Finding Your Laughter

In this joyful and moving family portrait, aspiring Chicago comedian Arlieta lives on the South Side with her aging father Milton Hall, Sr., who has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. Embracing optimism in the face of his affliction and finding inspiration in his own creative work as a radio show host, Arlieta turns to the techniques of improv (“Yes, and…”) to affirm and validate Milton’s increasingly murky experience of the world.

As Arlieta valiantly juggles the emotionally and financially taxing demands of caregiving, she also rises through the ranks of improv comedy to find her own voice and a new career. Mixing humor and heartache, jokes and tears, Finding Your Laughter tracks Arlieta as she, along with her “bonus mom” Charmaine, work to support each other, and Milton. Together, they smile through the tears as they endure the inevitable challenges of the progressively degenerative disease.