{"id":21878,"date":"2016-11-11T00:58:32","date_gmt":"2016-11-11T08:58:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/?p=21878"},"modified":"2016-11-11T10:23:47","modified_gmt":"2016-11-11T18:23:47","slug":"creeps-is-a-canadian-classic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/2016\/11\/11\/creeps-is-a-canadian-classic\/","title":{"rendered":"Creeps is a Canadian classic"},"content":{"rendered":"

Left to right, Aaron Roderick, Paul Beckett and Adam Grant Warren in Creeps<\/em>, which is being mounted at the Cultch by Realwheels Theatre, Dec. 1-10. (photo by Tim Matheson)<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

David E. Freeman\u2019s Creeps<\/em> premi\u00e8red in Toronto in 1971. Forty-five years later, it could still be considered radical, and most certainly remains relevant.<\/p>\n

The 75-minute one-act play takes place in the washroom of a sheltered workshop, where the main characters \u2013 four men with disabilities \u2013 take refuge. Freeman, \u201cwho lived with cerebral palsy, was one of the first writers to put his own voice \u2013 a Canadian voice \u2013 on the stage in the early \u201970s,\u201d reads the description by Realwheels Theatre, which is mounting the production at the Cultch Dec. 1-10. \u201cTired of the way they\u2019ve been treated, [the men] rebel and barricade themselves in the washroom. The brutality and hilarity of Freeman\u2019s uncompromising and sardonic dialogue drives the show and expresses the tension of the oppressed with a raw ferocity and clarity.\u201d<\/p>\n

Realwheels\u2019 mandate includes providing \u201crespectful and accurate representation of disability, with a vision for full integration of people with disabilities in the performing arts.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve cast three fabulous actors who live with disability in Creeps<\/em>,\u201d producer\/dramaturg Rena Cohen told the Independent<\/em> in an email interview. \u201cThey\u2019re working alongside four of Vancouver\u2019s top professional, able-bodied actors. To accommodate the stamina of the PwD [people with disabilities] cast members, we\u2019re extending the rehearsal period to six weeks of part-time (four-hour) days \u2013 rehearsal duration for a professional show typically runs three weeks, full-time.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs happens virtually anytime accommodations are made for accessibility, everyone<\/em> in the company is loving and benefiting from this accommodation. The creative, interpretive process is given more time to germinate, allowing ideas to be explored and tested, and busy actors appreciate being able to take other gigs or auditions that come up during their free hours.\u201d<\/p>\n

The local production includes Jewish community members David A. Kaye and David Bloom.<\/p>\n

Kaye plays four characters: Michael, Puffo the Clown, a chef and a carnival barker.<\/p>\n

\u201cMichael is a young man with cerebral palsy, which presents in him as both a physical and cognitive disability,\u201d Kaye explained. \u201cMichael works at a sheltered workshop, what the characters refer to as the \u2018Spastic Club,\u2019 a place where people with disabilities used to go to perform mundane tasks for pennies a day. For Michael, I\u2019m doing a lot of textual sleuthing, because there\u2019s more information about Michael between the lines than in the lines themselves.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy preparation for Michael has taught me about the many ways that CP can present,\u201d he continued. \u201cEach case is unique, like a fingerprint. To prepare for Michael, I\u2019ve interviewed and observed people who live with CP, watched documentaries and then, in rehearsal, I\u2019m responsive to the other actors who are also making their way through the interpretive process. We\u2019re also all learning about the history of sheltered workshops for people with disabilities.\u201d<\/p>\n

As for the characters of the clown and the chef, Kaye said they \u201clive in a heightened reality that engages with the perceptions of people with disabilities through an ableist perspective,\u201d whereas the barker \u201cprovides an ironic commentary, almost an infomercial or sales pitch for the worst-case scenario option for people with disabilities.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bloom plays what could be called the bad guy.<\/p>\n

\u201cI play Carson, the guy responsible for the facility,\u201d said Bloom. \u201cHe doesn\u2019t appear until the end, but he is talked about a lot before he arrives, mostly with disdain.<\/p>\n

