.jpg)
Aspiring singers in Winnipeg have a new opportunity to join their voices with others, regardless of their ability.
The Sick & Twisted Choir, an offshoot of Sick & Twisted Theatre, has officially begun rehearsals at the Prairie Theatre Exchange at Portage Place. The local theatre company has long been a leader in creating performance spaces for people with disabilities, and the choir represents a continuation of that mission.
The idea for the choir came up very organically for the company’s creative team. “It started because Debbie Patterson, the artistic director of Sick & Twisted, was getting a lot of calls and inquiries about how to get involved in Sick & Twisted Theatre,” choir director Emily King explained in an interview on Morning Light. Since the majority of the company’s work was project-based, there wasn’t necessarily an opportunity for the community to participate in a direct way. Thus, the idea for a community choir was born.
“Our hope for the choir is that eventually, we can perform at events, at protests all across the board,” King shares.
The choir, which rehearses regularly for two hours on Monday nights, is meant to be a place where people can engage with fellow performers in a safe environment and learn songs together that range from familiar pop hits to tunes by Winnipeg-associated acts like Neil Young and The Weakerthans. “The folks that have been joining us are just so welcoming, so caring,” King says of the experience. “The beauty of a choir is that because there’s so many voices, if you’re feeling, you know, a little unsure, a little insecure, you can always listen to the person next to you. You can always tune into what’s happening around you a little bit and then jump in when you feel comfortable, and we totally welcome that, too.”
The choir’s biggest offering to the community is the one that it was created to address: a place for performs of all abilities to gather and sing together. “Folks really want to have somewhere to connect with others,” King observes. “I think the pandemic really made it hard for people to find community, find resources to come together.”
“I see people, getting to know each other and opening up and getting and more comfortable as each rehearsal goes by, and it’s a really exciting thing to see.”
Community members interested in becoming a part of the Sick & Twisted Choir can email the company directly. More information can be found at Sick & Twisted Theatre’s website.
