LAUREN DOWDEN

After Boom Chicago, Lauren worked 10+ years as an actor around the country notably for The Second City as an ensemble member, performer, and/or writer as well as a teacher in their training centers [improv, sketch writing] in a variety of cities [Las Vegas, Cleveland, Los Angeles, Chicago and others].  Lauren later went back to school and now holds a Master of Social Work degree from Loyola University Chicago where she specialized in mental health with a gerontology sub-specialization.  Lauren is a clinical social worker at the Mesulam Center for Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer’s Disease at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, where she provides clinical care to individuals and families who are navigating a dementia diagnosis. Lauren supports the research, coordination, and facilitation of ongoing quality of life programs [which have included improv classes for individuals with dementia] and care partner support groups. 

Lauren developed the Mesulam Center’s storytelling workshop, Don’t Look Away: Using Storytelling to Give Voice, Find Connections, and Change Perceptions, which invited individuals with dementia and their care partner to co-create a story about their lived experience, which was featured on the Today Show, WTTW’s Chicago Tonight and in The New York Times.  Lauren also is a Medical Improv instructor having taught medical students and healthcare professionals around the country, notably at Northwestern University, Northwestern Medicine, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, and UCLA.  Lauren has also developed therapeutic improv curricula for populations navigating substance use disorders, trauma, anxiety, Parkinson’s disease, and major neurocognitive disorders.

Years Active at Boom

2001-2002

Boom Chicago Show Credits

Europe: We’ve Created a Monster (2001)

Rock Stars (2002)

Boom Chicago’s 25th Anniversary Show at Carre (2018)