REGINA - Shaylee Rosnes was born with cerebral palsy, yet that didn’t stop her from performing in theatre plays.
In 2015, Rosnes was thinking about how she needed to move for university and what would happen to her when she had classes in person.
A friend of Rosnes, who was with Listen To Dis' Community Arts Organization, a group that aims to give non-disabled and disabled people a place to perform, was putting on a performance at the University of Regina.
Rosnes and her parents were invited to the show. Afterwards, Rosens said "we started talking to a couple of the other members about how they had navigated university as a disabled student."
Once Rosnes understood better how to handle attending classes in person, she moved to Regina around 2018. Around that same time, Rosens joined one of Listen to Dis' recreational programs, Listen to Dis Voice, for fun.
At that time, Rosnes enjoyed doing art but "never imagined myself on stage, despite being someone that enjoyed the arts."
Even though Rosnes didn’t see herself as a theatre performer, Traci Foster, founder of Listen To Dis', saw Rosnes had potential. Foster told Rosnes that she had a gift of a connected voice.
Foster explained, "[Rosnes was] very connected to her emotions. [She is] very easy to listen to partially because she's an extraordinarily good listener. There is just an energy about her that felt like she was made for performance."
Foster also added actors, singers, and performers practice having a connected voice throughout their careers for when they're on stage.
Around 2020, Listen To Dis' was set to go on tour when COVID-19 hit, shutting that down. Because of the pandemic, the group decided to do radio plays instead. Due to circumstances, the group needed a person to step in and fill out a role.
Rosnes was invited by the group to perform in different radio plays, including Neither Heroes Nor Ordinary People and Mine to Have.
In Neither Heroes Nor Ordinary People, individuals onstage tell their own versions of what it is like to live with a disability through different kinds of performances. Meanwhile, Mine to Have counters society’s expectations that disabled people cannot have a relationship.
After her performance in the plays, Foster brought on Rosnes as the administrative assistant with Listen To Dis'. From there, Rosnes was written into shows with The Dripping Honeys, a Listen to Dis' music ensemble.
Since the ensemble was about to go on a provincial tour, Rosnes had to learn and develop skills as she performed in more shows.
As she performed more, Rosnes said she started "to really lean into the fact that I am a storyteller, and I might not have had that opportunity before, but I do now. So learning to use that and find the power in my voice has been a really interesting journey, but a really good journey, too."
When asked about travelling around the province, Rosnes said, It's a really, really neat experience to connect with people in different places and meet them where[ever] they're at. I've talked to audience members who have never seen an electric wheelchair before, for example. And then, there's other people that come up to me afterwards and not only tell me that I'm a great storyteller and that I create this through line through[out] the show, but also that they feel seen and heard in a way that they haven't before."
As Rosnes pointed out, most individuals have never seen disabled people perform in a theatre setting. She hopes to make an impact by bringing more people into the disability theatre world.
Wanting to create an inclusive place for disabled people
Growing up, Foster started to dance and perform when she was around 3 years old. As she became an artist later in her life, Foster felt she didn’t belong in more theatre studies, as she struggled to keep up.
The reason for that was Foster was born with a disability, but was not actually diagnosed with one until later in her life.
As her career progressed one of Foster’s friends was working on a project in Toronto titled CP Salon. The piece was based on a person with cerebral palsy. CP Salon travelled to Western Canada, and Foster herself produced it in Regina.
Over a four-day workshop, 24 people attended the event. From this event, "a real understanding that there was a void in the city around providing accessible or disability art," said Foster.
Foster, as an artist, taught theatre. During her sessions, a few of her students who worked with the Â鶹ÊÓƵ. Sask. Independent Living Centre asked Foster if she could teach some workshops, which she did.
Realizing there was an incentive to start an organization, Foster began working with disabled people in 2006. Two years later, Listen to Dis’ formed as a group, eventually becoming a non-profit organization in 2014.
When talking about bringing people forward, Foster gave an example of a time when 20 kids from North Battleford approached company members to know how they could support their peers at a school who have disabilities.
Seeing others want to support each other is "really moving for Foster." She hopes to continue "carving the path for disability culture and disability art to be respected in Saskatchewan."
