James Sanders wasnāt sure whether heād complete his actorsā training when, at age 21, an accident on New Years Eve left him quadriplegic.
But a 1981 Richard Dreyfuss movie called Whose Life Is It Anyway?, which was adapted from a television play, renewed his resolve and determination.
In the film, Dreyfuss plays Ken Harrison, a sculptor recently paralyzed from the neck down, who fights to have his rights supersede those of the medical system.
āThat was really empowering and inspiring,ā Sanders said. āIt was also ridiculously funny.ā
He saw humour connected to disability and himself in the playful Harrison.
Sanders felt he couldnāt play the middle-aged Harrison anytime soon, so he shelved the idea.
Sanders went on to become the founding artistic director of Realwheels Theatre and when he sought a follow-up to the companyās 2010 production Spine, he read the three-decade-old Tony-award-winning play for the first time, contacted the elderly British playwright Brian Clark and convinced him to update it and waive the royalties.
It seemed like the perfect time for a more mature Sanders to embody the character that had motivated him as a young man.
The show was on the road with Sandersā actor friend Bob Frazer set to perform the lead role at matinees and as Sandersā understudy.
But many months of serious medical problems made Sanders eventually withdraw from the role.
Frazer worried that as an able-bodied person he shouldnāt play a disabled man.
āUltimately, [Sanders] said the smartest thing. He said, āLook, my company isnāt about giving jobs to people with disabilities. My company is about enriching peoplesā lives through the disability experience,āā Frazer said.
Frazer and Sanders have been buddies since before Sanders, now on medical leave from Realwheels, became disabled and Frazer said he feels proud to get to play a version of his friend.
āIām lucky enough to be able to tell his story in a sense, his emotional life that very few people may know about,ā he said.
Sanders is pleased to have Frazer, who directed Spine and co-starred with him in Realwheelsā Skydive, to perform with a cast that includes Patti Allan, Jennifer Lines and Dawn Petten, along with director John Cooper.
Whose Life Is It Anyway? is a complete departure from Realwheelsā previous productions Skydive and Spine.
āThose shows were all about technology and mind-blowing staging or projections,ā Frazer said. āThis one is about heart and soul.ā
The young Sanders saw Whose Life is it Anyway? as a vehicle for him to do something interesting. Now he sees it through the eyes of a 43-year-old married father who wants to be around for his son when heās an adult, and as someone who sees the playās broad appeal, with questions about the right to die frequently grabbing headlines.
Sanders hopes to further understandings of what itās like to be disabled and to break down barriers and misperceptions. He also hopes seeing the show will spark discussion and reconnection among loved ones.
āI want [the audience] to go out thinking, āShit Iām going to die one of these days and Iād better make sure that my loved one knows what I want.āā
Representatives from the Farewell Foundation for the Right to Die, the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition of B.C. and the artists will participate in question and answer sessions after performances on March 13 and 18.
Whose Life Is It Anyway?
March 11 to 22 at the Historic Theatre at the Cultch, 1895 Venables St.
Tickets and info: .
