Writer, actress and director Marie Brassard won the prestigious Siminovitch Theater Prize, “whose work has strengthened the Canadian theater landscape and advanced this form of artistic expression”.
The director of The fury of what I think (created from the texts of Nelly Arcan) and creator of emblematic pieces such as Jimmy, dream creature, peep show or Me talking to myself in the futurewill receive a $75,000 grant, the largest in the performing arts community.
Marie Brassard, a finalist alongside Canadian writers and directors Ravi Jain, Ann-Marie Kerr and Sherry J. Yoon, said she was both “surprised” and “encouraged” to receive this award. “It’s not an easy environment for an independent creator and I’ve always created institutions in parallel, in festivals, so yes, it’s encouraging to have this recognition from your peers, it’s very rewarding. Really, I am honored and very happy to receive this award, which will allow me to reflect on my work and invest in new projects,” Marie Brassard told us.
“Marie’s work is dreamlike, ephemeral and current, visceral and powerful at the same time”, wrote the jury chaired by Guillermo Verdecchia.
She is recognized for the patient and meticulous development of her creations, for her deep listening and for her ability to get the best out of her collaborators.
Excerpt from press release
Marie Brassard, who collaborated from the start with director Robert Lepage (The dragon trilogy, The polygraph, The Seven Branches of the Ōta Riveretc.), has always integrated technology into his theatrical creations, notably playing on the sound of his voice.
“This experimentation was a tool that allowed me to find a path to directing,” says Marie Brassard. I was writing with my voice in a way. And by modifying it, thanks to technology, it allowed me to embody characters who were not my age or my gender. To come up with really amazing game ideas and create sound atmospheres with my voice and my body, and that’s quite a sport! »
Japan, a source of inspiration
Japan has always been at the heart of the creative projects of Marie Brassard, who directs the Infrarouge company. We saw him in his last play Violencebut also in his brilliant interpretation of the Hunting rifleby Yasushi Inoué, adapted and directed by François Girard.
The designer also presented The fury of what I think on tour in Japan, like the plays The polygraph and The Seven Branches of the Ōta Riverwhich she co-wrote with Robert Lepage.
What fascinates the 63-year-old designer from the Land of the Rising Sun so much? “I think it started when I saw a documentary about butō dancers, such a strange, abstract, expressionist and meditative dance,” she replies. Then I visited Japan with Robert Lepage and fell in love. I like the way the Japanese integrate art into their daily lives. They are people of great eccentricity, contrary to what one might think. I have always had an admiration for them. »
PHOTO KEVIN MILLET, PROVIDED BY KARINE LAPIERRE AGENCY
Playwright Philippe Boutin
As tradition dictates, the winner of the Siminovitch Prize nominates his “suitor”, for the $25,000 purse, which completes the grand prize – with a total value of $100,000. Marie Brassard designated Philippe Boutin, author of The Rise of the BlingBling – The genesis, Grassy wine or Destroy we willwhich had been played on a football pitch.
” I saw The Rise of the BlingBling, says Marie Brassard, and what amazed me was that I recognized in her staging old theatrical forms that were renewed, revisited, such as commedia dell’arte or Greek tragedy. To see that from someone young, it touched me. »
And then, Philippe’s projects are ambitious and unifying, with huge teams, it takes a lot of resources, so I wanted to encourage him.
Marie Brassard
Other Quebecers who have received the Siminovitch grand prize include designers Stéphanie Jasmin (2018) and Annick La Bissonnière (2015), playwright Olivier Choinière (2014), director Brigitte Haentjens (2007), designer Louise Campeau (2003) and playwright Carole Fréchette (2002).
At the moment, Marie Brassard is working on the staging of a chamber opera by Keiko Devaux, which will be presented at the Darling Foundry next February. She will also stage a theater graduate show at the National Arts Center in Ottawa and at the Rideau Vert in 2023.
The author and director has received numerous distinctions during her career. In 2016, she was decorated with the Order of Arts and Letters of Quebec.