Bouche Theatre Collective

Speak Beyond Language

International New Translation Workshop: Facelift

International New Translation Workshop: Facelift

by | | 3.Development, Facelift, International Projects, Johanna Nutter, Nathalie Boisvert, News, QQ

PRESENCE THEATRE
IN ASSOCIATION WITH BOUCHEWHACKED! THEATRE COLLECTIVE PRESENTS

International Works in New Translation

This live digital reading is part of an ongoing occasional series of Presence ‘virtual’ readings exploring and celebrating new international theatre texts in translation, a main feature of which is the extraordinary work now emerging from the very vibrant Quebecois theatre community.  Readings are followed with followed by a discussion/Q&A with the writer and translator.

FREE EVENT

DATE

Monday, Jan. 17th 2022

TIME

PT (Vancouver): 11 AM
ET (Montreal): 2 PM
GMT (London UK): 7 PM

RUNNING TIME

2 hrs including Intermission and conversation with the playwright

FACELIFT

By Nathalie Boisvert | Translated by Johanna Nutter
Translated from FACELIFT (Quebec, Canada)

…a woman in her fifties leads an online makeup tutorial: first the foundation, then the eyes and finally the mouth… As she constructs the perfect face, she shares with us the secrets of successful make-up, her thoughts on the necessity of this camouflage, the dangers of age, loneliness and failure. As she drifts away from the female ideal, she enters into a dialogue with Nelly Arcan and Simone de Beauvoir. The activity of daily make-up turns into an examination of a woman’s life, questioning the relationship between women and beauty, seduction, aging and the subject of women’s freedom in the face of social diktats. A brand new work…

A live reading of a new work FACELIFT by Quebecois playwright Nathalie Boisvert, Monday Jan. 17th at 7pm via Zoom, followed by a discussion/Q&A with the writer and also the translator Johanna Nutter.

This is part of an ongoing occasional series of Presence ‘virtual’ readings exploring and celebrating new international theatre texts in translation, a main feature of which is the extraordinary work now emerging from the very vibrant Quebecois theatre community in association with BoucheWHACKED! Theatre Collective.

The professional performers/readers for FACELIFT are: Rachel Bavidge, Mufrida Hayes and Fiz Marcus

Last year, Presence Theatre presented from Quebec, MIDNIGHT by Marie-Hélène Larose-Truchon and (A DAY AT THE) MALL by Emmanuelle Jimenez.

Meet our Playwright & Translator

About the playwright

Nathalie Boisvert

NATHALIE BOISVERT (she, her, hers) holds a bachelor’s degree in acting and a master’s degree in drama from the University of Quebec in Montreal (1993). In 1997, her first play, L’histoire sordide de Conrad B., was performed at the Festival de Spa (Belgium), remounted in Brussels and translated into English by Bobby Theodore. In 1999, her work, L’été des Martiens (Lansman) premiered simultaneously in Quebec (Théâtre Niveau Parking) and France (La Comédie de la Mandoune) and again produced simultaneously in 2006 in Dusseldorf (Landstheatre) and Berlin (Grips) in German translation by Frank Heibert. Translated into English by Bobby Theodore, it was also produced in 2002 by Theatre Direct (Toronto). In 2006, her play Vie et Mort d’un village, received lauréate des Journées de Lyon (Éditions Comp’Act) and she received le Prix Gratien-Gélinas in 2007 for Buffet chinois. Her Antigone au printemps was shortlisted for the 2018 Governor General’s Award French Language Drama and received the Prix Émile-Augier. Antigone is currently being translated to English by Hugh Hazelton.

About the translator

Johanna Nutter

JOHANNA NUTTER (she, euro-settler, multidisciplinary artist) developed her passion for translation through acting: being one of few perfectly bilingual theatre artists, she played leading roles at Centaur (Good People, You Will Remember Me) and La Licorne (Les Événements). The attention of both circles came thanks to the success of her solo my pregnant brother/mon frère est enceinte, which she translated during a residency in Tadoussac, accompanied by Linda Gaboriau. The show toured across Canada and Quebec in both languages, and to the UK and Belgium. Subsequently, she translated the works of Annick Lefebvre (Barbed Wire), Guillaume Corbeil (You’ll Go Looking for Her), and Florence Longpré & Nicolas Michon’s ballet-theatre hybrid CHLORINE, which she also produced and directed at Centaur, with her company creature/creature.

Land Acknowledgement

Bouche’s activities take place on and are launched from the unceded traditional territories of the Coast Salish People: the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations. We recognize and honour the recommendations from the Truth and Reconciliation commission and acknowledge the importance of Indigenous sovereignty on this unceded territory.

