The 2023 Grand Prix of the Conseil des arts de Montréal (CAM) is awarded to Duceppe. The theater company is celebrating its half-century of foundation this year. It has boldly modernized its programming in recent years following the appointment of a new artistic director.
“Yes, it is always possible to renew yourself at 50,” summarized Nathalie Maillé, General Manager and Secretary of CAM, presenting the winner of the prize. She also spoke of “bold and inclusive programming, which resembles us and which brings people together”.
The ceremony took place Wednesday noon in front of an audience of about 800 guests gathered at the Palais des Congrès in Montreal, despite the sinister atmosphere created in the city by the ice storm. Mayor Plante, detained for urgent business, was unable to attend the artistic celebration.
Two other awards were distributed. The JOAT Festival, celebrating street dance, received the Jury Prize, and the Beaubien Cinema was honored with the Audience Prize. A total of 7,068 people voted for this award.
Eight organizations competed for the Grand Prize. Each receives $5,000 for their selection and the winner receives a $30,000 scholarship. CAM has been distributing these awards since 1985.
“We receive this tribute as a recognition of the 50 years of the company and our last years of transformation”, said David Laurin, co-director of the company, in an interview with the Duty after receiving the tributes of the room. Mr. Laurin, himself an actor and author, has been artistic co-director of Duceppe since 2017 with Jean-Simon Traversy. They had founded the company LAB87 together in 2009.
“Several things are recognized at the same time, I believe. The openness shown by Duceppe in recent years is appreciated. We think of the annual auditions to allow actors to find a place. We also receive projects, which means that we are no longer the only ones to launch innovations. »
The company has set up a residency program for Quebec authors. Four pieces have recently emerged from this effort with a long-awaited openness to Montreal’s diversity. The author Nathalie Doummar, who wrote mom, a big hit this season, was also on stage to welcome the award. The son of the founder Jean Duceppe, the politician Gilles Duceppe, was also present.
“The board of directors allowed us to go to other places with the promise of maintaining our mission, that is to say, to make theater accessible and popular,” said Mr. Laurin. Boldness pays off. The public is at the rendezvous. “People see and recognize each other on stage. This year, we are at 50% cultural diversity. We don’t have a quota. We don’t have fixed rules. We just want to be representative of Montreal and Quebec. »
Duceppe says he is inspired by the British model in particular, even if, at the moment, this environment is struggling because of budget cuts. “This model places artists in a position that favors creation. It does not concentrate production cycles, on the contrary, it extends them. He is looking to repeat and play longer. He even seeks to rehearse en bloc to give oxygen to the creators who can experiment with the actors, rewrite the play, review the staging. For us, writing residencies represent the future of Quebec theatre: we have to give resources and money to local authors so that they can write large-scale plays. This is what concerns us the most. »
Mr. Laurin now hopes that the revival will continue by placing eco-responsibility at the center of the company’s choices as well as at the center of the theater community. “That’s what concerns us the most. »