Bringing live a theatre experience to persons of limited mobility, including the hospitalized, the institutionalized and the elderly.

Many Minnesotans enjoy a rich, full life in this cultural center. However, this is often not experienced by the institutionalized person. Many times, they find it difficult, at best, to take advantage of our theatres, music halls, museums, and special events. For a large number of these individuals, the arts do not exist. Their world consists of their immediate surroundings, the professional staff, a few friends, family members, and television. The residents of our institutions represent some of the most disadvantaged and culturally deprived Americans.

Meeting Therapeutic Needs...

Medical professionals are firm believers in the therapeutic value that is inherent in the Duck Soup program. It is their opinion, and the basic philosophy of recreational therapy, that contact with people and being in a stimulating environment is vital to maintaining one’s orientation, and enjoying a more stable existence.

Currently, Duck Soup is the only known professional quality, full-time theatre group offering this kind of recreational therapy to individuals residing in institutions and seniors in high-rise apartments. The Duck Soup Players literally move into an institution, transforming an ordinary room into an intimate theatre by the use of lights, portable sets, curtains, and sound system. The residents experience not only an excellent arts group, but a full, well-rounded evening of socializing contact with "outside" people (children, teenagers, adults) and laughter. Duck Soup helps to provide these residents with the stimulating environment that is so vital to their mental and physical well-being.

The Therapy of Involvement...

An individual experiencing a Duck Soup show often becomes more involved in subsequent therapeutic activities, as well as in life itself. Taking part in a group event can evolve from the forgetting of one’s own problems and depressions into increased involvement with people and activities. Recreational Therapist Bruce Rindahl of United Hospital’s Psychiatric Unit cited one particular man that Duck Soup touched:

"One patient in particular is a good example. He was forced into retirement two years ago having been a very efficient employee. He found retirement very difficult to cope with; he withdrew and eventually became depressed. His first involvement with the therapeutic recreational program was your show. He enjoyed it very much, and as a result started involving himself again."

A noticeable increase in residents’ alertness and awareness is an added benefit to increased involvement. Patients often become very animated during a performance. They laugh, clap and sing along. This kind of stimulation can produce a re-awakening of spirit, a change from the norm. Residents talk about the shows for days afterward, we have been told. They are more alert and aware of their surroundings and of the people with whom they live. For the institutionalized individual, Duck Soup provides an experience that for them just might be the first step to a healthier existence.

We believe that the family unit is vital to a healthy, happy existence. The Duck Soup shows are often used as a family oriented activity for hospitalized children, nursing home patients and high-rise residents. Institutions make the shows the center of a special "Family Night" inviting relatives and friends and serving refreshments.

Robert Collins, of the University of Minnesota Hospitals and Clinics, stated:

Comfort = assurance, trust, confidence and faith. All of these attributes are present within persons who are happy and stable, and who exist within a well-rounded and stimulating environment. To have that kind of existence and those kinds of people is the aim of Duck Soup. The institutionalized person cannot be forgotten when it comes to the arts or a balanced environment. Duck Soup programs stimulate comfort within these individuals.

A case in point. We received this response from Alex G. Jawny, World War II Infantryman, as a result of one of our USO tours to VA hospitals:

"On May 12, 1980, I had the pleasure of watching one of your shows at the West Side Veteran’s Hospitals in Chicago, Illinois. On the day I came to the West Side VA Hospital, I came for a refill of all my medication, maybe a half a dozen prescriptions, pain pills, tranquilizers, ulcer medicine and antacids. I have chronic pain from traumatic brain damage from a piece of shrapnel on the brain. I also have arthritis that sometimes drives me up the wall. But after Duck Soup Players, I forgot all my hurt and even got along without my medication for about 48 hours. That’s the first time that happened to me in 35 years. Now that’s what I call real therapy."