A Glimpse into New Translation: Tales of the Snow
By Philippe Soldevila | Translated by Leanna Brodie
A DIFFERENT LANGUAGE IS A DIFFERENT VISION OF LIFE
A glimpse into
new translation
Join us online for our English language new translation development workshop series.
Discover the leading new works of francophone Canadian theatre, meet the playwrights and their translators, and play a part in the new translation process.
FREE EVENT
In association with Axis Theatre, The Canadian Play Thing,
Presentation House Theatre, & The PHT Creative Hub Co-operative
TRILOGY OF AN EMIGRATION
“…the clear skies of hope, and poetry able to chase away the darkest clouds and the deepest suffering…a celebration of beauty.” – Le Soleil
Phillipe Soldevila’s award winning emigration trilogy is a deeply personal work taking us on a journey of two continents, and four generations. From Spain to Quebec, from 1917 to 2017, the tales of this trilogy explores identity, the encounter between cultures, and the search for belonging in Canadian culture.
Sunday March 21, 2021 | 12 pm Pacific / 3 pm Eastern / 8 pm GMT
Tales of the Snow
By Philippe Soldevila | Translated by Leanna Brodie
Translated from Conte de la neige (Quebec, Canada)
“A moving play on family, separation and resilience.”
– ICI Radio-Canada
Nothing is more natural for a 10 year old boy born in Quebec in the early 1970s to dream of skating like Guy Lafleur. And our young hero is no exception to this rule. Except that, for more great and only woe, his name is Octavio Casesnoves-Ruiz. For Octavio, this difference is a weight that he refuses to bear. The old stories and values of his Spanish father, a victim of the Spanish cvil war, are of no interest to him until his grandmother gives him a pathway to understanding.
Featuring Lucia Frangione, Ming Hudson & Michael Scholar, Jr.
This translatation was commissioned by Bouche Theatre Collective and made possible by a grant from Canada Council for the Arts.
Conte de la lune, Conte de la neige & Conte du soleil. Produced by Théâtre les Confettis with le Théâtre Sortie de Secours. Photography by Louise Leblanc.
Meet our Playwright & Translator
About the playwright
Philippe Soldevila
(He, Him, His)
“I’m born of Quebec, both feet in the snow. My parents are born of nations under the sun. ” – Phillipe Soldevila
Philippe Soldevila is a leading francophone director, playwright, author, and translator. With a BA in French literature (Université Laval) and Theatre (University of Ottawa), he studied at the Conservatory of dramatic art of Quebec. He is the artistic director of Théâtre Sortie de Secours. In May 1998, he received the John Hirsch Award from the Canada Council for the Arts in recognition of his work as a director. He wrote and directed Tale of the Moon (Mask 2006 for Best Production for Young Audiences, Éloizes 2007 Production of the Year Award and ZOF Award of the French Cultural Federation and SAIC). His artistic approach is guided by his fascination with cultural intermingling and identity issues.
About the translator
Leanna Brodie
(She, Her, Hers)
Leanna Brodie is an actor, playwright, and translator whose passions include lifting up the stories and voices of women, and championing a new generation of French-Canadian playwrights by transmitting their extraordinary theatrical visions into the English language. Her original plays The Vic, For Home and Country, The Book of Esther, and Schoolhouse (Talon Books) have been performed across Canada. Her translations include Christian Bégin’s After Me and Why Are You Crying?; Louise Bombardier’s My Mother Dog; Annie Brocoli’s Stardust; Rébecca Déraspe’s You Are Happy, I Am William, and Gametes; Amélie Dumoulin’s Violette; Sébastien Harrisson’s From Alaska and Two-Part Inventions; Catherine Léger’s Opium_37 and I Lost My Husband!; David Paquet’s Wildfire and The Shoe; Olivier Sylvestre’s The Paradise Arms; Philippe Soldevila’s Tales of the Moon; Larry Tremblay’s Panda Panda; and multiple plays by Hélène Ducharme of Théâtre Motus, whose acclaimed, Dora Award-winning Baobab continues to tour China and the Americas after more than 600 performances.
