Realwheels Theatre announces new artistic director Tomas Mureika
Bringing lived experience with disability to the position, the Canadian-American artist has had a long career in ttheatre, film, and other realms
VANCOUVER DISABILITY-ARTS trailblazer Realwheels Theatre has announced its new artistic director.
Tomas Mureika will be taking the reins of the company, replacing longtime head Rena Cohen, who has retired from the position.
Mureika is a Canadian-American entertainment veteran with over 30 films and theatrical productions among his credits. His artistic journey began with a string of hit plays and musicals at the New Brunswick Drama Festival. He served as artistic director for Players’ Theatre and Black Rock Theatre in Montreal, and holds a BA in film and theatre from McGill University as well as an MFA in filmmaking from the University of Southern California’s School of Cinema-Television.
Mureika brings lived experience with disability to the position, diagnosed with Parkinson’s in his mid-40s, and then bringing that new perspective to his directing, acting, and writing skills.
Amid his diverse background, Mureika worked in Los Angeles for 20 years, working in financing, writing, directing, producing, editing, and acting in his debut feature film Driftwood, which premiered at the L.A. County Museum of Art. He also wrote and edited for three international music publications, and composed and provided lead vocals for art-rock band Four Squared Images.
Along with creating and presenting shows, Realwheels is set to launch the Realwheels Acting Academy, a unique and totally free professional training program, in September. Years in the making, it is specifically tailored to anybody that self-identifies with the disability or deaf community, including people with hidden disabilities and the neurodiverse. It’ll be the only English-language program of its kind in the country.
“Serving as an incoming Artistic Director of a theatre company is very much like navigating a delicate tightrope balancing act,” Mureika said in the announcement today. “You have the challenges of building on the works of those who have come before while seamlessly transitioning into evolving the collective in new and excitingly bold directions. This task is made much easier when you find you have in fact been invited into a family—a company of caring, talented, and passionate artists dedicated to their craft. This is what Realwheels is—one of the most generous, gifted, and giving collections of people I have ever been fortunate enough to encounter. There is a reason the company has been thriving for nearly 20 years now.”
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