A chance encounter with a quadriplegic led Michael Rubenfeld to create The Book of Judith, a musical that questions commonly held ideas about disability, running at the Abilities Centre in Whitby June 12-14.
Created with Sarah Garton Stanley and Judith Snow, the musical came about when Rubenfeld met Snow, a visual artist and advocate for inclusion communities. The trio have worked together extensively to explore Snow’s life as a quadriplegic.
“I met Judith in 2005. A good friend of mine, Caleb Yong, was working as her personal assistant and approached me because Judith was looking for a lover and he asked to see if he could help her find one,” says Rubenfeld. “He asked me if I knew of anyone. I was blown away by the question because it was weird to be asked. I couldn’t think of anyone who would be interested in being her lover because she was a quadriplegic.
“My answer to him was, I don’t know but I would love to make a piece of theatre about it and explore that question theatrically. We met and she asked me if I had considered anything about her beyond the fact that she was quadriplegic and I realized I hadn’t. At that point she said she would let me do this play, but that we had to do it together and that is when our relationship began.”
The play, which was staged in Toronto in 2009, challenges audiences to confront their own assumptions surrounding disability, and engage in a conversation. Whitby will mark the end of the play’s four-city Ontario tour, starring Rubenfeld, and featuring Snow, and actor Alex Bulmer, along with a 20-person inclusive choir local to each area the play is performed in.
Rubenfeld says the story is about him making a piece of theatre with Judith that fails and the reasons for why he did. “I play myself in the show, but I play a kind of version of myself that is stuck in this idea that because my life was changed by Judith, then now I have the capacity to change other people’s lives with Judith’s story. The play is set up as a story I’m going to tell about me and Judith, but what we slowly come to realize is that what we are actually getting is my version because Judith quits because she didn’t like the way I was behaving. So, in my pursuit of telling this story about inclusion I end up excluding her from the process so that I can be front and centre and tell her story. She ultimately does come back and make the show with us,” Rubenfeld says.
“Most people would assume they are inclusive, myself included. But, what I realized through my work with Judith is that she embraces other people’s ignorance and allows space for them to make mistakes and then to grow and learn with her. As a result, she’s built relationships with people all over the world.”
Snow is also founding director of Laser Eagles, an organization that creates opportunities for artists with limited mobility and speech to explore their artistic vision.
The Book of Judith is staged outside in a tent and is treated like a religious revival.
Inspired by The Book of Judith’s core message of inclusion, a day-long symposium on June 13 will be held at the Abilities Centre in Whitby to examine collaboration and inclusion within the performing arts. Artists, arts professionals and organizations committed to incorporating inclusive thinking and practice through their creation process, programming and educational initiatives will be in attendance.
The play is produced by Selfconscious Theatre in partnership with Abilities Centre and the Theatre Centre. For tickets visit www.bookofjudith.com, or by phone at 905-665-8500. The play boasts original music by Andrew Penner, under the musical direction of Paula Wolfson.