*A territorial or land acknowledgement is an act of reconciliation that involves making a statement recognizing the traditional territory of the Indigenous people who called the land home before the arrival of settlers, and in many cases still do call it home.
For more information on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada click here.

flausen+ International Collaboration Catalyst

flausen+ International Collaboration Catalyst

by | | 3.Development, International Projects, News

BRIDGING ARTISTS ACROSS BORDERS

International Creative Catalyst Incubator 

Bouche Theatre Collective, flausen+ bundesnetzwerk, Residenza I.Dra,, & theater wrede+
Tor 6 & flauesen+ fest. (Bielfeild, Germany)

Sept. / Oct. 2021, Bouche joined the flausen+ Festival (Bielefeld, Germany) to participate in the Catalyst phase of an international collaboration with Italian, and German artists.

The flausen+ Residency is an innovation incubator that acts as a catalyst for and then develops new ideas, forms, and voices.

We gathered an amazing team from across three provinces: Vanka Chaitra Salim (BC), Makram Ayache (Alberta), & Deneh’Cho Thompson (Saskatchewan).

For 1 week, our artists worked with the Italian (Residenza I.Dra) and German (flausen+) artist teams in the f+ way of creation. The award winning platform is supported by the flausen+ Network of 28 German companies and growing EU partners and is at the for-front of independent German innovative practices.

“… truly perspective altering..I learned about artistic processes that are dynamically different than a Canadian method of theatre. It’s enriched my practice deeply…” – Makram Ayache

“This experience has inspired me and challenged the ways I approach my practice. I cannot express enough how thankful I was to be part of this…” – Vanka Salim

“…a vital conversations about how art gets made and how processes can better serve artists and communities alike…” – Deneh’Cho Thompson

Gallery

Canada Flausen+ Team

MAKRAM AYACHE

Makram Ayache (he/him) is a community-engaged writer, actor, director, and producer. His playwriting explores meaningful representations of queer Arab voices. He bridges complex & interlocking political struggles to the intimate and real experiences of the people impacted by them. Ayache is the 2020 recipient of the Playwrights’ Guide of Canada’s annual Tom Hendry Award for his play Harun. He has also been nominated for four Elizabeth Sterling Haynes Awards. www.makramayache.com

DENEH’CHO THOMPSON

Deneh’Cho Thompson (he/him) is a director, actor and playwright and member of the Pehdzeh ki Nation. As Assistant Professor at the University of Saskatchewan he oversees the wîcêhtowin Theatre Program, one of few Indigenous programs in a Canadian university. Deneh’Cho’s research focuses on the development, naming, and centring of Indigenous pedagogies; new play development, in various roles, and Indigenous collaborations while centering the values of reciprocity, respect and reflexivity. Deneh’Cho is also engaged in the (re)storying of personal family archives focusing on healing, resilience, and Indigenous storywork as a pathway towards the creation of new works of theatre.

VANKA CHAITRA SALIM

Vanka Chaitra Salim (she/her) is a Muslim Indonesian-Canadian Set, Lighting and Projection designer, theatre technician and scenic painter based in the Unceded xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh-ulh Temíx̱w (Squamish), and səl̓ilwətaɁɬ təməxʷ (Tsleil-Waututh) territories, colonially known as Vancouver, BC. She enjoys experimenting with different mediums of storytelling that revolve around the interaction and interplay of art, culture and technology. Apart from her involvement in the theatre community, Vanka also works as an acrylic paint-maker at Kroma Artist’s Acrylics and is part of Srikandi Indonesia Dance Group. She also loves gaming, game art & design, dance, videography, illustration and learning XR technologies, and has recently been experimenting with immersive experiences. She is grateful and beyond excited to have the opportunity to learn, collaborate and experiment with the rest of the team at Flausen+ Festival. www.vankasalim.com

JACK PATERSON

Jack Paterson’s (he/him) practice ranges from devised creation, multi-disciplinary, cross-cultural, and multi-lingual projects to new works, and contemporary approaches to classical theatre in Canada and internationally. He’s a recipient of The Ray Michal Body of Work Award, The Cole Foundation Emerging Translator Award, and The John Moffat and Larry Lillo Award for Outstanding West Coast Artist. He co-founded Vancouver’s Mad Duck Theatre (2001-2009), Vancouver’s only theatre groupe with a gender equity mandate. In 2012, he co-founded Bouche Theatre Collective, bridging local, national, and international artists separated by distance, language, and culture. In 2017, he co-founded Global Hive Labs., a collective of international theatre practitioners working together in devised creation. He has trained at leading international theatrical institutions including Circle in the Square (NYC, USA), GITIS The University of Performing Arts (Moscow, RU), SENI Indonesian Institute of the Arts (Bali, INA) and received his Masters in Fine Arts from the renown East 15 Acting School and University of Essex (London, UK). www.JackPatersonTheatre.com

