Reading Mélissa Anctil’s letter, “The era is one of cultural recycling”, published in The dutyit seems essential to me to answer the question posed: “What do we gain by reviving works, characters or eras of our heritage?” We have everything to gain! Elsewhere in the world, we value history and national heritage with great pride. Here, in Quebec, we are too often stuck in this collective lack of esteem and this idea of being “born for a small loaf”. The revaluation of our history and our repertoire always needs to be started again.
It seems rather positive to me to note that we are beginning to see the emergence of a tradition, a culture, a repertoire, classics… Molière has been performed all over the world since 1680, I don’t see why we wouldn’t continue to perform Tremblay here, who not only tells a whole part of our history, but also the reality of women in Quebec through fifty years of issues that have unfortunately stood the test of time and are still too often current. At the cinema, during the film Our sisters-in-lawwe can hear in the room “No!? They’re not going to steal his stamps!?” Yes, we should never take for granted that everyone knows the end of the Titanic.
From this perspective, it is appropriate to revisit our works and update them to offer all generations fragments of our cultural and social history. Let us think especially of the youngest who will build their cultural and historical knowledge according to the influences that surround them. Do we want to be connected to each other? Do we want to be connected intergenerationally? As an artist, it is possible to influence future generations so as not to lose the richness of our Quebec language and our still little-known heritage.
Personally, as an artist, I seek to reduce polarization to find alternative paths that can highlight our collective history and generate discussion, openness and inclusion through small moments of magic and emotion that bring us all back to our human condition and sometimes place us in front of the collective injustices of our not always glorious past. Making connections between the mistakes of the past, the battles of yesterday and the unresolved forms of current satisfaction of our society is to anchor ourselves in something solid to claim an identity continuity that can evolve if not question itself.
The common thread of a society that is doing well and whose culture is in tune with its citizens is attached to its ability to connect with each other around common references. These create bridges by weaving, despite all our individual differences, symbolic places of collective encounters filled with vivid memories that nourish a feeling of fullness, even for a brief moment, thus allowing a quality of exchange in complete safety, where everyone can express themselves freely, their hearts in the wind.
Models
When we talk about reheated food when talking about 100% Quebec creations like The giantessI’m not sure I find a real argument there. Who other than Quebec artists will take charge of promoting our repertoire? Netflix? Amazon?
Furthermore, as a female artist, I make it my duty to remember and tell the story of those who came before me to give impetus and inspiration to those who will come after. It is when we understand where we come from that we can measure where we are and think about where we want to go! By presenting original creations inspired by the history and legacy of Clémence DesRochers (Clemency), by Diane Dufresne (Belmont), by Marie-Josephte Corriveau (The Corriveau) or even Rose Ouellette, the Poune (The giantess), we also offer the youngest inspiring models who, although they sometimes existed a century ago, are not so far from us today.
When we have achieved equality between men and women, only then will it be possible to see it all as drivel, but to achieve this possible total emancipation, we would need to at least know our pioneers a little better.
The stories of yesterday are also often one of the best ways to talk about today and tomorrow. It is a gateway to highlight the current climate. We have just gone through a pandemic, and it will take us several more years to heal the insidious and deep wounds it has left. We must relearn how to live together with kindness and without contempt. In my opinion, a visceral need for gathering combined with a desire to find a sense of belonging is also at the heart of this new creative movement. I believe it is therefore important to demystify the impact of an uplifting show that mobilizes different generations to a work feel good…
In closing, I would like to demystify “creation inspired by…” as reheated or recycled. Everyone influences and is influenced. Our creations are always the sum of our influences, our knowledge, our experiences, our desires and our sensibilities… The Lion Kingfor example, is a reinterpretation of Hamlet. When you do a show like The giantesswe draw inspiration from Rose Ouellette to create a new universe, to say in a different way things that still seem essential to us to tell.
Our individual imaginations are filled with all of us, from yesterday and today, to come together in a large “we” with a collective imagination greater than the accumulation of each of our respective little navels.