Daniel Stolfi | Patient Commando

The Comedian vs Cancer

Posted on July 22, 2022 by Zal Press in home-slider, Uncategorized

“Fuck Lance Armstrong! He sets the bar too high for other cancer patients.”

It was still before Armstrong was exposed, when 12 years ago today, on the advice of my Improv coach, the legendary Brian G. Smith, I went to the theatre to see Daniel Stolfi’s Canadian Comedy Award Winning One Man Show “Cancer Can’t Dance Like This”.

It’s not an overstatement to say that Stolfi’s show – and especially the “Fuck Lance Armstrong” vitriol – inspired me to commit to the wacky life of patient advocacy the last dozen years. The singular power of his performance, and his unabashed perspectives, takes you inside his relationship with Cancer as a young adult.

Funny thing, the audience – they, me, – we all laughed our asses off and particularly the dig at Armstrong. Stolfi gave us the permission, which many thought wasn’t possible, to laugh at Cancer. He left me invigorated with the prospect that just a well told tale is all it takes to change our healthcare system. Perhaps slightly naïve, I know, – okay, really naïve – but he put a creative exclamation mark on how to enrich our understanding of the lived illness experience. I thought if only every health care [...] continue the story

Tagged Under: Cancer Can't Dance Like This, Daniel Stolfi, The Comedian vs Cancer

Tent Talk: Healing Through Theatre

Posted on July 10, 2012 by Eamonn in Patient Commando Blog

Today at 5:00 PM we will present our Toronto Fringe Festival Tent Talk: Healing Through Theatre. All are welcome to attend.

Our Executive Director Zal Press, will be joined by speakers Daniel Stolfi, of the Award Winning Theatre Production, Cancer Can’t Dance Like This, and Dr. Jeremy Rezmovits, from Toronto’s Sunnybrook Hospital. Brian G. Smith, Creative Director for Patient Commando and The Second-City Alumni will facilitate this humorous one-hour event.

During a kick-off event at the CBC’s Glenn Gould Theatre last year, Brian orchestrated a brilliant performance that demonstrated the power of theatre and humour. While today’s event will be a slightly different program it will undoubtably build upon the efficacy of performance. Join us.

If you can’t make it we’ll be on Twitter the entire time tweeting #FringeTT

Tagged Under: brian g smith, CBC, Daniel Stolfi, Dr. Jeremy Rezmovits, event, Fringe Festival, funny, glenn gould, healing, humour, performance, public, the second city, Theatre, Toronto, Zal Press

The Fringe Festival Pushes Patient Story Into the Fray

Posted on June 19, 2012 by Eamonn in Patient Commando Blog

The Toronto Fringe Festival is arguably the city’s largest theatre event. This summer from July 4-15, over 150 performances will be presented to an expected audience of 100,000. That’s a whopping 4% of Toronto’s population.

What makes the Fringe exciting is the process in how acts are selected for the festival. Each year hundreds of creative applicants send in their ballot to have a show slotted for a Fringe playbill. With no judge or jury, the shows are picked at random, making for a wildly organic and impressive lineup.

Fringe audiences are accustomed to alternative theatre. Which is why it’s the perfect environment to showcase the new, truthful, gritty, and sometimes slightly less glamourous stories. In our minds The Fringe is also the ideal arena for patient storytelling.

Last year proved this with the highly acclaimed performance of Daniel Stolfi’s “Cancer Can’t Dance Like This”. Daniel’s show has since gone on to win the Canadian Comedy Award for Best One Person Show, and garner national attention.

This year will be no different. In fact this year’s program offers at least two patient story events for public consumption. Details of these shows below. Healing Through Theatre Host: Brian G. Smith (Second City Alumni) Panel: Zal Press (Patient Commando), Dr. Jeremy [...] continue the story

Tagged Under: 2012, acting, alternative, annex theatre, canadian comedy awards, Cancer Can't Dance Like This, dan mackay, Daniel Stolfi, eat poo love, evan mackay, events, festival, fringe, healing, health, honest ed's, jeremy rezmovitz, patient, paul clements, performance, randolph theatre, Stories, summer, Theatre, Toronto, Zal Press

Cancer Can’t Dance Like This: A Preview

Posted on May 7, 2011 by admin in Patient Commando Blog

Tagged Under: Arts, Brian Smith, Cancer Can't Dance Like This, CBC, Daniel Stolfi, Entertainment, Glenn Gould Studio, Lilah's Fund, May 12, Patient Commando, Stories, Theatre, Toronto, Zal Press

Patient Commando’s debut play hits close to home for Zal Press | National Post

Posted on May 6, 2011 by admin in Patient Commando Blog

When Zal Press was 29 years old, he went to the hospital with a pain in his gut that felt like he had “a cat trapped in [his] stomach trying to claw its way out.

“A doctor came up to me as I was lying in the hospital and he says to me, ‘Mr. Press, you have a serious illness. You have Crohn’s disease,’ ” Press recalls. “I couldn’t even spell Crohn’s, I had never heard of it. All I wanted was a pill so I could get on with my life.”

Thirty years later, Press has moved on with his life, but he certainly hasn’t forgotten about Crohn’s. About two years ago, he set off on a journey to try and get involved in changing the Canadian health-care system and the way patients perceive chronic illness.

“I became attracted to patient advocacy and patient empowerment and this whole new movement of this educated, informed, Internet-aware patient who’s engaged in their own health care,” he says.

Last year, after giving up a successful art business, Press started Patient Commando, a theatre production company that uses storytelling and humour to empower patients. The company’s debut production is a performance of Cancer Can’t Dance Like This, [...] continue the story

Tagged Under: Cancer, Cancer Can't Dance Like This, CBC, Crohn's Disease, Daniel Stolfi, May 12, National Post, Patient Commando, Toronto, Zal Press