Creators of ‘Crip Trip’ on what inspired their new show

University of Alberta alumni Daniel Ennett and Frederick Kroetsch sat down with The Gateway to talk about their new show Crip Trip. 

The show sees Kroetsch take on the role as Ennett’s full-time caregiver, as Ennett is a quadruple amputee, on a road trip from Edmonton to New York. They find themselves ghost hunting, doing stand-up, and getting into trouble. 

The idea for the show came from Ennett and Kroetsch looking to create awareness for the systemic issues that people with disabilities face in an entertaining way, but also to fight against Ennett’s possible institutionalization by Alberta Health Services (AHS). 

Ennett explained that “younger disabled professionals [are] all dealing with the same problems — systemic poverty, lack of access to adequate care, the ability to work and function in their communities, and the threat of institutionalization.” To portray this in an entertaining way, they “landed on the very quirky idea of doing a cross-country road trip,” he added. 

Kroetsch said that originally, the idea for the show was having them travelling around and chatting with different academics at Canadian universities, but that they wanted something more fun. 

Part of the goal was to show people how hard it is to be a caregiver. Kroetsch said that “if I become a 24-hour caregiver for somebody with high needs, we assume hilarity is going to happen. But also emotional breakdowns, tears, and laughter. The audience could actually see just how hard it is.” 

“Nothing is more radicalizing than having to deal with home care,” Ennett says

Alongside this, AHS and tis unwillingness to give proper care for people with disabilities is a big part of the show, Ennett added. The show’s existence is also an effort to save Ennett from institutionalization. 

Ennett detailed that “Crip Trip starts with [him] interacting with AHS and trying to fight for more care work for [himself]. And nothing is more radicalizing than having to deal with home care. You’re talking to nurses and doctors who have all sworn oaths to do no harm, and they’re telling you that you only need 6.6 hours of care a day. What would you do if your day started at 8 a.m. and it ended at 2 p.m.? There’s no way that you could sustain a job. There’s no way that you could sustain any kind of social life.” 

Ennett and Kroetsch used “photography as a vehicle to go and talk to other disabled people across North America,” Ennett said. This led them to make their RV into a “mobile analog film darkroom.” 

Kroetsch said that Ennett “chose the hardest possible thing, he has no hands.” 

Ennett said they used “equipment that had a waist-level viewfinder so that I didn’t need to lift the camera up. I was using trigger mechanisms to take the photos, and [Kroetsch] would be my assistant.”

Meeting up with different disabled creators around North America allowed them to show that the issues people with disabilities face aren’t bound by location. 

“Whether we were in Alberta or Saskatchewan or Manitoba, Ontario or New York or Illinois, everybody had the exact same thing to say. ‘We’re trapped in the cycle of poverty, and we can’t climb up,’” Ennett said.

Overall, Crip Trip is Ennett and Kroetsch getting into trouble, giving voice to creators across North America, and advocating for rights for people with disabilities.

Crip Trip premiered on April 25 and is airing Fridays at 7 p.m. MT on AMI-TV and AMI+.