>PREVIEW
THE KAY STORIES
CREATED BY Brenda Whiteman and Peter Stinson
Wednesday, February 8
The U of C Rozsa Centre
A puppet film series about a developmentally disabled woman taking holidays from her group home in Grande Prairie to visit her sister in Calgary sounds like it could be a good start for a heartwarming narrative, and in a way it is. But the filmmakers behind The Kay Stories wanted to get beyond that kind of schmaltzy sentiment to portray the daily realities of life for disabled people.
"There’s this longtime tradition in Hollywood movies of famous actors playing people with disabilities," says Red Smarteez Marionettes filmmaker Peter Stinson. "And it’s an odd thing, because they ultimately end up winning Oscars for these portrayals, these romantic notions of someone triumphing over adversity."
Stinson and his partner Brenda Whiteman have written stories that are more ordinary and hence more believable. Based on the actual visits of Whiteman’s late sister Kay to Calgary, the six films use puppets to dramatize such simple things as Kay’s trips to the mall and the zoo. What emerges is a series of stories about how Kay affected the people around her and how they did – and didn’t – take care of her.
In one of the films, Kay goes shopping alone in Kensington while Brenda works her shift as a waitress at the Kensington Pub. When Kay doesn’t return after a couple of hours, Brenda realizes that she shouldn’t have let Kay go out alone. Kay eventually returns to the pub with two fine looking men who recognized she shouldn’t have been out without someone helping her.
"She was very determined to be independent – always – but she really wasn’t that independent," says Whiteman, readily admitting that she didn’t always take the best care of Kay. "The community always came through to help Kay, and (in the stories), Brenda doesn’t always look the best, because Brenda sort of took advantage of that."
But neither this nor any of the other Kay stories are laden with heavy moral tones. After all, the characters are puppets on strings – a storytelling format that doesn’t exactly lend itself to long-faced seriousness. Stinson says they’re upbeat stories told in a "clunky style." The story of the two handsome men is actually quite funny as Whiteman and her friend realize that having Kay around is a great way to meet guys.
Not only do the marionettes keep the stories light and enjoyable, but they also show the commonality held between all of the characters.
"Because it’s told with puppets, it puts everyone on the same level," says Stinson.
It’s a fitting presentation method, since Kay, like most developmentally disabled people, didn’t pay much heed to the rigid and ridiculous social order of things that so many of us accept without question. Kay’s openness towards people who are different than herself is shown in another of the films, when she encounters some green-haired punks in the mall and strikes up a conversation with them.
"She sees the world a little bit differently," says Whiteman. "I’m sure she was kind of interested in the punks’ hairdos. So she would have asked, ‘How come your hair is green?’ She was very outgoing and sociable."
The message is that life for disabled people isn’t so otherworldly as many of us assume, and that we all hold some things in common. For Whiteman and Stinson, this message can be portrayed in everyday things like the love of certain activities or foods.
"Kay was a hero because she knew what she liked," says Whiteman, adding that while Kay enjoyed her shopping trips, Coke and coffee, she wasn’t impressed with any of the previous Red Smarteez films.
"We’re trying to make our portrayal a little more down-to-earth, more realistic," explains Stinson. "It’s about accepting everyone’s way of being." |
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