Realwheels Theatre

Realwheels Theatre is a Canadian disability theatre company based in Vancouver, British Columbia. Realwheels was founded in 2003 by James Sanders and has since received multiple Jessie Richardson Theatre Awards and nominations.

Realwheels Theatre
Formation2003 (2003)
TypeTheatre group
PurposeDisability theatre
Location
Artistic director(s)
Tomas Mureika
Websiterealwheels.ca

History

In 2000, James Sanders — an actor who became quadriplegic in 1990 — and Trevor Found created the Realwheels Ad Hoc Collective, which would eventually break out into Realwheels Theatre.[1] They began by producing plays without a disability centred story.[1]

After the success of these productions, Sanders, in 2003, founded and incorporated Realwheels Theatre as a registered non-profit.[1] Sanders has described Realwheels' mandate as being to promote "a deeper understanding of the disability experience."[2] James Sanders held the Artistic Director position until 2014 when Managing Director, Rena Cohen, assumed both roles.[3] In 2021, Realwheels, welcomed Tomas Mureika into the Artistic Director role.[3]

Realwheels' first major production since its founding was Skydive in 2007, which Sanders commissioned from playwright Kevin Kerr and starred in alongside actor Bob Frazer.[1] It won the 2007 CITT/ICTS Award of Technical Merit.[4] In 2010, Realwheels worked with Kerr again, co-producing Spine, a play commissioned by the Vancouver 2010 Cultural Olympiad.[5]

In 2019, Realwheels announced that Kirsten Kirsch would be its inaugural playwright-in-residence, with her residency beginning in 2020.[6] In 2020 and 2021, Realwheels adapted their in-person theatre approach to include virtual community performances. In May 2021 Wheel Voices: Tune In! premiered with a virtual cast.[7]

The Realwheels Acting Academy was established in 2021, inviting its first cohort of students for September 2021.[8] The program is designed for people with disabilities. Supported and created in part by disability community members, the Realwheels Acting Academy aims to increase the direct participation of people with disabilities in the cultural landscape and make systemic change.[9]

Production history

Community productions

Realwheels community performances include any artist that self identifies as living with disability who wants to be involved.[10]

  • SuperVoices (2015)[11]
  • SexyVoices (2016)[12]
  • Comedy on Wheels (2017)[13]
  • Wheel Voices: Tune In! (2021)[7]

Professional productions

Awards and nominations
Year Award Category Work Results Notes Ref.
2007 Jessie Richardson Theatre Awards Outstanding Direction - Large Theatre Skydive Won for Roy Surette and Stephen Drover [21]
Outstanding Choreography - Large Theatre Won for Sven Johansson
Outstanding Sound Design - Large Theatre Won for Alessandro Juliani and Meg Roe
2014 Outstanding Performance by Actor in a Lead Role - Small Theatre Whose Life is it Anyway? Won for Bob Frazer [22]
Outstanding Production - Small Theatre Nominated [23]
Outstanding Lighting Design - Small Theatre Won for Adrian Muir [22]
Outstanding Direction - Small Theatre Nominated for John Cooper [23]
2017 Outstanding Costume Design - Small Theatre Creeps Nominated for Christopher David Gauthier [24]
Outstanding Set Design - Small Theatre Won for Lauchlin Johnston [25]
Outstanding Direction - Small Theatre Nominated for Brian Cochrane [24]
Outstanding Production of a Play - Small Theatre Won [25]
Significant Artistic Achievement - Small Theatre Won for Outstanding Ensemble Performance

