Realwheels – Jewish Independent

Exploring the science of life

Amy Amantea and Jake Anthony in Sequence, which runs March 14-24 at Presentation House Theatre. (photo by Tim Matheson)

“To direct this play requires a willingness to grapple with the concepts, to accept that sometimes questions are more important than answers, not everything is answerable, and to be committed to entertaining possibilities. It’s heady stuff,” director Rena Cohen told the Independent about Sequence, which opens next week at Presentation House in North Vancouver.

Describing the play as “a science thriller that will challenge as much as it entertains,” Cohen, who is also managing artistic director of Realwheels Theatre, explained, “In Sequence, we follow two absorbing stories. In one, a professor confronts a student who’s defied probability by taking a multiple-choice exam only to get every answer – 150 of them – wrong (the chance of achieving this is one in a pentillion). In the second story, the ‘Luckiest Man Alive’ – his status cemented by his uncanny ability to predict the winner of the Super Bowl coin toss for 20 years running – is confronted by a young woman who claims to know his secret.

“Each of these narratives is presented coherently, cleverly and simultaneously, and it’s how they intertwine through ‘wormholes’ in the dialogue that makes the play fascinating, and mystifying. Playwright Arun Lakra compares the structure of the play to two strands of intertwining DNA. You could argue it’s comparable to a Möbius strip-like dramatic encounter. You’re following two narratives, only to have the carpet swept out from under you.”

For readers who don’t have Wikipedia or a dictionary handy, a Möbius strip, or band, is “a surface with only one side and only one edge. It can be made using a strip of paper by gluing the two ends together with a half-twist.” It’s a non-orientable surface, which means it “cannot be moved around the surface and back to where it started so that it looks like its own mirror image.” The example given for further explanation, is that “no matter what, a human right hand, cannot be rotated in such a way that it becomes a human left hand. The right hand is, therefore, orientable.”

How does one direct a play like Sequence so that it’s enjoyable and comprehensible?

“There are ways we harness the ‘language of theatre’ to capture audiences’ attention, to heighten a moment,” said Cohen. “Sometimes, it’s in the way an actor delivers a line, the way they land on a phrase containing important information. We also signal key moments using lighting and/or sound, so even if, when information doesn’t necessarily register on a conscious level, you absorb it.’”

The material of the play – “Wading into new intellectual territory, learning the mathematical concepts used to understand randomness and probability” – was initially a challenge for Cohen.

“My last physics course was in high school, the last time I studied math was in CEGEP [a post-secondary school program in Quebec] and I’ve never taken a biology course,” she said, “so some of the references in the play – regarding genetics, for example – may not be complicated to a Grade 10 biology student, but they’ve been a challenge to me.

“Sequence is also very fast-paced, and there’s a ton of stage business, most of which is – incidentally – performed by Amy Amantea, our actor who lives with blindness. She’s fearless.”

And, added Cohen, “Working with an integrated cast of performing artists with disabilities and able-bodied artists means there’s a wider range of experience, and we’re challenged to become an ensemble in a few short weeks.”

photo - Krista Skwarok and Byron Noble — Krista Skwarok and Byron Noble. *(photo by Tim Matheson)*

Amantea (as the professor) will be joined in the performance by actors Jake Anthony (the student), Byron Noble (the “luckiest man”) and Krista Skwarok (the woman who purports to know his secret).

“Two members of the cast live with disability: Amy is legally blind and Jake lives with autism,” said Cohen. “The casting speaks to our (Realwheels’) commitment to fostering interchange between mainstream and disability arts sectors. That means interchange between artists, and we’re all learning from each other.

“Amy Amantea has such a generous spirit, so much heart and decency and, in Sequence, she’s playing a dark, angry character. Her character is also very funny and over-the-top, and this is new territory for Amy, who left the performing arts after she lost her sight 11 years ago. Furthermore, Amy’s character lives with severe sight loss, but of a type that’s different from her own, so there’s a whole other layer of challenge. She also has the most ‘stage business.’

