We know him as a comedian, host and on-screen actor, but this summer, Mario Jean sees two plays (thanks to Covid reports) signed with his name take to the stage. He had had his first theatrical experience playing I’m listening to you, in 2018, French text that he himself had adapted. Because between two solo shows, the versatile artist asked himself: “What haven’t I done yet? I’ve never done theatre, really. I had had offers, but it hadn’t worked out. It’s something I’ve always wanted to try. I even did a certificate in theater at the University of Quebec in Chicoutimi a long time ago. He loves this art and frequents the theaters quite regularly.
Mario Jean adds that the change that has been taking place in the summer theater for some time – its palette has widened beyond the jokes – pleased him. “People want to be entertained, but they want to be touched too. And think [au moins un peu]. Theatrical writing therefore offers him the opportunity to tell a story that “holds together” and is based on themes, as well as to explore various emotions. “Yes, I want to make people laugh, there are gags, but I have a great possibility of going into other feelings. We can also do it in humor! But audiences expect to laugh every 30 seconds. Whereas in the theatre, the playing field is more open. »
Created at the La Marjolaine theatre, Kilimanjaro was inspired by his ascent of the summit in question – for the benefit of the Mira Foundation, in 2011 – and by the anecdotes he exchanged with another climber, the director of the Eastman theater, Marc-André Coallier, during the tour of I’m listening to you. The play follows six characters during the grueling climb of Kilimanjaro, who must also face their own “mountain”, brought to walk in the face of personal challenges. Mario Jean is also directing it, his first. ” I loved it. And I was happy because the actors trusted me at the start. »
before the decline
The big turn, his second play, saw the light of day at the Hector-Charland theatre. “It is perhaps a little more personal, that one, launches the author. With age, I have a little more reflection on life. And I came across an article that said that at 75, your strength and your vitality are in irreversible regression. Finances, cognitive faculties: everything goes downhill. I said to myself: I have about fifteen years left, so what do I do? I have dreams, am I living them? »
Jean therefore imagined a couple at the dawn of retirement who decide to separate so that each can go and realize their own dreams on their own. A news that parents must now announce to their adult offspring. “They have the false good idea of the balance sheet: we will tell you who we are and who we have been. It’s not always good to say everything you’ve been through. And it turns: we realize that it is the children who have problems. So the couple resumes their role as parents to settle them. Ultimately, the piece reminds us that with life, you can’t plan. “For me, over the years, the only valid moral is that you have to live from day to day. The present moment, it annoys me, it makes two girls in the morning cursed, but it’s the same! (laughs)
If Mario Jean shares the stage with Diane Lavallée (“a privilege” he says, praising the actress), the performers of the younger generation (Jean-Carl Boucher and Mylène St-Sauveur), pre-filmed, appear virtually. Well in tune with the times, this communication by Zoom with the characters in their thirties, who “don’t have time to come”. “The public sees them, but we interact with computers,” explains the actor. There are great bits where you have to play with them directly. So you really have to be in sync with them, arrive at the right time for their lines. It’s a good challenge. But it’s fine. And when it works, it’s incredible, it’s believable. There are even many people who think that [les comédiens] are backstage with cameras playing with us. »
Will this theatrical foray change a bit the way Mario Jean writes his humor? He thinks so. “My whole career has been like this: each project enriches the other, they enrich each other. » When the interpreter of characters in Leo and District 31 plays on TV, some, surprised by his performance, ask him if he was trained in a theater school. He answers no, but that in his recent show, he delivered gags, but also emotions, during 460 performances… “It’s clear that it will influence [mon humour]. How, I don’t know yet. I can’t wait to write the next piece. Some ideas are already running through his head.