Meet the workshop team
Tales of the Snow
Lucia Frangione (She, her, hers)
Lucia Frangione is an award winning actor and internationally produced playwright from Vancouver. Favourite roles include Annie in Misery for the Arts Club, Rosa in Espresso for The Belfry and Estelle in No Exit for the Electric Theatre Co/Virtual Stage. www.LuciaFrangione.com
MING HUDSON (SHE, HER, HERS)
Ming is a performer, director, deviser, facilitator, and teacher who specializes in physical theatre and the creation of new work as a collective ensemble. She has worked with The Arts Club, Bard on the Beach, Theatre Replacement, Atomic Vaudeville, The Firehall, and Boca del Lupo, and is currently a faculty member at CCPA.
MICHAEL SCHOLAR, JR. (HE, HIM, HIS)
Michael is the Artistic Director of November Theatre, whose notable productions include The Black Rider (National Tour) and Hard Core Logo: Live (PuSh Festival). Michael has directed and acted with companies across North America including La Mama (NY), Globe Theatre (Regina), Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Ex Machina (Quebec), Tarragon (Toronto), Arts Club Theatre (Vancouver), Catalyst Theatre (Edmonton) and Belfry Theatre (Victoria) to name a few. www.novembertheatre.com
Guest Dramaturgs
Kim Selody (HE, HIM, HIS)
Kim Selody has worked as a writer, director, and actor in Canada and internationally for over 30 years. He has directed more than 100 productions, many world premieres for youth and young audiences. Playwriting credits include Silverwing, The Hobbit, Fool’s Angel, Synthetic Energy, Suddenly Shakespeare and The Last Drop. His reach as a dramaturg has spanned decades, countless projects in many countries. Kim has served as Artistic Director of the Playwrights Theatre Centre, Carousel Players in Southern Ontario, and at Presentation House Theatre since 2011
Creative Producer: Jack Paterson (He, Him, his) *
Jack is an award winning theatre maker whose work and practice has taken him across Canada, UK, EU and around the world. Work has ranged from devising creation, multi-disciplinary, cross-cultural and multi-ligual projects to new works & texts, contemporary approaches to classical theatre. www.jackpatersontheatre.com
Learn more about gender affirming language here
This project is produced with the co-operation of the UBCP/ACTRA.
About our Partners
About Axis Theatre
Axis Theatre is an entertaining, smart and inspirational company focused on engaging young and young-at-heart audiences. In the age of “looking down,” Axis draws young eyes up to engage them in interactive experiences that educate, inspire and transform. www.axistheatre.com
About The Presentation House Theatre
Presentation House Theatre (PHT) is the north shore’s professional theatre company, where ideas play and grow into quality performing arts for all ages. For more than 40 years, friends and strangers have gathered in this welcoming space to enjoy innovative programming and quality professional shows. www.phtheatre.org
About Théâtre Sortie de secours
Since its founding in 1989, Sortie de Secours has devoted itself to the creation of original theatrical works, most often in collaboration with artists from outside its immediate milieu. These encounters being both drive and fuel the approach. The theatrical act is an medium to explore the complexity of identity issues and experience the diversity and marriage of voices. Sortie de Secours is also devoted to creating work inspired by art, literature, myths and international practices, with the aim of generating, through this “cultural distance”, a critical look at our own individual and collective behaviors, both among creators and spectators. Théâtre Sortie de Secours
About The Canadian Play Thing
The Canadian Play Thing is a playwright-centred virtual theatre that shares live readings of new and under-produced Canadian plays online. The goal is to support and celebrate the work of playwrights, and to connect our theatre family across the country. Artists and audiences around the world are welcome. www.plaything.ca
About The PHT Creative Hub
Co-operative
The PHT Creative Hub Co-operative has transformed how we collaborate and share performing arts with our communities. Co-op artist members from across performance disciplines fill our spaces, work on their own creative projects, and share their skills and expertise with each other. The PHT Creative Hub Co-operative
Francophone Canadian Theatre Resources
About Centre des auteurs dramatique
An association of authors serving authors, CEAD is a centre for the support, promotion and dissemination of French-language dramaturgy here. It occupies a unique place both in terms of the number of authors it brings together and the objectives of quality and innovation it pursues. www.cead.qc.ca
About Playwrights’ Workshop Montreal
Playwrights’ Workshop Montréal is a new creation development centre. PWM gives artists the opportunity to create and experiment, dream and take risks, fail and try again. Our dynamic collaborative process draws on our team’s unique expertise and is tailored to the artist’s individual needs. At PWM, playwrights, dramaturgs, translators, directors, performance artists, and theatre companies across the country find a creative accomplice willing to invest deeply in the development of meaningful work. www.playwrights.ca
Special
Thank You
