Media Releases

Crazy for comedy? Then stand up for mental health!

September 21, 2010

TORONTO, ON — Think men­tal ill­ness is noth­ing to laugh about? The stand-up come­di­ans with Stand Up for Men­tal Health (SMH) dis­agree.

Using com­e­dy as a way to break down the prej­u­dice, stig­ma and dis­crim­i­na­tion that sur­round men­tal ill­ness, the mem­bers of the SMH troupe have trans­formed their per­son­al sto­ries – SMH mem­bers have been diag­nosed with depres­sion, schiz­o­phre­nia bipo­lar dis­or­der and more – into empow­er­ing jokes.

The Uni­ver­si­ty of Toron­to will be host­ing the only Toron­to stop of the 2010 Nation­al Stand Up for Men­tal Health Cam­pus Tour. The event is Wednes­day, Octo­ber 6 from 7:30 – 10 p.m. at Isabel Bad­er The­atre (93 Charles Street West). The show fea­tures SMH Founder David Granir­er and the comics of SMH Guelph in part­ner­ship with Spark of Bril­liance. It is open to stu­dents, fac­ul­ty, staff and the gen­er­al pub­lic. The show begins with a view­ing of the award-win­ning CBC Pas­sion­ate Eye doc­u­men­tary “Crack­ing Up”, about the Stand Up for Men­tal Health pro­gram. The live per­for­mance is fol­lowed by a recep­tion.

More infor­ma­tion about Stand Up for Men­tal Health can be found at www.standupformentalhealth.com or in the accom­pa­ny­ing back­grounder. View clips at www.standupformentalhealth.com/videoclips.shtml

For acces­si­bil­i­ty ques­tions, con­tact Erin Noble, U of T Health and Well-being Pro­grams and Ser­vices at e.noble@utoronto.ca.

EVENT: Stand Up for Men­tal Health com­e­dy event

DATE: Wednes­day, Octo­ber 6, 2010 (7:30 – 10 p.m.)

LOCATION: Isabel Bad­er The­atre (93 Charles Street West)

TICKETS: $10 or free with stu­dent ID. Please get your tick­ets in advance from UofT­tix (www.uofttix.ca/view.php?id=706).

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For more infor­ma­tion, please con­tact:

Lan­na Cruce­fix
HR Com­mu­ni­ca­tions
Uni­ver­si­ty of Toron­to
416–978-5700
Email: lanna.crucefix@utoronto.ca

Pat Bayes
Exec­u­tive Direc­tor, SMH
604–707-0483
Email: pat@standupformentalhealth.com