(Montreal) When multidisciplinary artist Audrey-Anne Bouchard began to design her show Camille: a meeting beyond the visual, she wanted this mixture of dance and theater to be accessible to everyone, including those who cannot see.
“You don’t make the same choices when you see or don’t see something,” she says. This idea of a different language inspired me. ”
Audrey-Anne Bouchard herself suffers from partial blindness. For her, adopting a different language means providing a theatrical experience for the visually impaired through touch, smell and hearing.
Five years later, she has performed this show almost 40 times across the province. Audrey-Anne Bouchard is proud to have contributed to making art more accessible. And his efforts have paid off. Last month, Alter Go, a Montreal organization advocating for accessibility for all, presented her with its annual award, saying she had revolutionized the world of artistic and theatrical creation.
Camille is an immersive show performed in front of six people at a time. They are seated on the stage, surrounded by actors who recount the misadventures of the main character following the departure of his childhood friend Camille.
The idea was to take the audience on a journey. It is a multisensory experience in which we invite people to listen, to interact with objects and smells.
Audrey-Anne Bouchard
COVID-19 and health restrictions forced her to make changes. In the pre-pandemic version, the actors could dance with each of the spectators rather than describe what was going on. In the latest version, the spectators remain seated. The only contact with actors is through an object, such as an umbrella.
Audrey-Anne Bouchard has been blind since the age of 16. When she started thinking about the concept of the show in 2016, she wore a balaclava covering her eyes. “If you create a show for the visually impaired, you have to blind yourself,” says the designer. We do not create it to be seen, but to be felt. ”
Camille It was presented for the first time in 2019. The piece was subsidized by the Canada Council for the Arts and that of Montreal, which allowed it to be shown free of charge in many cultural centers.
Saturday will be the last performance until spring.
The play is also available to those who are not visually impaired, but they must wear blindfolds throughout the presentation.
According to Audrey-Anne Bouchard, Quebec is in favor of making art more accessible and she intends to push this enthusiasm further. She is preparing a second show in collaboration with other visually impaired artists.
” In Camille, I was the only one who was visually handicapped, she said. It is important for me, in my development, to collaborate with other visually impaired artists who have had other experiences. This is my next challenge! ”
The general director of the Regroupement des Blind et Amblyopes du Montréal métropolitain, Pascale Dussault, does not hesitate to praise Audrey-Anne Bouchard. She notes that more places, such as museums or cinemas, are trying to accommodate the visually impaired.
“Myself, I have a visual handicap. It’s great to see that we are starting to think that we, the visually impaired, also like shows, ”she says.
But obstacles remain. France Durette, 55, gradually lost her sight after suffering from retinitis pigmentosa at age 25.
Having lost his sight completely changed his relationship with the cultural scene. It became more difficult for him to attend plays or visit exhibitions. When she heard of Camille, she felt that her handicap was taken into consideration. She saw it in August, a beautiful experience, she judges.
“The show presents another dimension of art. It is not the same feeling. You really feel transported to the heart of the room described because of the sounds and smells. It’s so much more interesting to be sitting on the stage. ”
Mme Durette hopes more people will seek to make art more accessible to the visually impaired. She does not give up on her wish to remain active.
“We can’t stop living. Losing your sight doesn’t mean losing your mind. We must continue. Everything takes longer, the days are longer. We have to learn to live with it. ”
For Audrey-Anne Bouchard, the creation of Camille was ultimately a self-discovery.
“I realized that I always wanted to reassure people that my disability would not affect my job. With Camille, he has become a force, not an obstacle. ”