“Jake Anthony is a sensitive actor, and an incredible advocate for persons with autism; getting to know him means gaining appreciation for the gifts that accompany autism,” continued Cohen. “Jake is a decisive and determined individual, very focused, so lovely and respectful to everyone, and he’s bringing tremendous insight into his character, a young man of faith, and an inveterate optimist.”

Skwarok is a recent graduate of Langara College’s Studio 58 theatre program, said Cohen, “and this is her first professional gig. Such bright energy, she’s super-smart and quick and creative and game. Expect to see a lot more of her – Krista’s talent is explosive.”

As for Noble, Cohen said he “is loaded with charm.” In Sequence, she said, his character “is slick, playful and, yes, he’s a charmer – and we get to see his character grow and other unexpected qualities emerge. It’s beautiful to watch. Byron is the most seasoned actor in the Sequence company, and we’re all benefiting from his experience and generosity.”

She said this play feels made for Realwheels “because it isn’t about disability, yet disability forms the landscape against which universal issues are debated onstage.”

She explained, “The four characters in Sequence are attached to their individual frameworks of the world: faith versus science, fate versus DNA. Did God use evolution as a means of creation? If something isn’t testable, how do you justify believing it? Is there an innate rightness to biological outcomes rooted in our fundamental DNA?”

Sequence has won several awards. The playwright, Lakra, is an ophthalmologist in Calgary, where he splits his time between practising medicine and writing, said Cohen. “This is the first time,” she said, “the play is being produced with an integrated cast – professional actors with disabilities playing alongside able-bodied actors.”

Sequence runs 80 minutes with no intermission, and is not suitable for children. It is at Presentation House Theatre March 14-24 (except March 19), with proceeds from the March 14 preview going to Realwheels Society to cover production costs. For tickets ($28-$10), call 604-990-3474 or visit phtheatre.org.

Celebrate 150 with laughter

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’s 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 members of the Vancouver disability community in performances that capitalize on people’s greatest common asset: the ability to use humour to cope with life’s trials and tribulations.

“What better way to celebrate Canada’s 150th than with laughter?” said Jewish community member Rena Cohen, the director of the show, in a press release. “A 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.”

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, 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.

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

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

Realwheels’ ultimate goal is to fully integrate creative people with disabilities into the performing arts.

“A trained actor with a disability can play many roles,” said Cohen. “Absolutely, 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.”

About directing, she said, “Our professional shows are typically integrated, a combination of professional actors with and without disabilities. I’m always trying to bring out the truth, looking to the script for what’s called for in the role. Working with different casts and talents is one of the joys of this work.”

In addition to professional shows, Realwheels also produces community shows. “For our community shows,” said Cohen, “we invite anyone who self-identifies as having a disability to participate. We offer training, coaching, a meaningful and considerable theatre experience.”

Comedy on Wheels falls into the community show category.

“We 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,” said Cohen. “We touch on the theme of Canada’s 150th birthday, but, more than anything, that’s 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.”

According to Cohen, the idea for this show – like the ideas for many Realwheels shows – came out of an ongoing dialogue with the community.

“Last 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,” she said. “There 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.”

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

“Tanyalee will be integrating her comedy with our show and emceeing it. Very exciting!” said Cohen.

As is customary for stand-up comedy, the cast members have written their own jokes. “Our only ground rule was nothing sexist, racist or homophobic,” Cohen explained. “The only filter being applied is whether it’s funny or not. Of course, comedy is subjective, but we have a pretty good idea when something works or not.”

Another person has been instrumental in bringing Comedy on Wheels to life – fellow Jewish community member David Granirer.

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 “a 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.”

“The cast members have created this work with the support and guidance of David Granirer,” said Cohen. “David has an elegant system for creating comedy, the system he’s honed over the years. He breaks the process into very clear and workable steps.”

