Bouche Theatre Collective

Playwright and novelist, Lise Vaillancourt has written fifteen plays. She was noticed for “Marie-Antoine, opus 1”, “Billy Strauss” and  “Journal d'une obsédée”. Her second novel, “L'Été des eiders” and her work for children, “La Balade de Fannie et Carcassonne” and “Le Petit Dragon” earned her GG Award nominations. She wrote two pieces for acrobatic theatre, “lili” and “Moi moi moi”that toured in Europe, Asia & the USA. “Le case L'Affaire Dumouchon” was presented at La Licorne and “Une histoire pour Édouard” in colaboration with le Théâtre des confettis and Les Exilés de la lumière and Espace libre.  She was writer in residence at the  Banff Centre, the Festival International des Francophonies in Limousin and La Chartreuse de Villeneuve-lez-Avignon. She was a leading figure with Théâtre Expérimental des Femmes (TEF), a founder of Espace Go and Artisti Director of  Théâtre de la Ville Longueuil for 9 years.  In the 2000s, she has served as an expert to the Commission Internationale du Théâtre francophone (CITF). She is currently President of the Centre des auteurs dramatiques.

Bio from www.cead.qu.ca and translated by Jack Paterson

Maureen Labonté is a dramaturge, translator, and teacher. She has also coordinated a number of play development programs in theatres and playwrights’ centres across the country. In 2006, she was named head of program for the Banff Playwrights Colony at the Banff Centre. She was dramaturge at the Colony from 2003–2005. She was also Literary Manager in charge of play development at the Shaw Festival from 2002–2004. Previous to that, she worked at the National Theatre School of Canada, first developing and running a pilot directing program and then coordinating the playwrighting programme and playwrights’ residency. She still teaches at NTS.

Mauren has translated more than thirty Quebec plays into English. Recent translations include: The Bookshop by Marie-Josée Bastien, Everybody’s WELLES pour tous by Patrice Dubois and Martin Labreque, and The Tailor’s Will by Michel Ouellette. She will soon be starting work on: Wigwam by Jean-Frédéric Messier and Bienvenue à (une ville dont vous êtes le touriste) by Olivier Choinière.