The Press : In Royal, university law faculties are shown to be a highly competitive environment. A world haunted by performance, grades, money, social success, etc. Are there parallels to be drawn between the reality of these students and yours, that of the graduates at stake?
Florence Deschenes : We also operate in a very competitive environment. We must constantly prove our worth to others; audition for roles. We also live with the stress of performance, the fear of failure, the dream of glory… I once dreamed that I received a prize at the Oscars!
Irdens Exantus : In the second year at the School [nationale de théâtre], a teacher asked my class why we want to do this job. I replied: “Because I want to become the best actor of my generation!” [rires] » With irony. But I already had the ambition to become the best version of myself.
Florence : It’s different from our characters, Irdens. We are ambitious about ourselves. While the ambition of the characters of Royal smacks of obsession. In my life, I don’t want to succeed to crush others. If I put myself forward, it’s to surpass myself. While reading the novel, I had a love-hate relationship with its narrator. I loved to hate him, because I found his motives despicable.
PHOTO MARTIN CHAMBERLAND, THE PRESS
Vincent Paquette, Romy Bouchard, Jérémie St-Cyr and Irdens Exantus in rehearsal
Indeed, Arnaud (the main character of the play) is quite monstrous. It has something Shakespearean about it. Like Richard III, he will stop at nothing to eliminate everything in his path…
Vincent Paquette : My character [Arnaud] just think about the result; never to the process. We wonder if law really interests him. At 20, he wants to be a lawyer so he can work in a big firm, be part of the elite and earn $120,000 a year right out of college.
Arnaud wants to show that he is the best, the king at the top of the mountain. However, he will realize, by receiving bad grades, that “growing up on Mount Royal does not guarantee you success every time.”
Irdens : In the play, I say that Arnaud falls as soon as he has “a little wind from across the way”. Like Florence, I loved to hate him when reading the book. No doubt because his desire to be above others reflects something about my generation that I don’t like… About a class of privileged young people who, at the first setback, find that their life no longer has any meaning. sense.
Arnaud is disgusted by mediocrity. Why this unhealthy fear of failure? In life, defeats also make us grow.
Florence : Yes, but to return to the actors, we do a public job. Our failures, our poor performances are seen by everyone. The views of others are very important. That may explain this phobia.
Aline Winant : In addition, we chose a profession with great precariousness. I recognized myself [malheureusement] in Arnaud’s quest. In his efficient system of thoughts, in the severity with which he speaks to himself. I feel a tension between my values as a committed artist and the need to earn a living. Because our future is uncertain.
Florence : The actors hardly savor the present moment. After a success, they are already in the next role, the next show. Every time we are not chosen in a project, our world collapses. It may seem trivial to others, but not to a performer at the start of his career.
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PHOTO MARTIN CHAMBERLAND, THE PRESS
Vincent Paquette plays Arnaud, a character who risks falling into the bitter abyss of his monstrous ambitions.
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PHOTO MARTIN CHAMBERLAND, THE PRESS
The cast is made up of 10 young theater graduates from previous years under the direction of Jean-Simon Traversy and Virginie Brunelle (choreographer).
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PHOTO MARTIN CHAMBERLAND, THE PRESS
Jérémie St-Cyr, Florence Deschênes and Romy Bouchard in rehearsal for Royal
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PHOTO MARTIN CHAMBERLAND, THE PRESS
Vincent Paquette plays an ambitious, anxious student who is constantly proving his worth to others.
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PHOTO MARTIN CHAMBERLAND, THE PRESS
Perfecte Moussouanga, Vincent Paquette, Xavier Bergeron and Florence Deschênes
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Vincent : We are part of a generation [les Z] which is in representation a lot. With social media, it’s easy to compare yourself, to feel inferior. On Instagram, we only show our most beautiful trips, our most beautiful images. You don’t promote your failures on Instagram. We only have access to the fictional realities of our lives.
The selection process to play in Royal is a bit reminiscent of the race for internships in large law firms. Duceppe selected you from 281 candidates! In a prologue, the author writes that you are supposed to be “the cream of the crop” of interpreters trained in Quebec in recent years. It’s stressful ?
All : We are going to create the piece in a few days, and we feel a lot of pressure. For a year and a half, everyone we meet in the industry has asked us: and how are you doing? Royal? We are living the greatest theatrical experience of our young career. Will we be able to meet expectations?
The 271 people who were not chosen by production will undoubtedly come to see you with the same question in mind…
Florence : So what do we do with this pressure? We let it swallow us… or we congratulate ourselves and dive in. By telling ourselves that we are the best and that we deserve to be there.
Royal, chez Duceppe, from April 10 to May 11. The remarks have been abbreviated and condensed for brevity.
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