About our Partners

About RESIDENZA I.DRA (Italy)

Based in Brescia (Italy), Residenza IDra is a multidisciplinary independent development and producing centre, Our desire to be adequate to our times, in search of new forms of representation through integration and collaboration. In addition to development residencies, IDra produces The Wonderland Festival (Mibact and the Lombardy Region), Città Dolci Touring Circuit, NdN (New dramaturgy Network), CURA Project and AL Petroni Award. IDRA actively participates in various networks including CRESCO, ETRE and IETM. www.residenzaidra.it

About FLAUSEN+ & FLAUSEN+ FESTIVAL (Germany)

​flausen+ is unique innovation incubator platform for generating new forms, new approaches and new ideas. For the last decade, the “flausen+” model has been driving creative scenic research by providing paid residencies for process based new explorations free of the pressure of production. To date flausen+ has facilitated over 48 ensembles and 160 artists in their research. flausen + explicitly promotes bold approaches and highly current socio-political topics.

flausen + residency ensembles have gone on to receive high acclaim with their work presented at leading EU companies such as GHent (Brussels) and festivals. According to pulk fiktion, recipient of prestigious George Tabori Award for their work placing children and parents on an equal footing, “we would never have dared to tackle such a theme and aesthetic form without flausen.”

Supported by the flausen+ network of 29 theatres across Germany, flausen+ awards 9 residencies per year, in 5 German states hosted by 8 theaters. In addition to producing, hosting and artistic support of the residencies, flausen+ Network members provide administrative support.

Ensemble projects developed through the flausen+ Residencies are further supported by the network with additional research periods, 2 co-productions with flausen+ network theatres per year, the network touring model (NATIONALE PERFORMANCE NETZ) and are showcased at The flausen+ Festival (Bielefeld) and the flausen+ bundeskongress (Koln).

Presenting f+ projects, the biennial f+ Festival has become a gathering point for independent, small, and mid-sized companies from across the EU. Artists, company leaderships, and cultural representatives meet, develop new artistic and admin. relationships, and exchange knowledge through a series of networking activities, workshops, panels, and events.

www.flausen.plus

Special Thank you to our Supporters

Full Circle: First Nations Performance

Full Circle: First Nations Performance (Proudly located on the traditional, unceded territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish) and səl̓ílwətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations) provides opportunities for Indigenous artists to create, work and train in the Arts. Producers of the annual Talking Stick Festival, Moccasin Trek: Arts on the Move!, Indian Acts and home to the Aboriginal Ensemble. www.fullcircle.ca

PHT Creative Hub

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

A Glimpse into New Translation: Mall

A Glimpse into New Translation: Mall

by | | 3.Development, Emmanuelle Jimenez, Johanna Nutter, Mall, News

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

DATE

Sunday, October 17, 2021

TIME

PT (Vancouver): 12PM
MT (Calgary): 1PM
ET (Montreal): 3PM
GMT (London UK): 20:00 hrs
CET (Berlin EU): 21:00 hrs

RUNNING TIME

2 hrs including Intermission and conversation with the playwright

In Association with Touchstone theatre & PHT Creative Hub Co-operative

Mall

By Emmanuelle Jimenez | Translated by Johanna Nutter
Translated from CENTRE D’ACHATS (Quebec, Canada)

“This is one of the best texts of the new season…hard-hitting and hysterical…” – Mario Cloutier, La Presse +

Featuring Deena Aziz, Carmina Bernhardt, Lally Cadeau, Lucia Frangione, Christine Quintana, Suzanne Ristic, & Sabrina Vellani

Searching, finding, buying, again and again: the t-shirt, the earrings, the dog, the rabbit, the snake, the flying carpet… In search of comfort, seven women of divers background and ages dive desperately into a whirlwind of outrageous consumption. Seven prisoners of the shopping mall, each of them encounters her destiny.

Emmanuelle Jimenez examines shopping malls as both symbols of our collective alienation but also of our need for community. The need to share, to communicate, to feel surrounded, then confronts the need to consume more and more of the same things, at the risk of finding our souls bruised and our dreams shattered.

This translation and workshop is made possible by a grant from Canada Council for the Arts.  This project is produced with the co-operation of the UBCP/ACTRA.

