THEATRE

ARTS Realwheels Theatre tunes in to the power of music

by Charlie Smith

Realwheels artistic director Rena Cohen likens the company’s latest production to a variety show.

Provocatively edgy. Heartwarming. Rolling-on-the- oor laughing. ese are three of the ways that Rena Cohen describes Realshow will include intense and moving moments, including a segment called “What You Need to Know About Me”, which came out of an exercise that arose wheels eatre’s latest production, which is her last a er more than 11 years as the company’s artistic director. Wheel Voices: Tune In! continues the theatre group’s tradition of creating and producing performances that deepen people’s understanding of disability, albeit this time with a musical twist.

Cohen told the Straight by phone that the company’s last major production, Comedy on Wheels, included some live music, which whetted community members’ desire for even more in this show. is time, segments were lmed in 14 performers’ homes and later edited into a tight lmed production with some of the semblances of a variety show. It includes rap, spoken word, and choral pieces.

“ ere’s a really hilarious parody from the musical Chicago, ‘Cell Block Tango’,” Cohen revealed. “It’s a revenge fantasy.”

She explained that there are some exceptionally talented musicians with disabilities in Vancouver, including Mark Ash, who was once in a band that opened for Blue Oyster Cult. He oversaw music composition and performance in Wheel Voices: Tune In!. Another is Dave Symington, cofounder of the Vancouver Adapted Music Society, who is among the performers.

In addition, Cohen noted that the early in the process. “ at became a very interesting piece to stage and to share,” she said. e new production will have two virtual performances: 7 p.m. on Wednesday (May 5) and 7 p.m. next Friday (May 14). Last month, the company launched its Realwheels Acting Academy. It’s the rst program in Western Canada focused on providing professional acting training to anybody who self-identi es with the disability community or is D/deaf (deaf since birth or before acquiring language). It also welcomes people with hidden disabilities or who are neurodiverse. “It was designed to be 100 percent customizable to training actors with disabilities,” Cohen said. “I think it’s important because it’s a real systems-change project.” She pointed out that 22 percent of Canadians identify as living with a disability, but that’s not adequately re ected on the country’s cultural platforms. Part of it, she added, is because of the lack of opportunities for training for people with disabilities—as well as the lack of outreach conducted speci cally to prospective students with disabilities. “We’re starting to see that changing, but we still have a long way to go,” Cohen said. Although she welcomes the broad-

I felt very privileged to be a custodian of this company.

– Rena Cohen

based movement toward equality, diversity, and inclusion, she feels that people with disabilities are still lagging behind other equity-seeking communities.

“ is is one of the ways that we are addressing this,” she stated. “We have partners—National eatre School and Studio 58—and also with other theatre companies, like the Arts Club and Touchstone.”

To make it more accessible, the Realwheels Acting Academy is o ering a module-based curriculum to teach acting, movement, and voice. Students with disability can proceed through the program by taking courses in manageable time frames, like three hours a week.

As for Cohen, she felt that this was a good time to leave Realwheels because it’s in a “pretty good place”.

“I felt very privileged to be a custodian of this company,” she said. “To leave at the right time was important—and also to make space for other voices and somebody with lived experiences.” g