Published at 1:29 am. Updated at 6:00 am.
Is this the beginning of a new era? That of migration and the decentralization of Quebec theater? Given the numerous partnerships, co-broadcasts and co-productions between Quebec and Montreal in the program for next season (2023-2024), we have to be convinced of this. The community, on the verge of a changing of the guard among artistic directors, seems inclined to let the shows shine longer in the two cities.
Of course, exchanges between theaters are nothing new. However, these have often led to tension and frustration, especially among artists outside the metropolis. “At Trident in the 1980s we gave all the lead roles to the Montreal headliners. The Quebec actors were content to play doorknobs! », illustrates Anne-Marie Olivier, former director of Trident, in the documentation for the company’s 50th anniversary.
PHOTO EDOUARD PLANTE-FRÉCHETTE, LA PRESS
Anne-Marie Olivier, former director of Trident
She reminds us that Roland Lepage founded the Trident troupe of permanent actors in 1989 in response to the invasion of television stars in the old capital and the exodus of actors to Montreal. To inspire young actors like Benoît Gouin, Guylaine Tremblay, Jacques Leblanc, Marie-Ginette Guay, Marie-Thérèse Fortin for the theater…
Different times, different manners
In 2023, no one would dare ignore Quebec’s young artists. In a co-production, parity between the cities is now the law. “Our ecosystems are more stable than they were in the 1980s. We no longer have these negative and protectionist prejudices against Montreal,” explains Maxime Robin, who works in both cities and negotiates his contracts on the Quebec-Montreal train. The latter also rehearses Hosanna or La Shéhérazade des Paupers, which opens the Trident season, with an icon of Montreal nights: Luc Provost, better known by his drag name Mado Lamotte.
PHOTO ERICK LABBÉ, LE SOLEIL ARCHIVE
The actor, director and producer Maxime Robin
Maxime Robin was trained at the Quebec Conservatory and belongs to a generation of artists from the capital – with Alexandre Fecteau, Véronique Côté and Marie-Hélène Gendreau – who work on multiple stages without denying Quebec’s theatrical life.
“This new generation is asserting itself and showing real openness,” notes Marie-Josée Bastien, who teaches at the Quebec Conservatory. But I never felt the Quebec-Montreal rivalry… because I never wanted to feel it. I chose theater because it is a nomadic profession,” says the actress and director.
PHOTO YAN DOUBLET, THE SUN
Director Marie-Josée Bastien created the Salle de nouvelles at Trident in 2021 and will present the piece at Duceppe in September.
In addition, the director of Théâtre Level Parking temporarily moved to Montreal in the fall to direct Salle de Nouvelles at Duceppe and then Projet Polytechnique at TNM. Marie-Josée Bastien is used to traveling back and forth between Quebec and Montreal: “20 is my office,” she says. I learn my lines in the car. I think about my theater performances when I drive. And I take colleagues with me to discuss current projects. »
No more narrow-mindedness!
In an interview with La Presse on the occasion of the performance of Le Diamant in 2019, Robert Lepage also reiterated that “the Quebec theater community must stop having a provincial spirit.” “We need to promote the spread of theater across the province. In English Canada, an actor from Vancouver often appears in Toronto and around the country. In Quebec, however, interpreters work mainly in the city where they live… Or they move to Montreal. »
PHOTO PASCAL RATTHÉ, SPECIAL COLLABORATION ARCHIVE
Famous Capitale-Nationale director Robert Lepage is a regular on Quebec-Montreal co-productions.
Trident’s new artistic director, Olivier Arteau, embodies this “new theater culture”, curious, inclusive and open to creations from all over Quebec. “For me, the idea of a real Quebec culture is not just talking about urban life,” he says. He wants to make Trident “a large European theater,” with the aim of entering into partnerships with companies on the outskirts of large urban centers.
PHOTO YAN DOUBLET, THE SUN
Olivier Arteau, Trident’s new artistic director, belongs to the generation that likes to move.
Mobile generation
“My generation travels a lot for work. Not just for traveling. Engaging with new visions, different creative processes and different schools of thought. It’s important to meet artists from different backgrounds,” explains Olivier Arteau, who never planned to move to the metropolis.
Like Édith Patenaude, who spent half of her professional life between Quebec and Montreal. For two weeks in the Espace Go offices, the director comes to the management “with a desire for openness and curiosity.” And also the intention to create “connections” between Montreal and the rest of Quebec.
“It’s not just a convergence between Quebec and Montreal,” says Patenaude. It is a longer term vision of creation. When ordering decor we think about sustainable development; on the lifespan of the shows. To keep our shows alive longer and ensure better working conditions for artists and designers. »
PHOTO MARTIN TREMBLAY, THE PRESS
Édith Patenaude succeeds Ginette Noiseux as artistic director of Espace Go.
“It’s great to breathe life into a creation over time,” says Marie-Josée Bastien. Co-productions with two or more companies allow us to think about larger sets. For Gloucester and La Reine Margot and Salle de Nouvelles, I was able to bring together 12 artists from Quebec and Montreal on one set. “As a director, I love directing artists who don’t belong to the same theater family. It is very rich. »