About Dementia Man, An Existential Journey

Dementia Man, An Existential Journey is the second play created and produced by The Actual Dance, LLC.  It made its world premiere at Capital Fringe in Washington D.C. in July 2023.

Sam Simon was diagnosed in 2018 with Mild-Cognitive Impairment and in 2021 with Early-Stage Alzheimer's.  He is currently under medical treatment and a participant in a drug trial. 

He has brought together his experience with his first play, The Actual Dance, Love’s Ultimate Journey Through Breast Cancer, as a vehicle for reaching those going through the disease, a history as a leader in the American Disability Community, and new life experience engaged with dementia to develop what he hopes will be a dramatic statement on the possibility of productive life after such a diagnosis.

His first showcase was performed in New York as part of the 2023 Association of Performing Arts Professionals (APAP) conference.  It was subsequently presented during Ground Rounds at the Center for Medical Humanities, Compassionate Care, Bioethics and Stonybrook Medical Center in New York, and Capital Fringe in Washington D.C.  ​​

For more information and to book
​Dementia Man, An Existential Journey

Contact Samuel A. Simon
[email protected] • 202-329-1851

Cast & Crew
Samuel A. Simon (Playwright and Actor)
Samuel A. (Sam) Simon started his career in Washington, DC as a lawyer for Ralph Nader’s first advocacy group. He then spent 25 years as head of a public affairs firm. In that work, he was often in the news, with appearances on Face The Nation, Phil Donahue Show, Oprah Winfrey Show, Good Morning America, and many more. Sam calls his playwriting and theatre work is 4th Age. His first play, The Actual Dance, Love’s Ultimate Journey Through Breast Cancer, has toured from 2013 to the present. In 2021 The Actual Dance was turned into an award-winning biography.  Sam lives in Mclean, Virginia, with his wife Susan. They have two children and four grandchildren.

Thadd McQuade (Director)
Thadd McQuade has been a director, teacher, and performer for 40 years, splitting his time between classical and Greek theater and new experimental works. He has worked internationally with the Odin Teatret and Teatr Gardzienice and has produced multiple shows at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.  His work there has been nominated for a Total Theatre Innovation award and won a BBC Most Innovative on the Fringe award. For the last 4 years, Thadd has been working on ways to expand the work of theater to incorporate neuro-diverse voices and artists.

Gabrielle Maisels (Dramaturg & Co-Director)
Gabrielle Maisels has served as Dramaturg to the playwright and was an essential collaborator in the development of the show.  She has also served as acting coach to Sam Simon.  She is an actor, playwright, and acting coach, and the writer/performer of two solo shows, Two Girls and Bongani, inspired by her family's experiences in South Africa. Gabrielle studied Political Theory at Harvard and Columbia, acting with Carol Fox Prescott, and playwriting with Matt Hoverman. New York theatre includes: Solo shows in Fringe NYC 2010 and 2011, Clear Cold Place by Caroline Prugh, Agnes in Tony Kushner's A Bright Room Called Day, Esther in Kushner's Terminating, Rocky in Men of Clay (Off-Broadway, with Matthew Arkin, Danton Stone, Steven Rattazzi). Member Actor’s Equity. www.gabriellemaisels.com   

Susan M Simon (Cognitive Navigator)
Susan holds a master’s degree in special education from George Washington University and served a career as an elementary school teacher. She also served as an elementary school counselor. Susan then received a certification in eldercare from George Mason University and served as the director of admissions and marketing at Tall Oaks of Reston, an assisted living community, for 14 years.  Susan and Sam are in their 58th year of marriage. They have two adult children and four grandchildren.  Susan has served on the board of the Fairfax Education Association, Jewish Council on the Aging, and is a past President of Temple Rodef Shalom.

Others serving as Cognitive Navigators: Marsha Abromovich 

Discover Samuel A. Simon's book and playThe Actual Dance, Love's Ultimate Journey Through Breast Cancer

The Actual Dance is an award-winning play in its tenth year of production, written by Samuel A. Simon. It has been performed internationally, features two unique versions, with both now performed in-person and virtually.

The Actual Dance transforms the audience as they laugh, cry and then cheer. A love story with a happy ending, The Actual Dance is told through the eyes and heart of a husband as he struggles with his worst fears in what everyone expects to be his wife’s losing battle to breast cancer.

The story takes the audience on an emotional but uplifting journey that rewards them with an unexpected happy ending, and a universal, life-affirming lesson of hope and faith.
Learn more at TheActualDance.com