{"id":24186,"date":"2017-05-05T03:59:24","date_gmt":"2017-05-05T10:59:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/?p=24186"},"modified":"2017-05-03T18:07:31","modified_gmt":"2017-05-04T01:07:31","slug":"celebrate-150-with-laughter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/2017\/05\/05\/celebrate-150-with-laughter\/","title":{"rendered":"Celebrate 150 with laughter"},"content":{"rendered":"

Canadian-born, U.K.-based Tanyalee Davis will make a special appearance in Comedy on Wheels<\/em>, which features many contributors. (photo from Comedy on Wheels)<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Realwheels celebrates Canada\u2019s 150th birthday with laughter. Their new show, Comedy on Wheels<\/em>, will play for only three days but, hopefully, the levity will stay with audiences much longer. The show will present members of the Vancouver disability community in performances that capitalize on people\u2019s greatest common asset: the ability to use humour to cope with life\u2019s trials and tribulations.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat better way to celebrate Canada\u2019s 150th than with laughter?\u201d said Jewish community member Rena Cohen, the director of the show, in a press release. \u201cA shared laugh strengthens our bonds and dissolves barriers. Whether you self-identify as able-bodied or as having a disability, come giggle and be entertained. And be prepared for a challenge to any and all preconceptions.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cohen joined Realwheels as managing artistic director in 2009. Before her, the company, which was founded in the late 1990s, had produced one show, Skydive<\/em>, in 2007. Featuring Realwheels founder James Sanders, a professionally trained actor with quadriplegia, the play was regarded as an important and innovative contribution to changing perceptions of disability.<\/p>\n

\u201cI joined Realwheels after meeting its brilliant founder, James Sanders,\u201d Cohen told the Independent<\/em>. \u201cI transitioned into arts management six years earlier and, when James invited me to discuss the company\u2019s next steps, I was curious to learn about the lived experience of disability. I was also well aware of the company\u2019s enormous success with their Skydive<\/em> project. I saw an opportunity to bridge Realwheels\u2019 early success into a more stable future. The mandate of the company \u2013 to create and produce performances that deepen people\u2019s understanding of disability \u2013 quickly internalized and became a passion of mine.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since Cohen became part of the company, Realwheels has been producing new shows steadily every year, sometimes more than once a year. \u201cWe produced Creeps <\/em>this past winter at the Cultch and we\u2019re currently creating Comedy on Wheels<\/em>. That\u2019s two productions this season, plus another show in development, and two side projects that are centred on increasing people with disabilities\u2019 inclusion in the arts…. In total, we\u2019ve mounted five professional productions and six community shows to date,\u201d she said. (For more on Creeps <\/em>and Realwheels, see jewishindependent.ca\/creeps-is-a-canadian-classic<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

Realwheels\u2019 ultimate goal is to fully integrate creative people with disabilities into the performing arts.<\/p>\n

\u201cA trained actor with a disability can play many roles,\u201d said Cohen. \u201cAbsolutely, an actor with a disability can perform in classical plays. Why not?… Every actor brings their own range of experience; every actor accesses their emotional life a little differently.\u201d<\/p>\n

About directing, she said, \u201cOur professional shows are typically integrated, a combination of professional actors with and without disabilities. I\u2019m always trying to bring out the truth, looking to the script for what\u2019s called for in the role. Working with different casts and talents is one of the joys of this work.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition to professional shows, Realwheels also produces community shows. \u201cFor our community shows,\u201d said Cohen, \u201cwe invite anyone who self-identifies as having a disability to participate. We offer training, coaching, a meaningful and considerable theatre experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

Comedy on Wheels<\/em> falls into the community show category.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have great stand-up acts, and these are augmented with scenes, live music and projections, making it far more theatrical than an average nightclub or comedy club,\u201d said Cohen. \u201cWe touch on the theme of Canada\u2019s 150th birthday, but, more than anything, that\u2019s an excuse to get together, talk about what we think is hilarious, learn about the structure of comedy and celebrate the amazing talents of the people who live with disabilities.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to Cohen, the idea for this show \u2013 like the ideas for many Realwheels shows \u2013 came out of an ongoing dialogue with the community.<\/p>\n

\u201cLast season, we explored sexuality from a disability perspective in a large burlesque show. That was in response to the demand to break down the stigmas surrounding sexuality and disability in playful and dazzlingly unexpected ways,\u201d she said. \u201cThere was tremendous humour in that show and there appeared to be a growing desire to further explore comedy. One of our regular community cast members is an emerging comic star. I threw the idea over to him, and we came up with Comedy on Wheels<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

To make the show punchier, Cohen invited Canadian-born comic star Tanyalee Davis, who is now based in the United Kingdom, to appear.<\/p>\n

\u201cTanyalee will be integrating her comedy with our show and emceeing it. Very exciting!\u201d said Cohen.<\/p>\n

As is customary for stand-up comedy, the cast members have written their own jokes. \u201cOur only ground rule was nothing sexist, racist or homophobic,\u201d Cohen explained. \u201cThe only filter being applied is whether it\u2019s funny or not. Of course, comedy is subjective, but we have a pretty good idea when something works or not.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another person has been instrumental in bringing Comedy on Wheels<\/em> to life \u2013 fellow Jewish community member David Granirer.<\/p>\n

Granirer is a counselor, stand-up comic, writer and speaker on mental-health issues. He teaches comedy classes at Langara College and founded Stand Up for Mental Health, which, according to his website, is \u201ca program that teaches stand-up comedy to people with mental illness or mental-health issues, as a way of building confidence and fighting public stigma.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe cast members have created this work with the support and guidance of David Granirer,\u201d said Cohen. \u201cDavid has an elegant system for creating comedy, the system he\u2019s honed over the years. He breaks the process into very clear and workable steps.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cRena Cohen brought me in \u2013 she\u2019d heard about me from one of the participants who had taken my Langara Stand-Up Comedy Clinic course,\u201d said Granirer.<\/p>\n

For him, it was a small step from his students to the actors. \u201cAll of the performers in Comedy on Wheels<\/em> are disabled in some way,\u201d he said. \u201cTheir ages range from 20 to 60. Some have theatrical training and others don\u2019t, but my job was similar. It\u2019s about helping everyone find their comic voices. Most, but not all, of their jokes concern disability. Some of the jokes are also about Canada, but all of the jokes stand on their own (pardon the pun) as good comedy. Everyone will appreciate them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Comedy on Wheels<\/em> is at Performance Works May 18-20. Audio description is provided by VocalEye and all performances are also accessible through American Sign Language. For more information, visit realwheels.ca<\/a>. For tickets, go to comedy-on-wheels.bpt.me<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Olga Livshin<\/strong> is a Vancouver freelance writer. She can be reached at olgagodim@gmail.com<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Canadian-born, U.K.-based Tanyalee Davis will make a special appearance in Comedy on Wheels, which features many contributors. (photo from Comedy on Wheels) Realwheels celebrates Canada\u2019s 150th birthday with laughter. Their new show, Comedy on Wheels, will play for only three days but, hopefully, the levity will stay with audiences much longer. The show will present […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":24182,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[785],"tags":[5278,7024,7022,6521,7023],"class_list":["post-24186","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-performing-arts","tag-comedy","tag-david-granirer","tag-disability","tag-realwheels","tag-rena-cohen"],"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\/24186","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=24186"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24186\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24182"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24186"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24186"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24186"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}