Aniela McGuinness on Improvising Through Cancer and Humor's Helpfulness

This week's episode features actress and two time cancer survivor, Aniela McGuinness. In this gift of an episode…

• Aniela shares what inspired her to take an improv class
• Learn how improv helped her through her mother’s cancer diagnosis and death and her own cancer diagnosis and treatment
• Find out why and how improv is a “brain brake” and “oasis” that provides presence, joy, and support when going through hard times
• Hear about improvising’s ability to reduce pain and stress
• Learn the improv exercise that encourages people to support one another and the gift of asking for help
• Mary shares how improv has helped her to ask for help
• Hear about the inspiring, creative, and comedic way Aniela asked for help with her cancer treatment and the pleasant surprises that came from it
• Learn about the two things Aniela did during every cancer treatment
• How to use humor to ask for help
• Why being specific when offering help is an improv-inspired gem of a way to better support your friends/family/community during times of grief, illness, hardship
• Acknowledging when something is terrible, allowing that to move through you, and then make fun of it
• Learn about the one woman comedy show she wrote during her cancer treatment and how it
• How improv providing her freedom to be silly helped her reduce fears of embarrassment
• Hear Aniela and Mary talk about how the ability to play different characters in improv allows us a venue to practice new behaviors we want to try in life and empowers us to be all that we are
• Aniela shares the exercise called “185” and how she used it during her cancer treatment (join our paid Substack community to see this exercise explained via video). Then, Aniela and Mary demonstrate 185 with plenty of laughter!

Aniela McGuinness is a film and TV actress with over 15 years of improv experience. A two-time cancer survivor, she uses her 17 years of improvisational comedy experience to make audiences cry laughing and laugh crying. A year and a half after she lost her mother to cancer she was diagnosed with Stage 1 breast cancer. Just three days short from her appointment to schedule a preventative double mastectomy. She used improv as an invaluable coping skill during her cancer diagnosis and treatment, and teaches improv to cancer patients at Gilda’s Club.

You may also recognize her from “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”.

From Aniela, “It helps me practice communication skills like standing up for myself in a safe environment allowing me to then take them out into the real world.”

Connect with Aniela on Instagram @AnielaMcG and watch the trailer for and full one woman show she references in the episode.

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