“Rena Cohen brought me in – she’d heard about me from one of the participants who had taken my Langara Stand-Up Comedy Clinic course,” said Granirer.

For him, it was a small step from his students to the actors. “All of the performers in Comedy on Wheels are disabled in some way,” he said. “Their ages range from 20 to 60. Some have theatrical training and others don’t, but my job was similar. It’s 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.”

Comedy on Wheels 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. For tickets, go to comedy-on-wheels.bpt.me.

Olga Livshin is a Vancouver freelance writer. She can be reached at [email protected].

Creeps is a Canadian classic

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’s Creeps premièred in Toronto in 1971. Forty-five years later, it could still be considered radical, and most certainly remains relevant.

The 75-minute one-act play takes place in the washroom of a sheltered workshop, where the main characters – four men with disabilities – take refuge. Freeman, “who lived with cerebral palsy, was one of the first writers to put his own voice – a Canadian voice – on the stage in the early ’70s,” reads the description by Realwheels Theatre, which is mounting the production at the Cultch Dec. 1-10. “Tired of the way they’ve been treated, [the men] rebel and barricade themselves in the washroom. The brutality and hilarity of Freeman’s uncompromising and sardonic dialogue drives the show and expresses the tension of the oppressed with a raw ferocity and clarity.”

Realwheels’ mandate includes providing “respectful and accurate representation of disability, with a vision for full integration of people with disabilities in the performing arts.”

“We’ve cast three fabulous actors who live with disability in Creeps,” producer/dramaturg Rena Cohen told the Independent in an email interview. “They’re working alongside four of Vancouver’s top professional, able-bodied actors. To accommodate the stamina of the PwD [people with disabilities] cast members, we’re extending the rehearsal period to six weeks of part-time (four-hour) days – rehearsal duration for a professional show typically runs three weeks, full-time.

“As happens virtually anytime accommodations are made for accessibility, everyone 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.”

The local production includes Jewish community members David A. Kaye and David Bloom.

Kaye plays four characters: Michael, Puffo the Clown, a chef and a carnival barker.

“Michael is a young man with cerebral palsy, which presents in him as both a physical and cognitive disability,” Kaye explained. “Michael works at a sheltered workshop, what the characters refer to as the ‘Spastic Club,’ a place where people with disabilities used to go to perform mundane tasks for pennies a day. For Michael, I’m doing a lot of textual sleuthing, because there’s more information about Michael between the lines than in the lines themselves.

“My preparation for Michael has taught me about the many ways that CP can present,” he continued. “Each case is unique, like a fingerprint. To prepare for Michael, I’ve interviewed and observed people who live with CP, watched documentaries and then, in rehearsal, I’m responsive to the other actors who are also making their way through the interpretive process. We’re also all learning about the history of sheltered workshops for people with disabilities.”

As for the characters of the clown and the chef, Kaye said they “live in a heightened reality that engages with the perceptions of people with disabilities through an ableist perspective,” whereas the barker “provides an ironic commentary, almost an infomercial or sales pitch for the worst-case scenario option for people with disabilities.”

Bloom plays what could be called the bad guy.

“I play Carson, the guy responsible for the facility,” said Bloom. “He doesn’t appear until the end, but he is talked about a lot before he arrives, mostly with disdain.

Carson is a representation of the patronizing, suffocating ‘support’ these guys receive at the hands of the institution they’re stuck in. During rehearsals, I’m learning a lot about my own lazy thinking about people with disabilities.”

Bloom has known of Realwheels’ work for many years and of Cohen’s involvement in the company, but only met her on the first day of rehearsals. Kaye became connected to Realwheels through Creeps’ director Brian Cochrane, with whom he has worked before.

”When Brian told me he was working with Rena and Realwheels, I was excited to come on board,” said Kaye. “It’s a unique experience! I can’t wait for audiences to witness the late, great David Freeman’s exposé on the lives of this fascinating group of guys.”

