Bright green rectangle with blue left edge. Text block: "Introducing Tomas Mureika Realwheels Theatre's New Artistic Director"

Introducing Tomas

Realwheels Theatre Welcomes New Artistic Director Tomas Mureika

The Board and staff of Realwheels Theatre are excited to announce the appointment of Tomas Mureika as Artistic Director of Realwheels. As of March 8, Tomas has been working alongside outgoing Artistic Director, Rena Cohen, to transition into his current leadership role. With more than 40 years of involvement in theatre, cinema, and the arts in both Canada and the United States, Tomas brings a diversity of experience and ideas to Realwheels. As a person living with a disability – the first at the organization’s helm since founder James Sanders – Tomas is looking forward to applying his own lived experience and commitment to inclusion and integration to the organization’s mission: to create and produce performances that deepen understanding of disability both on and off Canadian stages.

Tomas’ previous positions include Artistic Director of both Players’ Theatre and the Black Rock Theatre Company in Montreal, Freelance Filmmaker, and Music & Entertainment Writer & Editor. In his four decades in the industry, he has penned, directed, acted in and/or produced a variety of works, from one-man plays to full scale productions, short films to feature-length movies. Tomas comes to Realwheels with an MFA in Filmmaking from the University of Southern California (USC); a BA in Communications, Film, and English from McGill; and further credentials from Carleton University and Langara College.

As we welcome a great new leader, we say farewell to another. The Board thanks Rena for her decade of guidance and allyship, her commitment to creativity and community, and her drive for accessibility in Canadian theatre. Tomas will work alongside Managing Director, Cadence Konopaki. Under Realwheels’ new leadership, we look forward to staging innovative, world-class performances, to expanding our community programs, and to launching a new generation of actors living with disabilities via the Realwheels Acting Academy. Welcome, Tomas!

For further details please refer to: Press Release – New AD Tomas Mureika