About Us

In November 2016 Dianna survived a stroke while swimming. While Dianna was lying in the hospital, two weeks later, she was visited by a dear theatre friend, who informed her that Mitch had just had a massive stroke while undergoing spinal surgery.

With both being experienced theatrical performers, directors, and writers, in all seriousness and a bit of jest, Dianna immediately said “Well, we’ll have to do a play called Different Strokes… too soon? Yup, too soon, they weren’t sure Mitch would recover.

With both Dianna and Mitch seeing the comedy in things, they joined forces, documenting their experiences in rehab, and the health care system.

Seven months after her stroke, Dianna performed a stand-up comedy routine with Sick + Twisted Theatre.  Mitch saw the show and knew he’d like to get back on the stage, and Sick + Twisted would be a great fit for him too! After some musings and writings, Strokes of Genius was BORN and ready to PERFORM!

 

In 2018, in the next Sick +Twisted cabaret, Strokes of Genius took to the stage for the first time. They presented their first solo sketch show at the 2019 Winnipeg Fringe Festival.

 

Writing jokes about the serious, yet absurd world of stroke recovery has been a big part of their therapeutic journey through rehab. They found it was better to laugh about their situations than to cry about them.