CENTRE D’ACHATS by Emmanuelle Jimenez; une création du Théâtre de la Marée Haute in co-production with le Centre du Théâtre d’Aujourd’hui. Photo by Valerie Remise

Meet our Playwright & Translator

About the playwright

Emmanuelle Jimenez

Emmanuelle Jimenez (she, her, hers) trained in performance at the Conservatoire d’art dramatique de Montréal. While continuing working as an actor, she devoted herself to writing. Her plays include Du vent entre les dents (Théâtre d’Aujourd’hui), Rêvez, montagnes! (Nouveau Théâtre Expérimental), Le dénominateur commun co-written with François Archambault (Théâtre Debout), Cendres (Des pieds des mains), and Bébés co-written with Alexis Martin (Nouveau Théâtre Expérimental). She’s led numerous cultural projects, including with La Maison Bleue in Côte-des-Neiges and the Montreal North Cultural and Community House. She was a member of the Board of Directors of the Festival du jamais Lu from 2003 to 2010 and has been a member of the AQAD Board of Directors since 2014.

About the translator

Johanna Nutter

Johanna Nutter (she, euro-settler, multidisciplinary artist) developed her passion for translation through acting: being one of few perfectly bilingual theatre artists, she played leading roles at Centaur (Good People, You Will Remember Me) and La Licorne (Les Événements). The attention of both circles came thanks to the success of her solo my pregnant brother/mon frère est enceinte, which she translated during a residency in Tadoussac, accompanied by Linda Gaboriau. The show toured across Canada and Quebec in both languages, and to the UK and Belgium. Subsequently, she translated the works of Annick Lefebvre (Barbed Wire), Guillaume Corbeil (You’ll Go Looking for Her), and Florence Longpré & Nicolas Michon’s ballet-theatre hybrid CHLORINE, which she also produced and directed at Centaur, with her company creature/creature.

Meet the workshop team

Deena Aziz (she, her, hers)

Based in Montreal and Pittsburgh (and any place with stable wifi), Deena is an actor, dramaturge and industry advocate in theatre and film. She has “followed the work” across Canada, in the US, and internationally, but these days, like many, she’s been sticking close to home.

CARMINA BERNHARDT (SHE, HER, HERS)

Vancouver-born, London-based, mixed Caucasian/ Japanese/ Chinese woman who acts, writes, directs for theatre and film. Graduated with Distinction from Royal Central School of Speech and Drama’s MA Acting for Screen. Recipient of the London Library’s Emerging Writers Award 2019 and in 2020, New Earth Theatre’s BESEA Professional Writers Programme.

Lally Cadeau (SHE, HER, HERS)

I had a glorious almost 50 year run as a pretty constantly employed actress. Lovely people and fond memories.

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

CHRISTINE QUINTANA (SHE, HER, HERS)

Christine is an actor, playwright, and co-artistic director of Delinquent Theatre, based on unceded Coast Salish Territory. www.christinequintana.ca

Suzanne Ristic (she, her, hers)

Suzanne has been a performing artist for over forty years. She is a recipient of the Jessie Richardson award for outstanding actress, 1988, in Danny and the Deep Blue Sea. She wrote and produced her first play Poor and is presently in development of a new play: Driving Me Crazy with co-writer Linda Carson, slated for production next year.

SABRINA VELLANI (SHE, HER, HERS)

Sabrina Vellani is an Indo-Canadian actor and poet. She graduated from UBC’s BFA Theatre Acting program in 2018. She has acted in Killjoy Theatre’s Burqa Boutique and Axis Theatre’s co-production with Babelle Theatre: All My Friends Are Animals. She was recently in Five Cedar Films’ Speak, which premiered at IFFSA’s 2020 Festival. IMBD

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

About our Partners

About TOUCHSTONE THEATRE

For over 42 years Touchstone Theatre has been a mainstay of theatrical innovation and excellence on the West Coast. The company’s all-Canadian mandate has helped develop and launch some of the country’s most important playwrights and actors, and its substantial body of work has garnered over 75 local and national awards. Now in its fifth decade of production Touchstone remains a lightning rod of theatrical activity. Its purely Canadian focus makes it essential in the region, and its reputation for excellence has earned the respect of audiences, critics, and colleagues.  Touchstone Theatre

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

About Théâtre la Seizième

Founded in 1974, Théâtre la Seizième is the main French language, professional theatre company in British Columbia. Since its creation, la Seizième contributes to the richness and diversity of the performing arts through its activities in new play development, production, presentation, and touring in French. Through powerful experiences that reflect the very best of francophone performing arts, from here and elsewhere, our company aims to inspire, enrich, and bring together diverse audiences. www.seizieme.ca

Special

Thank You

Land Acknowledgement

Bouche’s activities take place on and are launched from the unceded traditional territories of the Coast Salish People: the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations. We recognize and honour the recommendations from the Truth and Reconciliation commission and acknowledge the importance of Indigenous sovereignty on this unceded territory.

