Posted at 7:00 a.m.
Marc Cassivi: How did this opportunity arise?
Emilie Perreault: It was not on my horizon line at all. We are going to shoot the fifth season of This year [émission culturelle animée par Marc Labrèche à Télé-Québec], The future belongs to us [qu’elle coanime avec Monic Néron, aussi à Télé-Québec] is in its third season. It wasn’t in the plans at all, but I was offered to do a microphone test, I went there spontaneously, and they liked my vision. I needed some time to reflect before accepting, because I know the workload of a daily life. I did it for six years with Paul Arcand. But I did not hesitate long. This is the cultural niche. It probably won’t happen again for quite a while. For little 17-year-old Emilie, who dreamed of this when she started studying radio, I couldn’t refuse.
CM: You say that your vision pleased Radio-Canada. Can we imagine that it will look a bit like [la série documentaire] Do useful worka hybrid program about society and culture?
E. P.: Everything is embryonic. Of course what I’ve been doing since Do useful work or with Essential service, it really is my second nature. At a dinner with friends, I’m the one who recommends books or podcasts. When I leave the theater, the first thing I do is call someone. I can’t keep this to myself! This is what I want to recreate. I want to surround myself with people who are contagious, who are go-betweens, people from all walks of life because it concerns everyone. So, yes, we’re going to talk about books, that’s for sure, but living art is also very important to me. I want people to be able to bring culture to life as much as possible. I like to take culture out of its ministry. With Essential service, that was it: you could talk about health or the economy. Above all, I want it to be joyful. That’s really the mantra we gave ourselves with director Sylvie Lavoie.
CM: We talk about “a forum to promote local authors and artists, as well as culture through words, to celebrate it, give it meaning and talk about it, whatever its form”.
E. P.: What is beautiful in Radio-Canada’s approach is to let the teams build their programs. Marie Louise [Arsenault] was able to create The more the merrier, the more we read! It was his idea. That’s why it was impossible to replace her. It’s so stuck to her. What I hear is that I will be allowed to create my show from my colors. Then it takes time. The bosses of Radio-Canada are aware of this, and I am happy to hear it. I will have to settle down. I have never been on Radio-Canada radio. I’ve done reviews here and there…
Photo Martin Chamberland, LA PRESSE archives
Marie Louise Arsenault
CM: But you’ve never hosted a show…
E. P.: No. What I find is the joy of finding a microphone. There are still Paul Arcand listeners who write to me even though I haven’t been doing the cultural chronicle for four years. We are part of the lives of listeners. Recently, a lady sent me the program of the Théâtre du Vieux-Terrebonne so that I could choose the plays to see for her! (Laughs)
CM: you were talking about The crazier we are and Marie-Louise. In the short reflection that preceded your decision, was there the fear of having to succeed a landmark show that has been on the air for a decade? There will certainly be some who will say that it was better before…
E. P.: There are always and everywhere. It’s true that it scares some people. Probably some people, who could very well have hosted this show, chose not to go. I understand that indeed, there are people that it could put off. I don’t want to say that I’m not afraid of comparison, but at the same time, I think that in life, it takes a little carelessness, otherwise you never do anything. I will build on that. I cannot compete with the load of love that Marie-Louise had of her listeners. She exists. There will be mourning. There is nothing we can do to prevent it. Afterwards, I can arrive in a very sincere way and do my best. Maybe it’s easier because I’m not in-house. It is possible that internally, this aura is stronger. I don’t have impostor syndrome, but I am fully aware that there are a lot of people who will miss The more the merrier, the more we read! I think we will talk about it for years. It takes someone who comes after… (Laughs)
CM: What surprised me in the Radio-Canada press release is that there is so much emphasis on literature, books, words, because at the start, it was simply announcing a “new cultural niche”. I had concluded that it would not be a literary program. Was it you who insisted on this or is it a readjustment of the channel to the reaction to the end of The crazier we are ?
E. p. : I think we felt the need to reassure. Because there are really fears that have been expressed. There are people who said, “Oh! my God ! It’s the end of literature at Radio-Canada! I feel like the words that were chosen — I didn’t write the statement! — aim to reassure people. So, yes, there are going to be books, but it won’t just be a literary show. It is sure that every day, there will be authors and authors. It’s clear. But for me, it’s also important that we can talk about theater and expand to other forms of art. It’s really to say that we don’t turn our backs—we don’t turn the page, to make a bad pun—on literature. We wanted to make sure that the literary community is aware that it will also be part of the celebration. I’ve had some big literary crushes in the past few months. The authors, I not only want us to criticize their books, but to hear them.
Photo Philippe Boivin, THE PRESS
Emilie Perreault
CM: I also said that because the perception we have of you is that you are a generalist, a jack-of-all-trades who loves culture in a very broad way…
E. P.: Yes. My mantra when I was with Paul was “the right show for the right person”. I love Les Cowboys Fringants as much as Robert Lepage. I don’t see why I should just like theater or just Les Cowboys Fringants. All of this can coexist. People are many. But if there’s one thing I’ve learned from working with Paul Arcand in particular, it’s that the person you are on the microphone is the person you are off the airwaves. Your authenticity, people feel it.
CM: You said it, the project is embryonic. But are there already collaborators that you have in your sights?
E. P.: It’s part of my thinking right now. I think that radio is a medium of habits and that it is beneficial to have regular collaborators. At the same time, I want to talk to everyone, so we’ll see! (Laughs) I want to create a space to see new voices grow. Simon Boulerice made himself known because someone gave him a chance. I’m very sensitive to that. I also want to seek out people who aren’t just in Montreal. We do not suspect the places from where people listen to us. There is an artist in Saint-Élie [où Émilie Perreault a une maison de campagne] who told me he was going to listen to me in his studio. My dad is a truck driver and he told me he would change his schedule to listen to me on the road! When I was 17, I worked at the Coop du cégep and I listened Free frequency [animée par Monique Giroux]. I look forward to rediscovering this daily contact with people.