For her part, Cohen joined Realwheels in 2009, she said, after meeting its founder, James Sanders.

“James – along with two other Vancouver-based theatre artists, Bob Frazer and Kevin Kerr – had created and produced Skydive, one of the most successful productions to ever come out of Vancouver,” she said. “You couldn’t 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’d been working in arts management and as a speech/presentations coach when James invited me to discuss the company’s next steps.

“Skydive’s remarkable triumph had been supported by a fairly rudimentary start-up company infrastructure. James needed help, and I saw an opportunity to bridge Realwheels’ early success to a more stable future.

photo - Realwheels Theatre managing artistic director Rena Cohen — Realwheels Theatre managing artistic director Rena Cohen. *(photo from Realwheels Theatre)*

“I was also drawn to the opportunities that come through greater insight into the lived experience of disability. Through James – who lives with quadriplegia – and his considerable network, I was exposed to the vitality and dynamism of the disability demographics. It didn’t take long for me to become passionate about Realwheels’ mandate: ‘to create and produce performances that deepen understanding of disability.’

“We’ve since mounted three more amazing professional shows, and built up our community practice – under the Wheel Voices banner. Our most recent community project was SexyVoices, an exploration of sexuality from a disability perspective. SexyVoices 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!”

Last year, noted Cohen, Realwheels received the City of Vancouver Award of Excellence.

Though technically a part-time position, as with many who work in the nonprofit sector, the professional and volunteer lines blur and Cohen’s “efforts in any week are often significantly greater than a full-time job.”

“Embedded 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,” she explained. “After 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.

“My 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’s strategic planning process. I’d co-chaired the religious school committee and, earlier, I served on Temple’s security committee, which was formed after 9/11. These days, I’m chairing the communications committee for the Syrian Refugee Resettlement Project, and otherwise just enjoying our Temple community.”

Of what she has learned from her years at Realwheels, Cohen said, “The PwD experience is the human experience. By that I mean that the state of ‘disability’ is not binary with a simple on/off. There is a scale or a ‘continuum’ 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’ve learned that attitudinal barriers are far more challenging for PwD than physical barriers.

We need to challenge both, but attitudes and preconceptions about disability are the hardest to modify. I’m certainly continuing to work on challenging my own ableist privilege.

“I’ve 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’ve said, I believe that disability exists across the broad spectrum of society, and that most of us are actually TAB (temporarily able-bodied).

“I’m continually learning about the tremendous diversity in the disability sector,” she added. “I attended the Cripping the Arts Symposium in Toronto a few months ago. One PwD artist there insisted, ‘I can’t possibly explain what [having a disability is] like, but I can show you through my artwork, and maybe you’ll get a better understanding of the struggle for survival.’ Yet another expressed: ‘How we experience the world is all based on who you are as a human being, not about being a PwD.’ Those are two nearly opposing positions.

“I’ve 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.”

In addition to her involvement with the Temple Sholom community, Judaism and Jewish culture have influenced Cohen’s outlook on life and the work she pursues in other ways as well.

“My 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,” she said. “We have a rich storytelling tradition in Judaism, and a particular way of using humor to cope with life’s challenges. Exposure to that, combined with having a large, extended Jewish family when I was growing up in Montreal, definitely informed my worldview.

“The aching stories of the Holocaust, and the enormous victory of the establishment of Israel, also feel very personal to me. My parents (z”l) 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’m 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.

“My 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.”

Cohen encourages people to join Realwheels “for an evening of savage wit and uncompromising truth-telling as we present Creeps, the award-winning dark comedy by David E. Freeman that changed Canadian theatre forever!”

And Bloom echoed her sentiments, “I feel very lucky to be part of this show,” he said. “Not only is it a seminal Canadian classic, but I’m working with a great company and an ensemble with real integrity.”

Tickets for Creeps, which previews Nov. 30 before its 10-day run, are $18-$40 from 604-251-1363 or thecultch.com/tickets. 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.