Actor Benoît Dagenais, who was director of the Conservatoire d’art dramatique de Montréal from 2012 to 2023, died on June 27. His agency, Eugénie Gaillard, made the announcement on social media on Tuesday.
“He had the Conservatoire tattooed on his heart,” says Marc Hervieux, general director of the Conservatoires de musique et d’art dramatique du Québec. “Benoît had first studied, then taught, at the Conservatoire de Montréal. In all, he spent more than 40 years there. So he really left his mark on the institution.”
Actor and director Geoffrey Gaquère, who took over from Mr. Dagenais at the helm of the organization last year, also remembers a “formidable actor, who had a very wide range of acting.”
Mr. Dagenais has participated in more than 80 theatrical productions, including The Chamber Theatre, The Lower Depths, Caravanserai, The Taming of the Shrew, After the fall, Pop corn, Lorenzaccio, Imaginary sick, The Three Sisters, Love / Money And Peaceful Hotel.
On television, Benoît Dagenais stood out in the series Montreal PQ, Watatatow, Fortier, Eden Museum, The Grumpy Ones, The Lavigueur, the true story, A hard time, Rock and Rolland, All the truth And 30 Lives.
In cinema, he was directed by Pierre Falardeau, for The Party And February 15, 1839or even Bernard Émond for The Novena.
Although he is best known for playing supporting roles on both the small and big screen, Mr. Dagenais has shone on stage in bigger roles, notably in the play The common denominatorwhich Mr. Gaquère had staged for La Licorne in 2015.
“It was obvious to give him leading roles,” he said. In The common denominatorBenoît played God, a unifying and bon vivant god, with a lot of humor. I would have loved to continue working with him. The entire artistic community appreciated him a lot.
“Emotion and amazement”
On social media, on Tuesday, several personalities and organizations paid tribute to him. The Théâtre de Quat’Sous team notably expressed its “great sadness”: “Our co-director Catherine Vidal had a special bond with Mr. Dagenais, having been his teacher during her training as an actress and then director when he approached her to become an acting teacher herself. It was with emotion and shock that she learned of his death.”
At the Conservatoire, Mr. Dagenais went through a “pivotal period” for the institution, believes Marc Hervieux. Among other things, he made the controversial decision in 2018 to dismiss Gilbert Sicotte, who had taught there for 30 years, in the wake of allegations of abuse of power and harassment.
Mr. Gaquère said that Mr. Dagenais’s last years were marked by “a colossal effort to hire new teachers, from a new generation.” “He left me a Conservatoire in very good health, which is very much appreciated by the students.”
Benoît Dagenais is survived by his partner Anne-Marie Provencher, also an actress, as well as their daughter Ève Provencher-Dagenais.