To Table of Contents integrated casting-- a Realwheels priority!” Mureika shared.“ Why can’ t the part of the brilliant lawyer – or any other role, for that matter – be played by an actor with a disability? It is all about breaking down barriers so our artistic world represents the one in which we live … again, a Realwheels priority!”
Inclusive theatre and its contribution to community integration At Realwheels, the goal is to continually expand audiences and demographics so there is ultimately no perceived barrier between‘ disability theatre’ and‘ theatre’. Barriers are continually broken, making quality art compatible with any other theatre company. They aim to tell all types of stories in brand new and exciting ways – stories that have universal themes and ideas about the human experience, which will entertain and reach the broadest possible audiences and leave them thinking long after the shows are over.“ Inclusionary integration is a huge part of that. If we can bring in increasingly inclusionary and integrated audiences to our integrated productions, we will have accomplished something essential at the societal level.” Konopaki said.
Opportunities for artists with disabilities Until now, professional theatre has largely viewed accessibility from the standpoint of the audience member and mostly limited to physical disability; ensuring there is space for a wheelchair in the audience, for example. In the past couple years, this has been changed to incorporate more accessibility for audience members with disabilities such as providing audio-described performances for blind audience members, or relaxed performers for those that are neurodiverse.
Opportunities for artists with disabilities to be on stage in productions has been next to none, until recently. This is for 3 reasons:
1) Professional theatre companies pigeon-hole artists with disabilities. Directors typically cast an actor with a disability in a disability role but very rarely will it be done the other way around. And of course, the number of shows with characters with disabilities are also extremely limited! Usually used as a token to instill audience pity or fear. For example, Shakespeare ' s Richard the III or Tiny Tim in Charles Dickens A in Christmas Carol
2) Professional theatre companies are unaware of how to accommodate artists with disabilities. Traditional theatres normally run for long 10 – 12- hour days, six days a week. With such schedules, this can be a huge barrier for artists with disabilities who face issues with stamina, pain or other such issues.
3) Artists with disabilities have not had professional actor training made available to them. This is due to traditional methods of actor training and the inaccessibility and rigidity of the academic institutions and curriculums.
Realwheels has been working on all these areas but now, most significantly, in their new professional-calibre, three-year actor training program which will be launched in September 2021. This will be the first of its kind in Western Canada. Details can be found here: realwheels. ca / academy /
Covid’ s Impact Due to provincial guidelines with all arts and cultural performances having to remain closed, all programming has been online since mid-March 2020. In the last year Realwheels delivered:
• a playwriting workshop and public reading online
• completed a playwrightin-residency program culminating in a livestreamed reading of the playwright’ s work
• wrote, rehearsed, recorded, and live-streamed a musical based on the stories and lives of 14 community artists living with a disability. eels attempt to preserve the event- level