My Pitch

My friend Leon and I (as well as Sherry and Michael, who I don't know as well)  have been collaborating on this idea for a TV show for three years.  The main character would be someone like me, someone with CP and who is non-speaking.

Today, Leon, Sherry, and I went "Pitch Boot Camp?' on the Ryerson campus to learn how to sell our TV show idea to the 2013 Innoversity Pitch Competition, which is happening next week.

I wrote the following, and I used my "Speak It!" app on my iPad to read it out for me:

It’s weird having a disability.  I’m faced with so many contradictions within my daily life. I am unable to speak, and yet I’ve been called an excellent communicator. My late husband Rob used to say, “Anne, for someone who can’t speak you sure do talk a lot!”  And it’s true, I do talk a lot! I write speeches, compose my daily blog, and give interviews to different factions of the media.  I do this because to society I am invisible. The general public has no idea what my life is like because a person like myself is rarely seen in the media or portrayed in movies or TV.   Because of this fact, people have a lot of crazy misconceptions about who I am and what I’m like.  I’ve been labeled as “slow”, “fragile”, “deaf”, and “asexual” – none of which is true! And sure, this type of thing upsets me sometimes, but I also use people’s attitudes to my advantage. For instance, when people assume that I’m deaf or not too bright, I play the part and just sit as if I can’t hear anything, but all the while soaking up people’s conversations.  There was one time when I was in  the airport coming home from England, and one of the airlines workers was frantically trying to get me off the plane as quickly and gently as possible. He kept saying “Easy now, this woman is very fragile.” Because I was grateful that he was trying to speed the process along, I didn’t tell him that I had the upper body strength of a body builder, and could possibly break his nose without even trying!

Leaving Normal, in my opinion, would be a great way to show diversity, a way to show viewers that somebody with my type of disability, or any disability, has the same hopes, dreams and desires as anybody else. And, because the main character is constantly being underestimated, this is an excellent way for her to solve mysteries, because nobody pays attention to a person in a wheelchair.

 The people in charge seemed to really like my contribution, and, indeed, suggested that I go first when the four of us do our presentation next Tuesday.

I don't know where this will lead - if anywhere - but it sure is exciting!