After several adventures and postponements linked to the pandemic, the show Camping from the company Théâtre à Tempo will finally be presented in Montreal starting December 13, at Tohu. After two and a half years of touring in Europe, but also across Quebec, the artists are ready to present this family creation for the very last time in large format.
“To create a show, I often draw inspiration from a place where several communities come together, people who do not necessarily come from the same universe. I really like putting this kind of situation on stage, it easily brings clownishness,” explains Geneviève Kérouac, co-founder of the company and director of the show. Camping. It is in fact through her personal experience that she drew inspiration for this creation, created during the year 2018. “I lived very close to a campsite, where people left their trailers at the year, often stuck [sur l’autre]. I asked myself “why stick so much?” And seeing people from two worlds queuing for the toilet at the same time has comic potential, laughs the circus artist. I observed them and ultimately, these people had tons of activities in common. Camping is a way of getting together, spending vacations and bringing all ages together. »
Thus, as usual, Théâtre à Tempo plays a lot with humor and clowning, one of the foundations of the company, founded in 2008. “When we created it with Louis Laroche, Benoit Lemay and Olivier Forest, we wanted to put more emphasis on clown art, which touched us a lot, music, body percussion. We tripped really on these elements,” remembers Mme Kerouac. So, in Campingwe find all these elements, but not only that. Stacking (stacking of chairs), juggling, hand to hand, jumping board, aerial straps, dance and much more are added to the multitude of disciplines present in the show. “I like to justify the devices and the circus arts in a scenario. Here, people don’t necessarily see a big story with details, but rather relationships between people, and their circus actions are motivated by the situations. It’s more theater, physical theater, than contemporary circus,” describes the company’s general director. In addition to a few recorded songs, Camping also offers musicians on stage. Besides, most artists also make music for the show. “We’re in the world of roughly the 1970s, there’s a lot of music liveespecially during a good laugh around the fire,” she adds.
I like to justify the devices and circus arts in a scenario. Here, people don’t necessarily see a big story with details, but rather relationships between people, and their circus actions are motivated by the situations. It’s more theater, physical theater, than contemporary circus.
Laughter, one of the company’s values
For Tohu, Théâtre à Tempo offers the long version of Camping. Indeed, there is also a shorter version, for outdoors, often used in summer by the troupe of artists. “ Campingin the parks is a smaller, self-supporting show, which we do in kiosks, in parks and which we will continue to tour, says Geneviève Kérouac. But this long version, over an hour and a half, is pretty much the end of its life. »
The fact that the theme is summer and that the show is broadcast in the heart of Montreal winter does not scare Mme Kerouac. On the contrary. “We also did it in Quebec in the middle of winter, at Le Diamant, and I think it puts people in a good mood. It worked really well, it feels good, especially since we have a couple of nods to the holiday season,” she says.
In addition to circus disciplines, the company focuses heavily on laughter in most of its shows. And this one is no exception. “What you need to understand is that yes, it’s a show that will make children laugh, but not only that! It’s in our values that everyone finds it funny. We don’t want adults to only be there to support the youngest. The parents have to laugh, but also a little 5-year-old wolf and the grandparents. We want everyone laugh, but really laugh! It’s not just gags. Every generation has fun at different times, that’s all! », concludes Mme Kerouac.