Whereas only yesterday comedians were reproached for “stealing” the work of comedians, today actors are “stealing” the work of comedians. In fact, we see that the comedy community has been actively recruiting recently in television, theater and cinema, but also in radio, music and literature.
We spontaneously think of Christian Bégin, who, faced with the surge of comedians, had come to the defense of the acting profession in 2004 on the set of Everybody talks about itqualifying the passage as “correct” the performance of Stéphane Rousseau in Barbarian invasions. It should be noted that the actor-host does not discover a passion for humor, since he reconnects with his old loves by proceeding these days to the break-in of a third humorous solo, The 8 deadly sins according to Christian Bégin.
After having shone on television and on the big screen, Anne-Élisabeth Bossé is currently working on her first comedy solo, Jealous. Endowed with an undeniable comic sense, the actress declared last August to the To have to “I don’t pass judgment on the projects that reach the greatest number and I am wary of people who, for aristocratic pleasure, snub what is successful. On August 19, with his spouse, Guillaume Pineault, Bossé will co-host a ComediHa! at the Capitol of Quebec.
pole of attraction
Do you still doubt the power of attraction exercised by humor? Know that Marc Messier will start touring Quebec again this fall with his first solo in 50 years of career: Alone… on stage!. That Michel Charette, who will host a gala ComediHa! on August 17, is currently preparing a first comedy solo. That Emmanuel Bilodeau is currently rolling his second show, In thetrouble. That the singer Roxane Bruneau, hilarious in the capsules she produced for Star Academy, will co-host a Just for Laughs gala with Phil Roy on July 21. And that Marie-Mai will be at the helm of a ComediHa gala! August 16.
Trained as an actor, mainstay for a decade of a radio show that just bowed out, The evening is (still) young, at ICI Première, Jean-Sébastien Girard has several times dipped a toe in the great pool of humour. This fall, he launches for good by starting the break-in of his first solo show: A boy like no other.
The proposal of Patrick Rozon, of Just for Laughs, which occurred two or three years ago, Girard began by refusing it. “I’m not a stage comedian,” he explains. I learned everything on the job. I did not do the National School of Humor, nor the bars, nor the first parties. I only have my instinct, and I decided to follow it. At the idea of returning to the stage, after the exhilarating experiences I had with the guys from The evening, I feel like a rockstar addicted to applause. I stare into space…hoping the audience will catch up to me. »
out of the mold
The apprentice humorist does not hide that he feels fear. “I am both terrified and overly happy. I live in creative manic depression all the time. There are mornings when I can’t believe how lucky I am, and others when I say to myself: but why are you doing this, poor fool? Then I take a deep breath and I continue, because even if my nerves might give way, this feeling of being alive, it’s not bad the more the fun than synthetic drugs. »
Conventions, labels, limits to be respected, Jean-Sébastien Girard has learned to be wary of. “On the radio, he explains, it was when I stopped wanting to fit into the mold that my business started to work. So, on stage, that’s what I’ll do too. It will be me: my universe, my jinglesmy love of show business a bit outdated, my stories don’t make sense. From stand up not traditional with a bit of theatricality, emotion, reflections. I let myself go freely, I don’t know if it’s going to be transcendent, but it’s going to look like me. It’s the greatest risk I can take. »
In addition to being “cooked” with Jean-Philippe Wauthier and Olivier Niquet on the occasion of the Roast de la Soirée is (still) youngon July 21 at Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier, Jean-Sébastien Girard will read his show the next day, in the great intimacy of Salle Claude-Léveillée.
Letters of nobility
David Goudreault remembers July 16, 2021 as if it were yesterday. That evening, on one of the outdoor stages of the Just for Laughs festival, he presented At the end of your tongue, a show combining humor and poetry: “The people of Just for Laughs, whose event is not associated with literature, have shown courage and open-mindedness, says the writer-performer. It was brilliant, a receptive, enthusiastic, generous audience. Excited, the organizers asked me to present a new show, original, but at the Maison symphonique, in front of 1,800 people. There, I found that they showed temerity. Then he immediately adds, as if to convince himself: “It’s going to be fine!” »
Jack-of-all-trades, David Goudreault links television to poetry and the stage to novels. In his writing, comedy occupies a prominent place. “I use humor in all my books,” he says. My readers won’t be surprised to see me messing around and playing with limits on stage. The big difference is that in humor, when you sell 50,000 tickets, we highlight it with a plaque or a prize, a press release and all the rest. In literature, when you sell 100,000 novels, you disqualify yourself for many prizes, and you get the label “popular author”. I don’t care, I want to use humour, both in writing and on stage, to make my ideas resonate. »
At the thought of offering Between the lines at the Maison symphonique on July 24, David Goudreault does not hide his nervousness: “It’s always exciting and nerve-wracking to meet an audience, to experience new material and to push back one’s limits. I will have high caliber guests, on music and on the microphone, but I will have to connect with people who know me little in performance mode, moreover in a room where I have never performed. It’s a nice challenge. This is the only show I’ve agreed to add to the schedule in 2022, so I plan to have some fun and test out some numbers from the next tour, which will be in 2024. It will be a big delirium in front of a huge audience, and it will be memorable! »
There is no doubt that between genres and disciplines, backgrounds and artistic territories, the boundaries are gradually blurring. While some will say that humor opens up to other practices in order to extend its tentacles, others will prefer to consider this decompartmentalization as a beneficial challenge to the established order. Time will tell.