell people there is hope for recovery,” said Rob Dueck, a mental health worker who is coordinating the tour.
“You can thrive, even though you have been diagnosed with something that would be considered quite severe. One of our best comics has been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia.”
The Creative Centre Society is a non-profit organization with clubhouses in Chilliwack and Abbotsford. It provides rehabilitation and recovery based programs and services to people with a severe and persistent mental illness. The stand-up comedy program is offered once week to clients.
“It’s an incredible hit when you stand up in front of a big crowd, you tell a joke and people laugh,” said Dueck.
“It’s kind of a non-pharmaceutical pleasure maker. Often one of the first things to go when you’re depressed is your sense of confidence and self-esteem.”
The tour stops at North Bend Community Hall in Boston Bar on Oct. 19 at 8 p.m.
On Oct. 20, comics take the stage at Yale Community Centre at 6 p.m. Tickets to this show are $15, which includes dinner at 5 p.m.
For more details, contact 604-867-8800 or 604-863-0001.
