disabled actors
iPhoto caption: Original photo by Alick Tsui.
REVIEW: Crippled at Theatre Passe Muraille/#beyondTO
It’s an exploration of death, life, and redemption: but above all else, Crippled is a powerful love story.
Tales from a Disabled Theatre School Grad
The assumption was that a disabled person can’t be a physically strong or attractive individual... the assertion was repeated so much that I internalized it: I reduced myself to just an actor who, due to my disability, could only play “bit” roles or disabled characters.
iPhoto caption: (left to right) Joe Flaherty (SCTV), Kirk Griesser, Larry Brown, Vicki Burningham, and Jim Crawford in The Off Ramp, National Arts Centre, inaugural National Access Awareness Week, 1988.
In 1987 I was hired by the Rolling Thunder Theatre Company for a ten-week contract. Brainstorm with the cast, write and direct a new play, then wave bon voyage as the Thunder van ambled off for ten months of touring.
iPhoto caption: Ophira Calof in Literally Titanium. Photo courtesy Next Stage Festival.
New stories require a new framework. What does it mean to create a performance that truly works for a Disabled body, on its terms?