*A territorial or land acknowledgement is an act of reconciliation that involves making a statement recognizing the traditional territory of the Indigenous people who called the land home before the arrival of settlers, and in many cases still do call it home.
For more information on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada click here.

A Glimpse into New Translation: Facelift

A Glimpse into New Translation: Facelift

by | | 3.Development, A Glimpse into New Translation, Facelift, Johanna Nutter, Nathalie Boisvert, News

Facelift

By Nathalie Boisvert | Translated by Johanna Nutter

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

DATE

Sunday July 18, 2021

TIME

PT (Vancouver): 12PM
MT (Calgary): 1PM
CT (Regina): 2PM
ET (Montreal): 3PM
AT (Halifax): 4PM
GMT (London UK): 20:00 hrs
CET (Berlin EU): 21:00 hrs

RUNNING TIME

2 hrs including Intermission and conversation with the playwright

In Association with The Canadian Play Thing, PHT Creative Hub Co-operative,  Ruby Slippers Theatre & Théâtre la Seizième

FACELIFT

By Nathalie Boisvert | Translated by Johanna Nutter
Translated from FACELIFT (Quebec, Canada)

Featuring Nimet Kanji, Lisa C. Ravensbergen and Gwynyth Walsh
Q&A moderated by Catherine Ballachey

A woman in her fifties leads us in a makeup tutorial: first the foundation, then the eyes and finally the mouth… As she constructs the perfect face, she shares with us the secrets of successful make-up, her thoughts on the necessity of this camouflage, the dangers of age, loneliness and failure. As she drifts away from the female ideal, she enters into a dialogue with Nelly Arcan and Simone de Beauvoir. The activity of daily make-up turns into a examination a woman’s life, questioning the relationship between women and beauty, seduction, ageing and the subject of women’s freedom in the face of social diktats.

A brand new work, Facelift was featured at TEAMTHEATER TANKSTELLE e.V (Munich) and TeamTheatreGlobal:Quebec 2019

This translation and workshop is made possible by a grant from Canada Council for the Arts.  This project is produced with the co-operation of the UBCP/ACTRA.

Meet our Playwright & Translator

About the playwright

Nathalie Boisvert

Nathalie Boisvert (she, her, hers) holds a bachelor’s degree in acting and a master’s degree in drama from the University of Quebec in Montreal (1993). In 1997, her first play, The Sordid Story of Conrad B., was performed at the Festival ide Spa (Belgium), remounted in Brussels and translated into English by Bobby Theodore. In 1999, her work, L’été des Martiens (Lansman) premiered simultaneously in Quebec (Théâtre Niveau Parking) and France (La Comédie de la Mandoune) and again produced simultaneously in 2006 in Dusseldorf (Landstheatre) and Berlin (Grips) in German translation by Frank Heibert. Translated into English by Bobby Theodore, it was also produced in 2002 by Theatre Direct (Toronto). In 2006, her play Vie et Mort d’un village, received lauréate des Journées de Lyon (Éditions Comp’Act) and she received le Prix Gratien-Gélinas in 2007 for Buffet chinois. Her Antigone au printemps was a finalist for the 2018 Governor General’s Award French Language Drama and received the Prix Émile-Augier.

About the translator

Johanna Nutter

Johanna Nutter (she, euro-settler, multidisciplinary artist) developed her passion for translation through acting: being one of few perfectly bilingual theatre artists, she played leading roles at Centaur (Good People, You Will Remember Me) and La Licorne (Les Événements). The attention of both circles came thanks to the success of her solo my pregnant brother/mon frère est enceinte, which she translated during a residency in Tadoussac, accompanied by Linda Gaboriau. The show toured across Canada and Quebec in both languages, and to the UK and Belgium. Subsequently, she translated the works of Annick Lefebvre (Barbed Wire), Guillaume Corbeil (You’ll Go Looking for Her), and Florence Longpré & Nicolas Michon’s ballet-theatre hybrid CHLORINE, which she also produced and directed at Centaur, with her company creature/creature.

Meet the workshop team

Nimet Kanji (She, her, hers)

Nimet is an award winning Theatre and TV/Film actor and has had the pleasure of working with Edward James Olmos (Battlestar Galactica), Kevin Sorbo (Paradox) and John Cusack (Martian Child) amongst other notable names. Her theatre credits include ‘Sultans of the Street’ (Carousel Theatre), ‘9 Parts of Desire’ (The Maggie Tree) and ‘Victim Impact’ (Theatre Conspiracy).