Carson is a representation of the patronizing, suffocating \u2018support\u2019 these guys receive at the hands of the institution they\u2019re stuck in. During rehearsals, I\u2019m learning a lot about my own lazy thinking about people with disabilities.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bloom has known of Realwheels\u2019 work for many years and of\u00a0Cohen\u2019s involvement in the company, but only met her on the first day of rehearsals. Kaye became connected to Realwheels through Creeps<\/em>\u2019 director Brian Cochrane, with whom he has worked before.<\/p>\n

\u201dWhen Brian told me he was working with Rena and Realwheels, I was excited to come on board,\u201d said Kaye. \u201cIt\u2019s a unique experience! I can\u2019t wait for audiences to witness the late, great David Freeman\u2019s expos\u00e9 on the lives of this fascinating group of guys.\u201d<\/p>\n

For her part, Cohen joined Realwheels in 2009, she said, after meeting its founder, James Sanders.<\/p>\n

\u201cJames \u2013 along with two other Vancouver-based theatre artists, Bob Frazer and Kevin Kerr \u2013 had created and produced Skydive<\/em>, one of the most successful productions to ever come out of Vancouver,\u201d she said. \u201cYou couldn\u2019t help but be struck by its technical innovation (in which a person with quadriplegia flies!), plus it had considerable impact on perceptions of disability. I\u2019d been working in arts management and as a speech\/presentations coach when James invited me to discuss the company\u2019s next steps.<\/p>\n

\u201cSkydive<\/em>\u2019s remarkable triumph had been supported by a fairly rudimentary start-up company infrastructure. James needed help, and I saw an opportunity to bridge Realwheels\u2019 early success to a more stable future.<\/p>\n

\"photo
Realwheels Theatre managing artistic director Rena Cohen. (photo from Realwheels Theatre)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cI was also drawn to the opportunities that come through greater insight into the lived experience of disability. Through James \u2013 who lives with quadriplegia \u2013 and his considerable network, I was exposed to the vitality and dynamism of the disability demographics. It didn\u2019t take long for me to become passionate about Realwheels\u2019 mandate: \u2018to create and produce performances that deepen understanding of disability.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve since mounted three more amazing professional shows, and built up our community practice \u2013 under the Wheel Voices banner. Our most recent community project was SexyVoices<\/em>, an exploration of sexuality from a disability perspective. SexyVoices<\/em> was created with and by the community participants, working with acclaimed director Rachel Peake. It offered incredibly funny, daring and moving performances, received national attention, and sold out its three-evening run!\u201d<\/p>\n

Last year, noted Cohen, Realwheels received the City of Vancouver Award of Excellence.<\/p>\n

Though technically a part-time position, as with many who work in the nonprofit sector, the professional and volunteer lines blur and Cohen\u2019s \u201cefforts in any week are often significantly greater than a full-time job.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEmbedded into my professional capacity at Realwheels is the need to authentically reflect the values of disability culture, and to serve as a liaison between the disability community and the theatre community,\u201d she explained. \u201cAfter James took leave of Realwheels due to medical reasons, I assumed responsibility for both management and artistic direction. I challenge myself to understand and to internalize the diverse voices of the disability community, and to convey those voices through the decisions and choices that we make with regard to projects, casting, mentorships, etc.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy pure volunteer life in Vancouver has almost completely been centred upon Temple Sholom. I served as board president during the leadership transition planning years (2010-12), and before that I oversaw Temple\u2019s strategic planning process. I\u2019d co-chaired the religious school committee and, earlier, I served on Temple\u2019s security committee, which was formed after 9\/11. These days, I\u2019m chairing the communications committee for the Syrian Refugee Resettlement Project, and otherwise just enjoying our Temple community.\u201d<\/p>\n

Of what she has learned from her years at Realwheels, Cohen said, \u201cThe PwD experience is the human experience. By that I mean that the state of \u2018disability\u2019 is not binary with a simple on\/off. There is a scale or a \u2018continuum\u2019 of sorts. We are all challenged on some level and the human experience is defined by how we manage those challenges and how we optimize as a broader community to ensure everyone has the opportunity to self-actualize. I\u2019ve learned that attitudinal barriers are far more challenging for PwD than physical barriers.<\/p>\n

