Realwheels Theatre quashes stereotypes with new staged play-reading series exploring disability
In Zombies, Mannequins, and Talking Heads, playwrights Adam Grant Warren, Jordyn Wood, and Alex Masse share progressive scripts in development
Adam Grant Warren.
Realwheels Theatre presents Zombies, Mannequins, and Talking Heads from May 9 to 11 at the Roundhouse Community Arts & Recreation Centre
MENTION THE WORD disability and what might come to mind is a physical limitation, the kind universally identified in public places like the front of buses with a blue and white accessibility logo bearing a stick figure in a wheelchair. Adam Grant Warren wants to change that. To do so as the new co-artistic director of Realwheels Theatre, he’s behind an upcoming staged play-reading series of three bold scripts in development, one by him and two by people who identify with disability in the broadest sense.
“The canon of works by people who identify with disability is still quite small,” Warren says in a phone interview with Stir. “We wanted to do what we could to expand that….Historically, Realwheels has had a very specific lens on disability and a lot of the work produced had to do with physical disability, and I think it was time for us to broaden that lens.
“When someone thinks of the disability experience, it still conjures a particular image, the blue-and-white wheelchair sign; it’s still very much the physical disability,” says Warren, who uses a wheelchair. “We want to move beyond that. There’s a much fuller perspective of disability, a broader perspective, a more complete spectrum.”
Zombies, Mannequins, and Talking Heads is the progressive play-reading series that’s quashing stereotypes.
The event kicks off on May 9 at 7 pm with Vascular Necrosis by Jordyn Wood in association with Bramble Theatre Collective. Directed by Arthi Chandra, it looks at post-traumatic stress disorder and queerness by inverting the tropes of zombie apocalypse stories.
Faye’s Room by Alex Masse takes place May 10 at 7 pm. Presented in association with the frank theatre company and directed by Angelica Schwartz, it focuses on the experience of a queer autistic woman.
Warren’s own work, Saturday Night at Axles, on May 11 at 7 pm, has Neworld Theatre as its community partner and is directed by Chelsea Haberlin. The piece explores identity and belonging through the eyes of a successful YouTube creator and wheelchair user.
On May 11 at 12:30 pm, there’s a free public panel discussion facilitated by Davey Samuel Calderon with all three playwrights, who will discuss their work. (People wanting to attend need to RSVP here; the series kicks off with a launch party on May 8 at 7 pm.)
Opening up the creative process to audiences and giving people the chance to witness the evolution of a theatre piece is a crucial component of Realwheels’s work, Warren says.
“Each of the shows is going into full production in the future with us or another company, and we wanted to do what we could to showcase as much of that work as we could while it was still in development,” Warren says. “I think it’s really important for us as a company going forward to start inviting audiences to engage with work earlier or more continuously.
“For me as the co-artistic director of Realwheels, it’s really important to move away from the notion of bums in seats and move toward relationship-building and engagement,” he adds. “This is an opportunity to see the work and engage with the work throughout its life, and I think all three of these works offer a level of nuance that maybe we haven’t had a chance to engage with as a company before.”
Warren will hold a talkback session after the reading of Saturday Night at Axles, and he notes that people can also share feedback at the public panel or by getting in touch with the company in writing.
“The evolution of a work is a really important part of this staged reading,” Warren says. “It’s an opportunity to come in and say as an audience member what resonated with them or to say ‘I was curious about this’ or ‘I’d like to see more of this.’ It’s an opportunity to have that feedback heard and know that that feedback will be taken into account.
“The most exciting part of a work for me is the development of it,” he adds. “You don’t have to like it, but it should make you think. It should stimulate conversation. That’s why I love theatre. I came out here [to Vancouver from Newfoundland in 2008] to work in film, but that’s what was missing for me: the organic discussion that comes after having experienced something live.” 
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