Lisa C. Ravensbergen (She, Her, Hers)

A tawny mix of Ojibwe/Swampy Cree and English/Irish, Lisa is an award-winning, multi-hyphenate theatre artist and emerging scholar. Her work is rooted in Indigenous protocol, ontologies, and decolonial methodologies and is recognized nationally and internationally for its rigour and artistic excellence. Lisa resides on unceded Coast Salish territory. lisacr.com

Gwynyth Walsh (She, Her, Hers)

Well versed on stage and screen, Gwynyth is happy to be working with Jack Paterson again. Screen credits include Virgin River, Man in the High Castle and Black Summer. Stage credits include The Tempest ( with Jack! ), Mary Stuart, King Charles III, and Barefoot in the Park.

Guest Dramaturg: Diane Brown (She, Her, Hers)

Diane is a multi award-winning director, actor, and Artistic Director of Ruby Slippers Theatre (RST). In 2017, she received the prestigious Bra D’Or Award from Playwrights Guild of Canada and was a 2018 Nominee for the Women of Distinction Awards, in recognition of her years of empowering the voices of diverse female-identifying artists. She and RST earned the reputation as Vancouver’s finest producers of crucial Quebec works in English, translations commissioned by RST. Diane has a BFA from SFU and an MFA in Directing from UBC.

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

About our Partners

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

 

About Ruby Slippers Theatre

Ruby Slippers Theatre imagines a world where diversity is celebrated through a deeper understanding of each other. www.rubyslippers.ca

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

About Théâtre la Seizième

Founded in 1974, Théâtre la Seizième is the main French language, professional theatre company in British Columbia. Since its creation, la Seizième contributes to the richness and diversity of the performing arts through its activities in new play development, production, presentation, and touring in French. Through powerful experiences that reflect the very best of francophone performing arts, from here and elsewhere, our company aims to inspire, enrich, and bring together diverse audiences. www.seizieme.ca

Special

Thank You

Land Acknowledgement

Bouche’s activities take place on and are launched from the unceded traditional territories of the Coast Salish People: the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations. We recognize and honour the recommendations from the Truth and Reconciliation commission and acknowledge the importance of Indigenous sovereignty on this unceded territory.

*A territorial or land acknowledgement is an act of reconciliation that involves making a statement recognizing the traditional territory of the Indigenous people who called the land home before the arrival of settlers, and in many cases still do call it home.
For more information on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada click here.

A Glimpse into New Translation: And if one night

A Glimpse into New Translation: And if one night

by | | 3.Development, et si un soir, Lisa L'Heureux, Mishka Lavigne, News

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

DATE

Sunday, June 20 2021

TIME

PT (Vancouver): 12PM
MT (Calgary): 1PM
CT (Regina): 2PM
ET (Montreal): 3PM
AT (Halifax): 4PM
GMT (London UK): 20:00 hrs
CET (Berlin EU): 21:00 hrs

RUNNING TIME

2 hrs including Intermission and conversation with the playwright

How to Attend:

Click the image below for how to attend

Free event. Online venue opens 5 minutes prior to start. Capacity 100.

Latecomers welcome – audience does not appear on screen.

In Association with The Canadian Play Thing, PHT Creative Hub Co-operative & Théâtre la Seizième

AND IF ONE NIGHT

By Lisa L’Heureux | Translated by Mishka Lavigne
Translated from ET SI UN SOIR (Quebec, Canada)

Featuring Carmina Bernhardt, Lauren Brotman, Chris Francisque & Julie Tamiko Manning | Q&A moderated by Catherine Ballachey

“Modern and poetic…four characters whose desires for true human contact seek to transcend the virtuality of screens…Lisa L’Heureux portrays a generation in search of self and real, concrete meaning to give to its intimacy. “ – ici.radio-canada.ca

In a grey apartment building, four characters live in a dreamlike space in which time moves forward without moving, sometimes in an offbeat and unsettling way. Written as a fragmented dream, this choral piece draws its inspiration from the night to dive into zones of human intimacy that are often hidden. Here, inaction, the moment that precedes the act, is the root of all tension.

Et si un soir was directed by Lisa L’Heureux, produced by Théâtre Rouge Écarlate with the support of Théâtre du Trillium, Nouvelle Scène Gilles-Desjardins in Ottawa, 2018 and received a residency at Chartreuse-lez-Avignon, France, 2015. It was a shortlisted for the Governor General’s Award French Language Drama 2019, the Prix du livre d’Ottawa (2019) and the Emerging Author Award Prix littéraire Émergence de l’AAOF (2019).  It was the recipient of the Prix littéraire Trillium (2019) and Lisa’s production won the Prix Rideau, Outstanding Production Award.

This translation and workshop is made possible by a grant from Canada Council for the Arts.  This project is produced with the co-operation of the UBCP/ACTRA.