We need to challenge both, but attitudes and preconceptions about disability are the hardest to modify. I\u2019m certainly continuing to work on challenging my own ableist privilege.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve learned that whenever accommodations are made to serve PwD, everyone benefits. One of my proudest achievements as board president at Temple Sholom was the Accessibility and Inclusion Project, which resulted in the installation of an interior ramp to the bimah. Overall, I think Temple has become safer, more inclusive and more accommodating to the diverse range of ages and abilities of all people who participate in Temple life. As I\u2019ve said, I believe that disability exists across the broad spectrum of society, and that most of us are actually TAB (temporarily able-bodied).<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m continually learning about the tremendous diversity in the disability sector,\u201d she added. \u201cI attended the Cripping the Arts Symposium in Toronto a few months ago. One PwD artist there insisted, \u2018I can\u2019t possibly explain what [having a disability is] like, but I can show you through my artwork, and maybe you\u2019ll get a better understanding of the struggle for survival.\u2019 Yet another expressed: \u2018How we experience the world is all based on who you are as a human being, not about being a PwD.\u2019 Those are two nearly opposing positions.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve learned that, in Canada, the Charter of Rights and Freedoms recognized equality for those who live with disability in 1982, but there is still a great deal of work needed. The U.S., through the Americans with Disabilities Act (1990), is far more advanced than we are. The U.K. by far leads the way in terms of disability arts practices and inclusion.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition to her involvement with the Temple Sholom community, Judaism and Jewish culture have influenced Cohen\u2019s outlook on life and the work she pursues in other ways as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy Jewish upbringing exposed me to critical thinking, to appreciation for the individual and for community, and provided me with exposure to the arts and theatre,\u201d she said. \u201cWe have a rich storytelling tradition in Judaism, and a particular way of using humor to cope with life\u2019s challenges. Exposure to that, combined with having a large, extended Jewish family when I was growing up in Montreal, definitely informed my worldview.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe aching stories of the Holocaust, and the enormous victory of the establishment of Israel, also feel very personal to me. My parents (z\u201dl) would tell you that, from the time I was little, I was a champion of the underdog, always ready to speak truth to power. I\u2019m not so brave today, but I do feel very strong moral imperatives, whether about equality for PwD, or standing up to BDS [boycott, divestment and sanction] bullies, who are either misinformed about Israel or covertly antisemitic.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy Jewish education also involved a lot of text analysis, including as a student at parochial school in Montreal. The shift to analyzing scripts was a natural segue for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cohen encourages people to join Realwheels \u201cfor an evening of savage wit and uncompromising truth-telling as we present Creeps<\/em>, the award-winning dark comedy by David E. Freeman that changed Canadian theatre forever!\u201d<\/p>\n

And Bloom echoed her sentiments, \u201cI feel very lucky to be part of this show,\u201d he said. \u201cNot only is it a seminal Canadian classic, but I\u2019m working with a great company and an ensemble with real integrity.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tickets for Creeps<\/em>, which previews Nov. 30 before its 10-day run, are $18-$40 from 604-251-1363 or thecultch.com\/tickets<\/a>. Tickets are only two for $20 on Dec. 3, which includes a post-show reception in recognition of International Day of People with Disabilities. There are also post-show discussions Dec. 4 and 6, and ASL and audio description on Dec. 4. Warning: mature content and offensive language.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Left to right, Aaron Roderick, Paul Beckett and Adam Grant Warren in Creeps, which is being mounted at the Cultch by Realwheels Theatre, Dec. 1-10. (photo by Tim Matheson) David E. Freeman\u2019s Creeps premi\u00e8red in Toronto in 1971. Forty-five years later, it could still be considered radical, and most certainly remains relevant. The 75-minute one-act […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":21860,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[785],"tags":[880,2850,6521],"class_list":["post-21878","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-performing-arts","tag-cultch","tag-disabilities","tag-realwheels"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21878","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21878"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21878\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21860"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21878"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21878"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21878"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}