References
  1. Johnston, Kirsty (2012). Stage Turns: Canadian Disability Theatre. McGill-Queen's University press. pp. 37–38. ISBN 9780773539945.
  2. Johnston, Kirsty (2012). Stage Turns: Canadian Disability Theatre. McGill-Queen's University press. p. 167. ISBN 9780773539945.
  3. Criscitiello, Alexa (May 18, 2021). "Realwheels Theatre Announces New Artistic Director Tomas Mureika". BroadwayWorld. Retrieved August 3, 2021.
  4. "List of CITT/ICTS Awards". Canadian Institute for Theatre Technology. Retrieved August 3, 2021.
  5. Chui, Jane Wong Yeang (2011). "Idealizing and Unraveling the Possibilities of Virtual Realities in Kevin Kerr's "SPINE"". TDR. 55 (3): 173–177. doi:10.1162/DRAM_a_00115. ISSN 1054-2043. JSTOR 23017942. S2CID 57558747 – via JSTOR.
  6. Smith, Janet (2019-12-04). "Realwheels Theatre names Toronto's Kirsten Kirsch as its new playwright in residence". The Georgia Straight. Retrieved 2021-03-11.
  7. Smith, Charlie (May 5, 2021). "Realwheels Theatre tunes in to the power of music with its newest show". Georgia Straight. Retrieved August 10, 2021.
  8. Smith, Janet (May 10, 2021). "Realwheels Theatre's Wheel Voices: Tune In! marks festive farewell for artistic director Rena Cohen". Create a Stir. Retrieved August 10, 2021.
  9. Hirose, Alyssa (April 30, 2021). "Realwheels Theatre Launches Free Acting Academy for Persons with Disabilities". Vancouver Magazine. Retrieved August 10, 2021.
  10. "Realwheels". Melange: Accessibility for all. July 2021. Retrieved August 10, 2021.
  11. Siebert, Amanda (2015-06-11). "Super Voices features the stories and talents of the disability community". The Georgia Straight. Retrieved 2021-03-11.
  12. Duggan, Brittany (2016-05-11). "Disability and sex meet on-stage in SexyVoices". The Georgia Straight. Retrieved 2021-03-11.
  13. "Comedian Tanyalee Davis: 'I have the right to be able to say the word midget if I want to'". CBC Radio. 2017-05-12. Retrieved 2021-03-11.
  14. Thomas, Colin (2007-01-31). "Skydive". The Georgia Straight. Retrieved 2021-03-11.
  15. Jay, Alexandre (2020). "The Show Must Go On". Pacific Rim Magazine. Retrieved 2021-03-11.
  16. Usinger, Mike (2015-01-21). "Drummer Dave Symington finds new rhythm in Re-calculating". The Georgia Straight. Retrieved 2021-03-11.
  17. "Creeps play presents 1970s look at life with disability". CBC. 2016-12-04. Retrieved 2021-03-11.
  18. Smith, Janet (2019-04-10). "True story of sudden healing spurred the hard questions behind Realwheels Theatre's Act of Faith". The Georgia Straight. Retrieved 2021-03-11.
  19. Zillich, Tom (2022-04-07). "'Peter Pan' comedy, 'Sound of Music,' Carole King musical, more coming to Arts Club stages - Surrey Now-Leader". Surrey Now Leader. Retrieved 2022-08-18.
  20. Wild, Stephi (2022-08-09). "Realwheels Theatre Presents IN CAMERA Next Month". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved 2022-08-18.
  21. Birne, Peter (2007-06-19). "Smaller companies come up big at the Jessie Awards". Vancouver Sun. Retrieved 2021-03-11 – via PressReader.
  22. "Jessies celebrate local theatre; Deep Talent pool: With 70 eligible productions, judges had lots of people to reward". The Vancouver Province. 2014-06-24. p. C2.
  23. Morton, Brian (2014-05-21). "Bard on the Beach festival grabs 15 Jessie nods". Vancouver Sun. p. C1.
  24. Smith, Janet (2017-05-23). "Arts Club and its Angels in America, Part One lead Jessie Richardson Theatre Award Nominations". The Georgia Straight. Retrieved 2021-03-11.
  25. Lederman, Marsha (2017-06-27). "Canadian play Creeps a big winner at Jessie Awards in Vancouver". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2021-03-11.
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