Manikanetish | So that prejudices fall

A new piece of history is being written at Duceppe. For the first time in 50 years, the theater opens its stage to the Aboriginal reality with the presentation of the play Manikanetish. The Press attended rehearsals and chatted with some of the cast.

In Duceppe’s large rehearsal room, located in the belly of Place des Arts, the excitement – ​​but also the joy – is palpable. The 11 performers are gathered for the final sprint before the premiere of Manikanetish, which must take place 12 days later. A new actress, and not the least, has just been added to the distribution: it is the author Naomi Fontaine, whose novel inspired the play.

All of these performers are Aboriginal and plant their roots in various places in the territory: Uashat, very close to Sept-Îles, Mashteuiatsh on the shores of Lac Saint-Jean, the Gaspé where the Gespeg Nation is located.

Some are professional actors, others study in theater or radio. Still others are amateur performers. But all of them carry within them the vibrant desire to bring to light on stage a reality that is too often neglected in the theatre, that experienced today by the Aboriginal youth of Quebec. The play directed by Jean-Simon Traversy indeed tells the daily life of a teacher who returns to the Innu reserve of Uashat where she was born. At first marked by mistrust, the bonds are woven through the rhythm of experiences with his group of high school students at the Manikanetish school.

Naomi Fontaine, who taught French at the Uashat school, explains: “In my novel, I wanted to pay tribute to these young people and represent them in modernity, with their strength and their courage. I wanted to show where they went. In their existence, there is life on the reserve, but there is also Nutshimit, the forest. Even if these young people live far away, they have dreams; they also have a solidarity that will touch the public. Me, they inspired me in my way of facing the difficulties of life. »

Moreover, Naomi Fontaine is “amazed” to see all these actors and actresses, some of whom are still teenagers, face with so much solidarity the immense challenge that the show constitutes. Because it’s not nothing to find yourself on a stage at Place des Arts for your first acting experience. “They are exceptional, because they put their hearts into this project. Me who am not an actress, they made me want to pitch myself, to start something. Seeing them gives me courage. I feel like them, vulnerable and feverish. »

The theater that changes a life

If the theater requires courage, it also offers a lot in return. Marc-Olivier Gingras, the group’s clown who has just finished his studies in radio at Cégep de Jonquière at the age of 19, says: “When I was in high school, I was intimidated a lot. Improvisation allowed me to escape and to exteriorize a rage to live that I had inside. »

Student in a school in Sept-Îles, Lashuanna Aster Vollant, 16, shares the same feeling.

She continues: “Playing someone other than me makes me feel good. The theater helps me to be myself; it makes me feel good. Many times I skipped classes because of my anxiety, but I always went to my acting classes. Today, I have no other plans than to become an actress. »

Charles Buckell-Robertson, the cast’s most experienced actor, acts as a bit of a mentor within the team. The one we saw on the boards (AlterIndians at the Salle Fred-Barry), at the cinema (Mesnak) and on television (Another story And For you Flora, in particular) discovered the theater almost by chance, at the Adult Education Center in Alma. “The theater allowed me to develop my self-esteem. Today, I open the way, I make the winter roads for several young people of this production who discover who they are through the arts. However, they must know that a career in theater or cinema comes with great sacrifices, including leaving one’s community. But how do you earn a decent living if these uprooted performers are confined to rare productions with an indigenous resonance? he said.

Alexia Vinci, a young woman of Mi’kmaq origin who studies drama at UQAM, quotes the playwright and writer Yves Sioui Durand: the stage is the only territory where I exist. “With theatre, we live a common experience that is rare these days. For me, there is a notion that is sacred. When I play, I think of my ancestors. Something is happening that is bigger than us. “She also hopes to be able to purify the stage of the Duceppe theater before the start of the performances.

An initiative that could give a sense of security to these actors who will have “a lump in the stomach” on the evening of the premiere. “It’s definitely stressful to find yourself in front of 700 pairs of eyes,” says Marc-Olivier Gingras. But it is a rewarding experience that will increase the visibility of First Nations. We start to occupy a more respectable place than before on the stages and that helps to better understand our culture. »

They can count on the presence in the room of members of the Innu community. “I’m sure it will be the most seen play by Innu in the history of theatre,” says Naomi Fontaine. They are the ones who will be our best judges since we represent them. And I think we’re going to touch them…”

Manikanetish is presented from March 8 to April 8 at Duceppe