There were a dozen high school teenagers on stage Tuesday evening in front of the red curtain of the Maison Théâtre. Their bodies, pushed quickly, sought composure: hands in the pockets of the hoodies, arms crossed, smiling to be there, oscillating between the seriousness required of a general and the desire to make fun of it. This evening, they will climb the stages of Les Écuries, Duceppe, Espace libre, Denise-Pelletier, Nouveau Monde and Rideau vert. For World Theater Day for Children and Youth, they will speak for a few minutes to Montreal spectators who have come to see These characters in search of an author Or The Glass Menagerie.
“We really want to send a message,” explain the girls from the Collège de Montréal while waiting for their pre-rehearsal Domino’s pizza slices. “We want to tell adults, our parents, that we want them to listen to us. That it’s not the same as just hearing us. That we often feel not listened to. »
It was the Maison Théâtre which launched the idea: inviting secondary schools to work on a presentation in less than ten hours with their students which will then be offered as a curtain raiser in “real theaters”. “We feel that we have a responsibility towards the young people who come to us,” explains the artistic director, Sophie Labelle. “That of offering them shows, of course; but also projects, like this curtain raiser, which will help them to think and move forward. » And which makes them see a theater from the stage rather than just from the audience.
Three schools responded: Lanaudière, Paul-Gérin-Lajoie-d’Outremont and the Collège de Montréal. All were accompanied by the mediator Charly Mullot, who sometimes also used her writing skills to bring together the students’ comments.
On this general evening, the Maison Théâtre team was hard at work managing the pizza delivery men, the boxes of granola bars, the traffic, the rehearsals, the sound level of the young voices. Artistic director Sophie Labelle was full of energy and high energy. “My biggest challenge is treating them as an artistic director, and not as a mother. I just want to pamper them…”
The youngest members of the College have chosen to start a choir. The greatest have reworked the tale, revisiting Little Red Riding Hood with a morality more nuanced and floating than that of Perreault’s tale.
Another group has launched into invisible theater — we won’t divulge here… At Paul-Gérin-Lajoie, the young people will try to start a dialogue with the spectators.
Emma, 14, is from this troop. “We’re going to talk about our dream show, and ask the spectators what theirs would be. »
“I’m going to talk more about my dream role. I really like Avengers and superhero movies,” she explains, with a voice that quickens, a smile that grows and eyes that shine more and more. “I especially like Iron Man. I want his technologies, his cars — I looooove cars! — to be a millionaire…” “I’m Emma Stark,” she continues, “I’ve always wanted to be Iron Man’s daughter… Look, I even made myself a t-shirt,” she says, opening her jacket and revealing thus the logo of the ARK reactor, heart and engine of Iron Man and Tony Stark.
Isn’t it a bit of cheating, Emma, to take on a film character when we’re talking about a dream show? The smile widens again. “No, because that’s really my dream role. »
The words we receive
What his teacher Gilbert Trudel prefers about this project is to “hear the words of my students without filter, and that they can carry this word, their message, in front of other adults, who are not theirs. parents “. “Let’s face it, theater audiences are aging,” continues Mr. Trudel. “And I find this connection that the curtain riser makes with the young people of the new generation touching. »
Sophie Labelle adds for her part: “It’s not that common, meetings between adults and young people, outside the family and school. And, oh surprise! generally speaking, they find that we don’t listen to them enough,” she notes.
Phrases fly from the stage. “Listen to me, listen to us! » “You’re still on your cell!” » “I don’t have enough freedom!” I feel overprotected! » “We miss your presence. »
Mme Labelle admits to having a tear in her eye when she sees them like this. They are truly touching. “I have just spent several months where I felt weighed down by the issues” of the arts, of culture, of young people. “We need hope. And this project gives us some. »
Like perfumes we breathe
Of the ten students interviewed on the fly by The duty, none of them go to the theater outside of school. Tuesday evening, they were all majoring in dramatic arts. Only one reported regularly going to see contemporary dance, particularly training school performances, with her uncle.
The logistics that come with this type of meeting are demanding, underlines Sophie Labelle, who had to run on Monday to buy metro tickets for those who do not have an Opus card so that they can go to the theaters where they will present This evening.
“Just managing the pizzas, it’s really hard to know how many to order. They eat, at that age, eh, and I don’t want them to be hungry,” laughs Mme The beautiful. And it’s true that there was strong protest when the quota of two tips per person, maybe three if there were any left, was announced…