About
Photo by: Bad Panda Photography
Rich Derwald grew up in a show business family and has been mentored by a diverse group of Vaudeville-style entertainers, actors, singers, pro wrestlers and impersonators. He has performed and produced critically acclaimed variety shows at resort areas and dinner theaters throughout North America. Richie has appeared in numerous films and stared in the national children’s television show “Super Simple Science Stuff" (5 out 5 Doves).
It took a global pandemic and a mental illness epidemic to convince him to get over his fear of stuttering to become a public speaker. Richie utilizes musical performance, comical impressions, and dramatic performance in his presentation “CHANGES”, to illustrate how the performing arts have pulled him out of his daily battle with the dark pit of depression. This high energy and colorful presentation will also educate people about what mental illness is really like, and why you can’t help anyone who suffers from depression unless you understand it yourself.
Music and Motivation
When the pandemic hit, every show Rich had booked through the end of 2020 was cancelled. His good friend, Mike Billoni, recipient of the Courage to Come Back Award and Ken Houseknecht, former executive director of Mental Health Advocates of WNY, both motivated Derwald to use his time to encourage others by creating an original song that inspires reflection, connection and inner growth. Richie created a mini-rock opera called "Changes". After 3-time Grammy nominee and President of the Buffalo Music Hall of Fame, Anthony Casuccio heartily endorsed "Changes", the story behind the song was featured on Spectrum TV News and the Twin City Post. WBEN’s host of Senior Radio Buffalo, Linda Pellegrino has been sharing Richie’s song every Saturday to complement advice from Mark O'Brien, commissioner of Erie County Department of Mental Health.
Richie's message
You cannot help anyone with depression if you cannot understand yourself. When people told me to “snap out of it”, it just aggravated me and made me feel worse. I want to explain to people who have never experienced depression, that it is not simply feeling down or sad. When you are deep in the dark pit of depression, it’s like living in a jail cell with an open door. You can walk out of it, but you don’t because you're paralyzed by your own self-hatred. It is a mental treadmill that sucks your soul dry and eliminates any hope for the future. In my presentation, "However Dark the Night", I explain techniques that will inspire hope, and offer tools to help both people who are mentally suffering and people who just want to help someone they care about.
When the pandemic hit, every show Rich had booked through the end of 2020 was cancelled. His good friend, Mike Billoni, recipient of the Courage to Come Back Award and Ken Houseknecht, former executive director of Mental Health Advocates of WNY, both motivated Derwald to use his time to encourage others by creating an original song that inspires reflection, connection and inner growth. Richie created a mini-rock opera called "Changes". After 3-time Grammy nominee and President of the Buffalo Music Hall of Fame, Anthony Casuccio heartily endorsed "Changes", the story behind the song was featured on Spectrum TV News and the Twin City Post. WBEN’s host of Senior Radio Buffalo, Linda Pellegrino has been sharing Richie’s song every Saturday to complement advice from Mark O'Brien, commissioner of Erie County Department of Mental Health.
Richie's message
You cannot help anyone with depression if you cannot understand yourself. When people told me to “snap out of it”, it just aggravated me and made me feel worse. I want to explain to people who have never experienced depression, that it is not simply feeling down or sad. When you are deep in the dark pit of depression, it’s like living in a jail cell with an open door. You can walk out of it, but you don’t because you're paralyzed by your own self-hatred. It is a mental treadmill that sucks your soul dry and eliminates any hope for the future. In my presentation, "However Dark the Night", I explain techniques that will inspire hope, and offer tools to help both people who are mentally suffering and people who just want to help someone they care about.
Schedule an event consultation with Richie Derwald.
Together, you can figure out how to tailor-make the perfect presentation for your event.
For more information call us today at (716) 444-8646
or email to: vivaniagara@gmail.com