Et si un soir (2018) | A Théâtre Rouge Écarlate production, with the support of Théâtre du Trillium, presented at La Nouvelle Scène Gilles Desjardins.
Photo credit: Jonathan Lorange

 

Meet our Playwright & Translator

About the playwright

LISA L’HEUREUX

LISA L’HEUREUX (she, her, hers) is an Ottawa-based playwright, director, and dramaturg. She is a graduate of University of Ottawa (B.A. in Theatre and History) and of University of British Columbia (M.A. in Theatre Research). With her company, Théâtre Rouge Écarlate, she has created Ciseaux, Pour l’hiver (Prix Jacques-Poirier 2017), and Et si un soir, cocreated Proximité and directed Projet D. She has had playwright residencies in Belgium (Mariemont, CED-WB), France (La Chartreuse de Villeneuve les Avignon) and with Théâtre du Trillium (Ottawa). She has contributed to many collaborative pieces, such as À quoi ça sert d’être brillant si t’éclaires personne (NAC French Theatre). As a dramaturg, Lisa worked with Satellite Théâtre (Moncton) and with Sudbury playwright Antoine Côté Legault. She recently completed a podcast version of Et si un soir. 

About the translator

Mishka Lavigne

Mishka Lavigne (she, her, hers) is a playwright and literary translator based in Ottawa/Gatineau. Her translation work for theatre has been seen in Ottawa, Montreal, and France. Héritage, her translation of Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun opened the 2019-2020 season at Duceppe in Montreal. She is currently working on a French translation of Karen Hines’ All The Little Animals I Have Eaten. Her translations of poetry were published in Ontario and Québec, included the recently published Cette blessure est un territoire, a French translation of Billy-Ray Belcourt’s Griffin Poetry Prize winning collection This Wound is a World. Her own works include Cinéma (Théâtre la Catapulte and Théâtre Belvédère.), Vigile (Théâtre Rouge Écarlate). Her play Havre recently won the Governor General’s Literary Award for Drama (French) and was shortlisted for the Prix Michel-Tremblay.

Meet the workshop team

Carmina Bernhardt (she, her, hers)

Vancouver-born, London-based, mixed Caucasian/Japanese/Chinese woman who acts, writes, directs for theatre and film. Graduated with Distinction from Royal Central School of Speech and Drama’s MA Acting for Screen. Recipient of the London Library’s Emerging Writers Award 2019 and in 2020, New Earth Theatre’s BESEA Professional Writers Programme.

Lauren Brotman (She, Her, Hers)

Lauren is an award-winning actor, creator, and artist educator, her work taking her across Canada and Europe. Her company, Bound to Create (B2C), explores the beauty of dark and light, having partnered with Obsidian, Tapestry, Native Earth and Theatre Northwest, recently expanding to create work for stage, tv and film. www.boundtocreate.com

Chris Francisque (He, Him, His)

Chris is a Jessie award-winning actor, who was born in Montréal, Québec and raised on the south shore in St-Hubert.
Chris has been featured in various commercials, television and film roles. Before the pandemic, Chris would have been seen in Le NoShow Vancouver, which was his French theatrical debut with Théâtre La Seizième.

Julie Tamiko Manning (She, Her, Hers)

An award-winning actor and theatre creator based in Tiohtiá:ke /Montréal, Julie has performed across the country and beyond from the NAC (Ottawa) to Factory (Toronto) to the Firehall (Vancouver) to the Festival Grec (Barcelona).  Her play The Tashme Project (with Matt Miwa) was published in 2019 and she is currently writing her third play, Mizushōbai.

Guest Dramaturg: Catherine Ballachey (She, Her, Hers)

Catherine Ballachey is a Vancouver-based dramaturg and administrator. She completed her MA in Dramaturgy at the University of Ottawa in 2016. In 2009, she received her BFA in Performance Theatre and French from Simon Fraser University. She has worked with many local companies including Neworld Theatre, Pi Theatre, Electric Company Theatre, and Théâtre la Seizième.

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

About our Partners

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

 

About Théâtre la Seizième

Founded in 1974, Théâtre la Seizième is the main French language, professional theatre company in British Columbia. Since its creation, la Seizième contributes to the richness and diversity of the performing arts through its activities in new play development, production, presentation, and touring in French. Through powerful experiences that reflect the very best of francophone performing arts, from here and elsewhere, our company aims to inspire, enrich, and bring together diverse audiences. www.seizieme.ca

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

Land Acknowledgement

Bouche’s activities take place on and are launched from the unceded traditional territories of the Coast Salish People: the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations. We recognize and honour the recommendations from the Truth and Reconciliation commission and acknowledge the importance of Indigenous sovereignty on this unceded territory.

