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The leadership team at Sick & Twisted Theatre has announced that veteran Winnipeg theatre creator Theresa Thomson will join its ranks in a new role as artistic producer.
The Winnipeg theatre company is dedicated to creating theatre experiences that explore life for folks with disabilities. They do this through performances that uplift performers with disabilities, and also put out calls to action in the city of Winnipeg to encourage artists and audiences alike to consider accessibility and representation.
Thomson, who has credits both on-stage and behind the scenes with several Winnipeg performance companies, first got involved with the company last year. “As a theatre artist who wears multiple hats, I started to – I referred to as ‘collecting diagnoses’ about ten years ago, I saw how my disabilities were affecting my work or not,” Thomson shared in an interview with Morning Light host Nolan Kehler. “It was right around that time when I started to see Sick & Twisted and what they were doing.”
While Thomson says seeing this was inspiring for her, it’s a word that she hesitates to use because of its overly positive connotation. “The last thing we ever want to hear is anybody say, ‘Good for you,’” she explains. “We're professional artists who are good at doing our jobs. We happen to be disabled. And we have exceptional bodies. Our bodies might be an exception, but all performance is rooted in the body.”
“We have access to universal truths that not everybody else may have experienced yet.”
The ownership over the term “disabled” is also what drives the company’s edgy presentations, which have included productions entitled Cripplefest and the cabaret show Cripplepalooza. This edgy streak will continue with a pantomime holiday production entitled Merry Crip-Mas.
When asked about why Sick & Twisted Theatre uses language that can have negative connotations, Thomson says it’s a way for performers in the company to gain agency in their bodies. “There’s an edge which you garner when you know life is challenging and you feel and see some of the dark darker elements of that we end up developing all sorts of coping mechanisms and humor's my favorite.”
Despite that edge that comes from overcoming physical challenges, Thomson also says the love and understanding of the company is a unique gift in the Winnipeg theatre scene for performers with disabilities. “There's other places where I might not feel as comfortable disclosing that it certainly depends on what accommodation I'm seeking. There's certainly places where I've required accommodation, and it may have been granted, but there was some discomfort around it.”
In an Instagram post, the company said, “Theresa brings a wealth of theatre admin knowhow, producing smarts and Crip [sic] joy to the organization.”