Following a national call for submissions for a playwright who lives with disability to participate in a residency that was to begin in early 2020, Vancouver’s Realwheels Theatre named Toronto-based artist Kirsten Kirsch as the recipient of their inaugural Playwright-in-Residence Award.
Throughout her residency, Kirsch has been working on her first original play, Gimpy: A New Musical, and is looking forward to sharing this work with the arts community as well as fans, friends, and family via a free (donations welcome) virtual reading of the script to be shared on Wednesday, November 25 at 7:00pm PT at www.realwheels.ca/shows. Following the reading, there will be a live Q&A where attendees are invited to ask questions of the playwright and the other artists.
Gimpy: A New Musical follows Soren, a young woman with a disability living in Tulsa, Oklahoma, who dreams of becoming a Broadway musical star. Despite her talent, the theatre world isn’t ready to risk casting a person with a disability. Meanwhile, her father, the fictional mayor of Tulsa, insists she follow a more practical career path. Soren meets a musician who recognizes her songwriting talent and she discovers a different route to her dreams of being a performing artist, helping out her beloved town along the way. The universal themes in this story will resonate through the perspective of a person with cerebral palsy carving their own path in life. In addition to writing her first play, Kirsten Kirsch also plays the lead character.
Due to COVID-19, development work on Gimpy: A New Musical was mostly done online. Kirsten worked closely with Realwheels Theatre’s Artistic Director Rena Cohen and dramaturges Liesl Lafferty, Susinn McFarlan, and Lynna Goldhar Smith.
Credits for Gimpy: A New Musical:
Director: Rena Cohen
Performances by: Kirsten Kirsch (Soren), Shawn Macdonald (Matthew), Krystle Dos Santos (Kirby), & Mason Temple (Presley)
Dramaturges: Liesl Lafferty, Susinn McFarlan, & Lynna Goldhar Smith
Producer: Cadence Konopaki
Book, Lyrics, & Co-Composer: Kirsten Kirsch
Co-Composer & Musician: Darin Meilleur
Additional Lyrics & Co-Composer: Katie Berger
Sound Recording & Zoom Producer: Kimit Sekhon
Musical Director: Caitriona Murphy
Realwheels is thrilled to be able to support Kirsten who brings heartfelt sensibilities about the human condition combined with a sense of humour that is matched by her multiple talents in music and storytelling.
For more information on Realwheels Theatre, please visit the following platforms:
Website: www.realwheels.ca
Facebook: www.facebook.com/RealwheelsTheatre
YouTube: www.youtube.com/user/RealwheelsTheatre