Stage echoes | Érika Soucy: talking about my father

When in 2015, Érika Soucy told her father that she wanted to write a collection of poetry about her life on the construction site at La Romaine, she did not know that a novel and a play would also see the light of day. After being successfully created at Périscope in Quebec City in 2019, The murals now takes the poster of La Licorne, before performing a small tour in the provinces.

Luc Boulanger
The Press

In this text, Érika Soucy recounts her visit to the Hydro-Québec dam camp, where her father works. Based on a documentary approach, prized by many fiction writers of her generation, she wanted to learn more about the reality of major northern projects. ” The fly in, fly out is an expression that describes the reality of many men in the region,” notes Érika Soucy, originally from Portneuf-sur-Mer, on the North Shore.

She especially needed to learn more about her father. A man she didn’t know well, since he was away several months a year to work away from his family, and therefore rarely at home. “My father stopped working today, after having had an accident which made him disabled. He gave his life to Hydro-Québec”, illustrates the author.

The walls of prejudice

The artist says he changed his point of view on his father after his stay at La Romaine. “Because of my family background, of my childhood, I had distorted the reality of his working environment. When I saw him at home, he was broken, unhappy. I thought he was suffering because of his work, that his life on the construction site was a sacrifice. However, on the spot, I had a shock! Because I saw that he was happy, in a good mood and funny with those around him. I understood that his real life was there. »

The author met proud people. She discovered beauty in this difficult life on the construction site.

“These workers make a better living on the big construction sites than with jobs in the local, precarious and seasonal economy, and its low wages. But it’s a vicious circle, because people in the regions are dependent on these major projects to earn a living. »

Poetry on TV

Recently, Érika Soucy became a full-time screenwriter. “My first profession is now a scriptwriter,” she says. I co-wrote four seasons of Leo, with Fabien Cloutier. Right now I’m working on my signature series, Pearls, which will begin filming next summer. It will be broadcast in 2023 on Club Illico. »

With this dramatic comedy, Soucy moves away from the world of men and building sites to plunge into “a feminine and feminist universe”. “This is the story of Stéphanie, a young single-parent woman who lives in the region with her two daughters, aged 9 and 16. The 32-year-old mother has a lot on her shoulders, but she is surrounded by strong, funny, loving women, ”sums up the screenwriter.

Érik Soucy says he writes to break down the walls that stand between groups and individuals in our societies. “I hope that my stories will allow us to open up to other realities, to promote dialogue between people from different backgrounds. Stop preaching to converts. »

The wallss by Erika Soucy. Directed by Maxime Carbonneau With Philippe Cousineau, Gabriel Cloutier Tremblay, Claude Despins, Marie-Ève ​​Pelletier and Érika Soucy. At The Unicorn. From March 8 to April 2.

To be continued

Violence

Marie Brassard returns to the Usine C stage to perform her most recent creation, Violence. This piece for a performer (Brassard herself) and a musician (Alexander MacSween) received critical acclaim when it was presented at the Festival TransAmériques in 2021. In this dreamlike and anxiety-provoking work, beauty and horror coexist at the thanks to the visual, sound and dramatic explorations of the Quebec designer that no small box could contain.

March 10 to 20

Stephanie Morin, The Press

The Month of the Worst Species

In March, the Théâtre de la Pire Espèce, which has made object theater its specialty, offers no less than four different shows at Aux Écuries. The unfinished story of Jimmy Jones and his celestial truck will be presented for the first time in its long version. Set in the 1950s, the play recounts the quest for freedom of a boy living in the middle of the fields. On their side, Zen tales from the vegetable garden and Leon, the draw will be back in revamped versions. La Pire Espèce also offers a cover of his piece Perseus.

From March 9 to 26

Stephanie Morin, The Press

Genderf*cker

After having shaken the boards during its various passages (notably at the Festival TransAmériques in 2019), this creation by Pascale Drevillon (directed by Geoffrey Gaquère) is now offered in webcast by Espace Libre. In this constantly evolving work, the artist explores the constellation of possible genres by addressing topics such as queerness, fluidity and the free determination of identities. Pascale Drevillon thus tackles male and female archetypes to first embody them, then to deconstruct them.

Available until June 30

Stephanie Morin, The Press

I am mixed

This comedy by Mathieu Quesnel (text and direction) recounts with deliciously quirky humor the quest for identity of François, an exemplary man in many respects, but whose life will change dramatically during a business trip to Germany. Yves Jacques, Benoit Mauffette and musician Navet Confit share the stage in this play which delighted Montreal audiences and which is now coming to the Théâtre Périscope in Quebec City.

From March 8 to 13

Stephanie Morin, The Press

night light

Montreal queer dancer and choreographer Georges Stamos explores the vulnerability of nocturnal rituals with his creation night light. As the pandemic has had undeniable repercussions on the nightlife, Stamos reminds us that the body is also social and sensory, and asks the question: how can a dance overcome the collective anxiety of gatherings and inspire hope? ? With the complicity of drummer Rémy Saminadin and in collaboration with fashion designer Antonio Ortega, he invites us to follow him through a fruitful night.

Presented via webcast by Agora de la danse, from March 11 to 20

Iris Gagnon-Paradise, The Press