Crutch

“They can only see the mere show, and never can tell what it really means.” - Joseph Conrad
Bill Shannon is a true originator. Many may make that claim, but with Bill there is an easy test to prove it. Approach a friend or colleague, who has never seen Bill perform, and try to describe his performance. You might say, "He’s this guy who breakdances and skateboards on crutches," but, no matter how you explain his dancing or skating, the person you're talking to will never be able to picture it in their head. The reason for this is because they lack a historical reference. They cannot draw upon their life experience to imagine what Bill does, because, quite simply he moves in ways that no one has before.
Bill often says that his story is “one of being misunderstood.” Nearly every article ever written about him starts the same way: “Diagnosed with [add medical term], Bill Shannon, aka ‘Crutch Master,’ has been on crutches since he was five years old.” It’s the perfect opening for a classic triumph over diversity disability story and yet each article that begins that way distorts a much more complex reality. The truth is that Bill was first confined to braces and crutches at the age of 5 due to a rare disability that erodes the hip joint. By age 12 his bones had hardened and he was freed of his crutches, but at 20, after years of physical exertion the crutches were back. The writer’s never get it right and it drives Bill crazy.
Seen from another perspective, it’s easy to understand why such a simplification of his history of disability is insulting. At 5 he walked into the hospital a healthy kid with a slight limp and walked out a “cripple.” At 12 he walked into the hospital as a “handicapped” kid and emerged “normal” again. And then, after eight years of break dancing and skate boarding, Bill walked into the hospital and re-emerged “disabled,” requiring him to relearn all the radical movements he had just mastered, this time on crutches. Bill has had the rare opportunity to live in and examine both the able-bodied and disabled world, twice.
Setting the record straight.
For seven years the filmmakers, Sachi Cunningham and Chandler Evans, have followed Bill across the US and around the globe to record the story of his rise from an obscure street artist to an internationally acclaimed performer, choreographer and provocateur. Now with over 200 hours of original footage, the Filmmakers are unraveling a complex narrative about an ambiguously disabled, multi-disciplinary artist who defies both definition and gravity.
For more info on Bill Shannon, please visit his site: www.whatiswhat.com
For booking info, please visit: www.virtualprovocateur.com