Improv For Caregivers
IMPROV FOR CAREGIVERS
Caregiving for someone with Alzheimer’s or dementia can be overwhelming, lonely, and difficult. The Barn Playhouse and Lake Sunapee Region VNA & Hospice continue to partner to offer events that connect caregivers and help them navigate different circumstances. The sessions combine insights from health care professionals with improvised scenarios where actors navigate common caregiving situations onstage. The series aims to help caregivers develop new communication skills, strategies to cope with stress, flexibility in relationships, and an understanding of loved ones’ changing perspectives. Attendees are welcome to participate in discussions and scenarios, or they may remain an observer.
Rather than regular monthly sessions, Improv for Caregivers will now operate on a per-booking basis. This model will help us serve communities with the highest interest and need while utilizing the time of our team and community partners most effectively.
To request a booking with our Improv for Caregivers team, email Pegs Lucarelli at caregivers@nlbarn.org.
TEAM
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SAGE TOKACH
Sage Tokach worked with community partners to start the Improv for Caregivers program as Education Director at the Barn Playhouse in 2022 and continues to co-coordinate this project in her new role as a professor at the University of Central Florida (UCF). Sage graduated from UCF with an MFA in Theatre for Young Audiences and now teaches graduate and undergraduate theatre education courses. In Orlando, she also directs the Jeanette M Gould Traveling Theater, which brings theatre programs into children's hospitals, and works with Orlando Family Stage. The Barn Playhouse will always hold a special place in her heart, and she is grateful to return to New London for projects like Improv for Caregivers.
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VICTORIA YOUNG
Victoria, a passionate performing artist, began her journey at the age of 3, boasting a solid foundation in acting, improv comedy, and dance. In college, Victoria delved into performing arts classes and has since actively pursued further education in improv, acting, and stage presence.
Along the way, Victoria's passion led her to community theater productions, children’s theater choreography, improv comedy, and variety shows. A native of New Jersey, she now proudly calls New Hampshire home and has fully immersed herself in the vibrant performing arts scene of the Granite State. Currently, Victoria performs with the New London Barn Playhouse's Improv for Caregivers Program and with Nashua's improvisational comedy group, Struggle Bus Improv.
Our team, including the Barn Playhouse, Lake Sunapee Region VNA & Hospice, and local caregivers, put together a packet of resources for caregivers based on the needs that came up throughout our sessions. This is a living document that will continue to be updated.
CAREGIVER PLAY PROJECT
The New London Barn Playhouse is creating an original production based on stories of caregivers in the Lake Sunapee and Upper Valley regions. This project is supported in part by a grant from Northern Stage. We invite family and professional caregivers to join us for open storytelling sessions below to learn more about the project.
This project was inspired by the Improv for Caregivers series. Through meeting hundreds of caregivers around the region, we discovered that many share common journeys of grief, resilience, frustration, isolation, and love, while also experiencing personal challenges shaped by their own circumstances and relationships. Many of these stories stay tucked away in the quiet spaces between medical appointments, meal routines, care facility visits, and late night worries. This play, inspired by interviews with local caregivers, will create a space to share these experiences — raw, humorous, heartbreaking, and honest — to bring attention and recognition to the emotional and physical labor of caregiving. By bringing these narratives to the stage, we hope to foster understanding, connection, and community.
ABOUT THE PROCESS
SUMMER 2025
Open Storytelling Sessions to learn about the project and find themes that resonate with caregiver communities
Individual caregiver interviews
Caregiver meetup with the playwright
FALL 2025
Interviews transcribed and sent to the playwright
Playwright creates a draft of the script
WINTER 2025/2026
Caregivers invited into the process to read portions of the script and share impressions.
SPRING 2026
Script complete
Local and professional auditions
Staged reading of the show at the Barn Playhouse Fleming Center.
NOTES:
This play is meant to artistically interpret caregivers’ stories, rather than replicate exact circumstances.
No real names, identifying details, or verbatim stories will be used without explicit permission from the caregiver.
Caregivers may be as involved in the process as they wish. Some will end their involvement after responding to interview questions, while others may continue to check in throughout the playwriting process and even perform in the reading.
The staged reading will involve professional performers and include some technical elements, but it will not be as fully produced as the Barn Playhouse MainStage shows. There is a possibility that the grant could renew to fund a full production.
JOIN US FOR A CONVERSATION ABOUT YOUR CAREGIVING EXPERIENCE
About the Interviews
Interviews can take place in person in the Barn Playhouse conference room OR on Zoom—whichever you prefer. We have a few questions prepared such as: "What was a low moment and a high moment in your caregiving journey?" However, we also want to listen to any part of your story that you feel is important to share. We plan to audio record (no video) these sessions and transcribe them for our playwright. These conversations will take place with Cindy Johnson and/or Sage Tokach. We will begin with 1-hour sessions with anyone who is interested. You do not have to use the full hour, and if the conversation necessitates more time, we can explore options later in the summer (we realize that this conversation is still such a brief glimpse of your journey).
How to Sign Up
We will continue interviews through the end of the summer. If you are interested in scheduling an interview, please email johnsoncindy1958@gmail.com.
MEET THE TEAM
PLAYWRIGHT: INGRID DE SANCTIS
Ingrid De Sanctis teaches playwriting and acting at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, VA. She started as a social worker, and as a theatre artist, her work is centered around theatre of social change. As a playwright, she creates challenging plays on such topics as refugees in the Balkans (Torba), survivors of violent crime (A Body in Motion), and a young woman living with—not dying from—cancer (Sarah and the Dinosaur). Serving with Americorps, she worked with undocumented teenagers exploring their stories through poetry and spoken word. Following 9/11, she created a play with youth from NYC entitled WhaChaGonnaDu?. Ingrid continues to work as an actor, director, and playwright, pursuing projects that reflect stories of transformation and grace.
PROJECT FACILITATOR: SAGE TOKACH
Sage Tokach is the Director of Education at the New London Barn Playhouse. She has worked as a teaching artist and director across the country at organizations including Orlando Family Stage, Missoula Children’s Theatre, and the Florida State Parks. At the Barn Playhouse, Sage facilitates year-round programming for all ages, including the Improv for Caregivers series. In any project, she is interested in creating a learning space that fosters creativity, exploration, problem-solving, and collaboration, where we are encouraged to share stories and ask challenging questions.
INTERVIEWER: CINDY JOHNSON
Cindy has worked part-time within the field of theatre education for over 45 years as a director, performer and teacher with ages spanning from pre-school to adults. She piloted several theatre arts projects with area elementary schools to support drama as a learning medium in the classroom. Cindy is a retired ordained minister, caregiver, and current Vice President of Kearsarge Neighborhood Partners. She continues to find great joy in collaborating with a variety of organizations in supporting the remarkable work of this vital community.