As part of our 20th Anniversary Season Launch in 2023, we announced the creation of the James Brown Memorial Creativity Fund. James was an integral part of Realwheels’ community productions, including Comedy on Wheels, Wheels Voices Power Play, and Wheel Voices: Tune In. He passed away in April 2022.
In Realwheels, James found a community he could genuinely be a part of. James, who had always kept himself as small as possible (and he was over 6 feet tall), found acceptance for who he was. I think it was probably the first time in his life that he believed that he was enough, that he wasn’t ‘other’. Through the workshops and development work he participated in, he discovered his creativity, and his own voice. With the encouragement and support of this community he developed courage and the confidence within himself, not just to carry on conversations, but to perform – in public!— Borja Brown, sister of James
In Realwheels, James found a community he could genuinely be a part of. James, who had always kept himself as small as possible (and he was over 6 feet tall), found acceptance for who he was. I think it was probably the first time in his life that he believed that he was enough, that he wasn’t ‘other’. Through the workshops and development work he participated in, he discovered his creativity, and his own voice. With the encouragement and support of this community he developed courage and the confidence within himself, not just to carry on conversations, but to perform – in public!
— Borja Brown, sister of James
From James’ estate, the Brown Family generously donated $15,000 to Realwheels. Their generosity marked the beginning of the James Brown Memorial Creativity Fund. These funds will be used to develop new work by artists with disabilities – new scripts and new community shows.
Each year, we’ll launch a fundraising campaign to keep this fund growing and James’ legacy alive.
studip—a title referencing the common dyslexic trait of flipping the letters “d” and “p”—is a new theatrical performance by June Fukumura. Blending personal storytelling, verbatim text from interviews, stand-up comedy, and clowning, the work invites audiences into the hidden world of dyslexia. The performance aims to dispel common myths about dyslexia while illuminating the creative potential of dyslexic thinking.
Wild, messy, and unapologetically dyslexic, studip is an invitation to embrace our inner fools and come together in an unabashed celebration of neurodiversity.
Over the next year, June will receive support to generate the first draft of this as yet unwritten play courtesy of the James Brown Memorial Creativity Fund
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Continuing and revitalizing the legacy of the Wheel Voices series, ARC is a trilogy of community engagement projects where participants will be introduced to story and creation fundamentals by Glitch Co-Artistic Director, Adam Grant Warren.
Arc One brings together 10 new and emerging D/disability-identified artists for an evening of short (5 to 7 minutes) original performances ranging from prose and poetry to stories and essays. The event will be recorded live and released as a podcast series later this year.
Supported by the James Brown Memorial Creativity Fund
This new work by playwright Adam Grant Warren has been in development with Glitch Theatre since 2023 and is set to premiere in one of our upcoming seasons.
When top-tier travel Youtuber and wheelchair-user Ramona Peet finally returns to Axles, her old friends are right where she left them. She says she’s back to record a come-home video for her (wildly successful) channel, but as the night goes on the real reason why Ramona wants her old pals on camera comes to light…
In our 2024/2025 season, courtesy of the James Brown Memorial Creativity Fund, we hosted two workshops to support the script — a three-day dramaturgy-focused process in January 2025, and a week-long video design workshop in March 2025.
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