‘Finding Your Laughter’ documents the struggle of a Chicago family with Alzheimer’s, and how improv made that burden just a bit lighter
CHICAGO — One day, Arlieta Hall’s father forgot that you don’t go to Best Buy to get chairs. On another day, he thought her brother was his younger self. That was when Arlieta realized that Alzheimer’s had hit the smartest man she knew.
When Milton Hall Sr. was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and progressive dementia, he was 67. A curveball was thrown at the Hall family to see this proud South Side resident who was once a police officer, a public school principal, a gospel DJ, and a radio and TV host, tackled by this disease. To cope, Arlieta fell back on a newfound passion — improv.
“I think we were all just heartbroken because this was somebody who was the smartest man in the world to me. I just cried,” Arlieta said. “I didn’t know really what to do but I wanted to be a part of his life because I knew Alzheimer’s was going to make him eventually completely forget everything. I just wanted to be a part of it to make him laugh on his way out.”
Her love for improv comedy bloomed in December 2016 after she saw a