*A territorial or land acknowledgement is an act of reconciliation that involves making a statement recognizing the traditional territory of the Indigenous people who called the land home before the arrival of settlers, and in many cases still do call it home.
For more information on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada click here.

International New Translation Workshop: Mall

International New Translation Workshop: Mall

by | | 3.Development, Emmanuelle Jimenez, International Projects, Johanna Nutter, Mall, News, QQ

A DIFFERENT LANGUAGE IS A DIFFERENT VISION OF LIFE

Reaching across Distance, Language and Culture

Over the course of the pandemic, Bouche Theatre Collective has maintained our outreach to international theatre makers and engaging them in the development process of new Canadian work.  And if one night wih London’s Presence Theatre is our 7th International new translation workshop.

In Association with Presence Theatre
(London, UK)

THE MALL

By Emmanuelle Jimenez | Translated by Johanna Nutter
Translated from CENTRE D’ACHATS (Quebec, Canada)

“This is one of the best texts of the new season…hard-hitting and funny…”
– Mario Cloutier, La Presse +

Sandrine – Sakuntala Ramanee
Léa – Julia Winwood
Simone – Marie Collett
Yvette – Fiz Marcus
Josiane – Susan Raasay
Suzanne – Mufrida Hayes
Julie-Josie – Helen Budge
Chorus 1 – Hemi Yeroham
Chorus 2 – Helen Budge
Stage Directions / Narrator / Chorus 3 – David Whitworth

Searching, finding, buying, again and again: the t-shirt, the earrings, the dog, the rabbit, the snake, the flying carpet… In search of comfort, seven women of divers background and ages dive desperately into a whirlwind of outrageous consumption. Seven prisoners of the shopping mall, each of them encounters her destiny.

Emmanuelle Jimenez examines shopping malls as both symbols of our collective alienation but also of our need for community. The need to share, to communicate, to feel surrounded, then confronts the need to consume more and more of the same things, at the risk of finding our souls bruised and our dreams shattered.

This translation was made possible by a grant from Canada Council for the Arts.

Meet our Playwright & Translator

About the playwright

Emmanuelle Jimenez

Emmanuelle Jimenez (she, her, hers) trained in performance at the Conservatoire d’art dramatique de Montréal. While continuing working as an actor, she devoted herself to writing. Her plays include Du vent entre les dents (Théâtre d’Aujourd’hui), Rêvez, montagnes! (Nouveau Théâtre Expérimental), Le dénominateur commun co-written with François Archambault (Théâtre Debout), Cendres (Des pieds des mains), and Bébés co-written with Alexis Martin (Nouveau Théâtre Expérimental). She’s led numerous cultural projects, including with La Maison Bleue in Côte-des-Neiges and the Montreal North Cultural and Community House. She was a member of the Board of Directors of the Festival du jamais Lu from 2003 to 2010 and has been a member of the AQAD Board of Directors since 2014.

About the translator

JOHANNA NUTTER

Johanna Nutter (she, euro-settler, multidisciplinary artist) developed her passion for translation through acting: being one of few perfectly bilingual theatre artists, she played leading roles at Centaur (Good People, You Will Remember Me) and La Licorne (Les Événements). The attention of both circles came thanks to the success of her solo my pregnant brother/mon frère est enceinte, which she translated during a residency in Tadoussac, accompanied by Linda Gaboriau. The show toured across Canada and Quebec in both languages, and to the UK and Belgium. Subsequently, she translated the works of Annick Lefebvre (Barbed Wire), Guillaume Corbeil (You’ll Go Looking for Her), and Florence Longpré & Nicolas Michon’s ballet-theatre hybrid CHLORINE, which she also produced and directed at Centaur, with her company creature/creature.

About our Partners

About Presence Theatre (London, UK)

In 2005 a group of actors and directors began to meet to read plays, aiming simply to rediscover and enjoy great works of dramatic literature. By 2007 Presence Theatre was formed. The company has since presented a number of performances and staged readings and continues to hold workshops approaching different genres of drama from the actor’s and director’s perspective.  We embrace the classical and modern repertoire as well as new plays, with a particular interest in the avant-garde.  www.presencetheatre.com

Land Acknowledgement

Bouche’s activities take place on and are launched from the unceded traditional territories of the Coast Salish People: the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations. We recognize and honour the recommendations from the Truth and Reconciliation commission and acknowledge the importance of Indigenous sovereignty on this unceded territory.

*A territorial or land acknowledgement is an act of reconciliation that involves making a statement recognizing the traditional territory of the Indigenous people who called the land home before the arrival of settlers, and in many cases still do call it home.
For more information on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada click here.