In a few days, the teamIphigénie in Pointe-aux will experience the premiere of his show, on 1er October, at the Prospero theater. A year, almost to the day, after canceling the 15 performances initially planned for 2023, because public funds for the production had been refused. Today, where are the creators, Isabelle Bartkowiak and Alice Tixidre? Duty went back to talk to them. And was able to see, in the excitement of the last representations, that this Iphigenia will not be sacrificed, and that she will live.
Last year, faced with the refusals of the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec (CALQ) and the Canada Council for the Arts (CAC) to their grant requests, director Isabelle Bartkowiak and translator Alice Tixidre found themselves with a budget of $5,000 to put on their show. A budget made up of the sole subsidy from the Conseil des arts de Montréal (CAM).
These emerging creators, despite the importance for them of making their mark on stage, had chosen to postpone the performances. It was their way of refusing to be caught in the cycle of voluntary artistic poverty, and the “programmed exhaustion” that results from it, according to Ms.me Bartkowiak.
With one more year’s notice, they were able to submit new grant applications. “We had everything: the CALQ and the CAC are added to the CAM,” explains the director.
“There, we manage to make a work that is light years away from what we could have done with just $5,000, if we had chosen to take the show all the same on stage in 2023.”
“We are really proud of the result, I think we have a good piece,” continues Mme Bartkowiak. “And it really gives better working conditions to the performers,” who will receive $200 per performance, and $20 for each hour of rehearsal.
“It’s not the jackpot, but it’s within industry standards,” she adds. “Still, we spent half the year stressing out, wondering whether or not we were going to have the money. And we agree: no one is rolling in gold in this production. »
Negotiations are still part of the new budget. “We went to four performers, out of the five that we had imagined – also because, in the small room of the Prospero, which accommodates 40 spectators, that’s already a lot of actresses. »
The show is now in co-production with the Théâtre Catapulte d’Ottawa, whose Mme Bartkowiak has since become artistic director. “That means that we are bringing interpreters from Ottawa, that we are changing certain designers, but also that we are adding travel and accommodation expenses. »
Well-ordered charity…
And you, Alice and Isabelle, do you have better working conditions? Contrite, crossed glances. Isabelle: “I am the artistic director. I made the compromise this year to bring production to the Catapult, and that means I’m working more hours than expected and adding tasks. But since it’s me who’s here bossit seems that I find it correct. »
She also takes on the scenography, without additional fees. Alice: “Same logic for me: we merged roles, I do the translation and adaptation, whereas, normally, it would not be for a single fee. Yes, we are eating away at our income as artists. »
We didn’t think our speech would have so much impact. And you should know that there are currently “shows” running whose artisans are not paid. We chose to say out loud what we were experiencing.
“I also want to talk about all the hours of work, the research laboratories that have been done upstream, in the past, which have never been paid and which will not be,” adds the director.
“I managed to pay the interpreters for 30 hours, while they had worked 40 or 50. I was paid zero for that part. The first lab for which I got paid as a director was in 2021, for around twenty hours, when I must have worked around a hundred. It’s boring, but it’s the past. »
Money words
A year later, do the two creators regret having spoken publicly? Absolutely not. “The reactions were very positive, also because we were naming a reality experienced by many, about which we talk very little,” underlines M.me Bartkowiak.
“We didn’t think that our speaking out would have so much impact,” continues Alice Tixidre. “And you should know that there are currently shows who roll whose craftsmen are not paid. We chose to say out loud what we were experiencing. »
“Hey, actually,” adds the director, “I did the Amigo Express between Ottawa and Montreal with a director, who has been working for 20 years, who didn’t get his subsidies, and who chose, him, instead of canceling his show, to withdraw your RRSPs to pay your team…” And who doesn’t talk about it.
Perhaps also because there remains discomfort for Isabelle Bartkowiak. “I would really have preferred that my name appeared in the newspapers in rave reviews of my shows », admits the director. “Not because I say out loud that my grants were not accepted. »
“I have been a professional artist for several years now. I am selected to direct in theaters where there is a lot, a lot of competition. Despite this, I can’t seem to have the money to make works, and I find myself speaking publicly about the lack of funding for the arts rather than about my work. »
“It’s difficult not to feel an artistic erasure, a disavowal of recognition of my practice. »
“Above all,” she continues, “I remember that a refusal of subsidies does not mean that we are not good artists. It just means that there is not enough money currently in Quebec and Canada to support the careers of all the good artists. »
“We,” adds the translator, “we know that last year we wanted to postpone rather than cancel because we found that what we had, in rehearsal, was really good. We can’t wait to show our show. »