What do PA Méthot, Arnaud Soly, Yannick de Martino, Maude Landry, Virginie Fortin and Sugar Sammy have in common, apart from being comedians who enjoy enviable success? None is a graduate of the National School of Humor (ENH). Ditto for the sacred humorist darling of Quebecers at the last Les Olivier gala, Mariana Mazza. Long seen as an obligatory passage, what place does the ENH have today in the training of the next generation in humor?
“The way of the autodidact is no longer in the garnotte as it has already been in humor, agrees Louise Richer, director general and founder of the National School of Humor. It is more paved, of course. But applications for admission have not dropped. »
Next year, the ENH will celebrate its 35th anniversary. A move and an association with a Parisian institution are in the air, at the dawn of this anniversary. Year after year, some 150 applications are submitted for its humorous creation program.
About fifteen “will make the club”. From May to August, after the trying pandemic break, graduates can finally take advantage of the traditional tour that crowns their school career. Presented Wednesday evening at Zoofest, the show features the 13 comedians of the 2020-2022 cohort. An evening where numbers on mental health rub shoulders with those on racism or the notion of masculinity. In short, students of their time.
Reflect its time
“The ENH has made efforts to adapt in recent years, agrees My-Linh Nguyen, career manager for comedians in Hainault. I think it’s essential to keep it relevant. It’s an environment that moves very quickly, and it’s essential that it reflects what’s going on. »
In the curriculum of the 2022 comedy creation program, there are courses ranging from Humor and society to Social media through courses in chronicle and production of web series.
How do the lesson plans adapt over the years in order to remain current? “The ultimate goal is comedic effectiveness, but that’s expanded. We wanted to feed the raw material and provide tools to better observe the surrounding world, explains Louise Richer. For example, courses in political science or history of humor have been added. We want to cover the contexts of use of humor and its parameters, but the inspiration for the evolution of our programs also comes a lot from our students. »
Yet, with the popularity of platforms like TikTok, podcasts, and the success of the bar circuit, “do it yourself” is more of a driveable — and enticing — path than ever! Sophi Carrier, boss of the SPM Agency, counts among her foals as many comedians who went to school – Jean-Thomas Jobin and Kim Lévesque Lizotte – as autodidacts – Arnaud Soly and Les Appendices. “There is indeed a big buzz of those who break through and who have not gone through the School. The difference is that before, there were fewer possible paths. With the number of parties that have multiplied, people are able to cut their teeth, learn the trade on the job, even draw some discipline from it. »
Louise Richer adds: “Before, I was told that the School had no competition, because it was the only one of its kind, I answered and I still answer, that its competition is not to go to the School. . And that’s fine! It’s very healthy for an environment to have people who have gone through different paths. »
A toolbox
But the paths cross. “There was a time when students at the School didn’t frequent the bar circuit at all,” says Marie-Eve Lapierre, manager and producer at Agence Feedback, which takes care of talents like Mathieu Dufour and Josiane Aubuchon. Kind of like drama school students who don’t participate in professional productions until they’ve graduated. “Today, it’s over,” continues the manager. The bar circuit is no longer on the fringes, it is very well organized and an integral part of the industry. »
Some students play in bars to test in real time the tools given to them by the ENH. Others prefer to experience their training in stages.
One thing is certain, the bar circuit has become an obligatory passage, as has been the School since its creation. As proof, the managers contacted are unanimous: the ENH is still relevant. “The School gives you a toolbox,” explains Sylvie Savard, manager at KOScène. It will go faster for them, [ils développent] a way of working, a discipline. There are a lot of steps they won’t have to do that autodidacts will have to learn on the job. »
“Giving the tools is by far the best role the school plays,” insists Marie-Eve Lapierre, who also taught the career management course last year at the ENH. When you come down the alley, you don’t know where to start. At the School, you are given benchmarks both in terms of creation and management. It becomes an anchor when it gets too dizzying, and it allows you to reconnect with your creativity. »
“A school, in addition to being a place of training, is a place of research and development, and of the evolution of a profession or a trade, indicates Louise Richer. It is a very structuring element of an ecosystem. This is true for all artistic disciplines. »
Of course, there is the famous formatting that has often been criticized in the performances of young people leaving school. “But it’s like learning to dance, you learn the steps and then you add your style, pleads Marie-Eve Lapierre. And that gives an Adib Alkhalidey who manages to put on a whole show without anyone ever feeling his text, like a dancer who seems to be flying above the stage. »
All is not perfect, and the ENH is in constant search of evolution. Several programs have been added to the offer in recent years, and Louise Richer still speaks of consultations in this regard. In addition, the addition to his team of doctoral student in humor Christelle Paré is a valuable asset. She worked to achieve parity in the cohorts, a goal now achieved two years ago. Diversity is now at the heart of concerns.
“In the coming years, I hope that the ENH will be even more diversified both in the proposals and in the composition of the cohorts, hopes My-Linh Nguyen. Obviously, I would like to see more racialized people there, especially since we see many of them during comedy evenings. »
The 2022 graduates’ tour of the National School of Humor is presented Wednesday evening in Montreal at the Monument-National — Studio Hydro-Québec at 10 p.m.