It seems fitting that the first to obtain the writing residency financed by the Michelle-Rossignol Fund is a playwright creating a play based on the works of Judy Chicago. This was precisely the favorite artist of the former director of the Center du Théâtre d’Aujourd’hui, Gabrielle Lessard learned. “She left many books about her, which are in the office of the [directeur actuel] Sylvain Bélanger. She is an artist who works on intergenerational transmission between women, and this is what touched Michelle, too, at the time. And his rebellious side, [sa foi] in art, in the place of women. She was very inspired by her. »
Even though she is one of the characters, Judy is not a biographical film, but a play about the transformative power of art, which is inspired by the revolutionary approach of Chicago. It was while reading the autobiographies-manifestos of this visual artist and American feminist activist – still active at 84 – that Gabrielle Lessard felt a “click”. This fighter of the second wave of feminism ended up understanding that it was necessary to go beyond the male-female dichotomy to bring about a real paradigm shift. “That if we don’t change the system underneath, our way of being in the world, of interacting with others, we will just recreate the same systems of oppression,” explains Gabrielle Lessard.
This phase of feminism aspired to free women from domestic and economic domination. “But where I think we missed the exit, and this is a bit of what the play portrays, is that having a position of power does not solve the problem. Because it is a feminism that will copy the codes of patriarchy and domination. »
The young author recognized her own struggles in the Chicago story. “I had the impression that I was feminist, progressive, but in fact, my whole way of being in the world was very competitive, I was in a couple where there was economic domination. I had reproduced standards that I had not necessarily chosen. Through my education, this is what I had instinctively sought: to shelter myself from the world, in a privileged, secure situation, where my deep nature was completely repressed. »
It is now ecofeminism that Lessard wishes to claim. “Ecofeminism is really focused on the interdependence of beings,” she describes. And about loving ourselves as we are so as not to need to consume to the extreme, to entertain ourselves to compensate for our faults and our original wounds. »
If change is possible, it is not easy and it hurts, she emphasizes. The author of The injury deeply questioned herself following her discovery of Judy Chicago. “Reading his autobiography opened my eyes to my artistic approach, my way of writing theater, of thinking about what success is, of granting myself [valeur] and live my life. » Which was not without upsetting his personal life. “I haven’t had the best two years,” she admits, emotionally. At the same time, I feel more alive than ever. I think it’s more true, and that I’m moving towards something that I hope will be brighter. Judy gave a lot of courage to many women artists, who were inspired by her. This transmission is his greatest legacy, I think. »
To dare
The author describes Judy as a “slightly baroque” piece. “I gave myself a lot of creative permission, even in my direction. I didn’t follow the codes of dramaturgy. In my projects [précédents], I was hoping to be accepted by my community and finally prove myself. There, I never thought about that. I wasn’t trying to please. Judy was with me all along. » Gabrielle Lessard also praises her playwright, Chloé Gagné Dion, who always brought her back to her instinct. “It was a wonderful experience working with a playwright who had the same values as Judy. To dare, to search, not for the perfect object, but authentic. »
The show exposes six contemporary characters — including one based on the playwright — caught in “situations of impossibility to be” and in relationships of domination. Certain anecdotes in the story are inspired by events that the inspiration for the piece experienced or that Lessard observed around her.
“These characters are all lying to themselves. And when the play begins, they have already reached the end of their lie. » Everything explodes at 2e act, when the poetic figure of Judy Chicago (played by Louise Laprade) who they had previously locked in a trapdoor is released. Inspired by a work by the painter (Peeling Back), the scenography “is built squarely below the stage. It’s as if the other characters were playing their rotten daily lives on Judy’s head. And when it emerges, it becomes the catalyst for their metamorphosis, for the questioning of their certainties.
“It is also the figure of the artist who does not give up. Only in the longevity of an artistic approach is there the possibility of truly rewriting an alternative narrative to narratives, to fictions — so accepted! — what are patriarchy and capitalism. Artists, that’s their power: when you let them express themselves, create, when they have the chance, like Judy, to start from an immature approach where we above all want to prove ourselves, to dissolve the ego and to go away into the universal, it’s extraordinary. And there it is, the transformative power of art. » And in the ability to invent a life for oneself. “Judy created herself!” Layer by layer, it was built. She managed to assert herself in her own codes. And this is the only possibility of change: to let artists, thinkers – whether in economics or politics – reinvent, rethink. And that we can join something new. That’s a bit like the message of the piece. »
The playwright would also like the public to remember the importance of beauty. “From there, we can no longer submit. And I think that’s what the piece is about: an ode to beauty. But not just plastic. It’s finding it beautiful to be in the world, seeing beauty in what we are, even if it’s imperfect. I want people to leave the room saying that they have the right to be who they are. »