Long in the minority and stuck in stereotypical secondary roles, improvisers are increasingly taking their place on the ice rink. Decades and several waves of denunciations will however have been necessary for them to get there, according to the authors of the recent essay. play on the benchwhich paints a portrait of the evolution of the place of women in improv and the limits they still encounter today.
“From the beginning, it was really more difficult to be a girl than a boy in improv. The players ended up in the role of the mother, the blonde or the daughter, erased behind the male characters. […] This is less the case today, things have changed, but not completely either, ”drops the author Emmanuelle Walsh-Viau right away.
To write her book, co-written with her former teacher Lucie Joubert – also director of the Observatoire de l’humour de Montréal – she delved into the archives of the Ligue nationale d’improvisation (LNI) and analyzed matches of the 1980s. His observation is implacable: the players have always had difficulty imposing their humor, their characters and their stories on their male colleagues. They also censor themselves so as not to destabilize the public and remain in these stereotypical female characters that are expected of them.
“In the 1980s improv guys were some of the most progressive, it wasn’t a gang of machos, makes a point of specifying Lucie Joubert. But in the speed and spontaneity of the game, we have reflexes that bring us back to what we know best: a society in which women are at home. These are the reflexes that we must continue to change. »
From the beginning, it was really more difficult to be a girl than a boy in improv. The players ended up in the role of the mother, the blonde or the daughter, erased behind the male characters.
Already at the time, the players had sounded the alarm to denounce this situation. As early as 1981, in a “meeting report of girls players of the LNI”, they had written black on white their observations and their grievances and sought solutions. But changes have been slow to take place. However, everything has accelerated, especially in recent years, with the waves of denunciations of sexual violence, noted the authors.
Changes
In itself, the #MeToo movement did not shake the environment so much in 2017, but it prepared the ground for the second wave of denunciations, triggered in 2020, which resonated more with the players.
“In 2017, it was known authority figures who fell. In 2020, it was a democratization of denunciations on social networks. And between us, we started talking about the toxic behavior, the injustices, the sexism and the sexual violence that we had experienced, ”recounts in an interview Pascale Renaud-Hébert, improviser within the LNI who intervenes in play on the bench.
These inappropriate behaviors, these sexual misconducts, she personally did not experience them, unlike Emmanuelle Walsh-Viau – who plays in the Ottawa league L’Acronyme – and many other players.
“I am one of those who had their breasts taken in full improvisation by a teammate who wanted to make the public laugh,” she says. She was also forcibly kissed by another player because they “played a couple”. “The worst thing is that he then apologized to my boyfriend of the time, but never to me, as if it were normal, for the game.”
Promoting parity
“With the wave of denunciations of 2020, it is sure that it was a reality check for us. We understood that we were not well equipped to manage complaints and these problematic behaviours. We had to do our homework, we adopted a policy to regulate harassment and behavior of a sexual nature. But also a policy to promote parity, ”explains in an interview François-Étienne Paré, artistic director of the Théâtre de la LNI.
Most improv leagues in Quebec have followed suit. The Rudesse group – whose name alludes to a penalty awarded in improv – was also created in 2020 on social networks to help the smaller leagues in their efforts. In addition to policies on parity and against harassment, many have also created the role of chaperone, occupied by reference persons to whom other players can confide in an uncomfortable situation.
Several leagues did not hesitate to exclude players denounced in stride. “It was easier in Montreal, where there is a huge pool of players, than in the regions. In small towns, where there are few gamblers, there was reluctance, because if you remove the problem gamblers, there are just more, ”explains Emmanuelle Walsh-Viau.
More work
Despite these changes, the voice of men often remains stronger and more assertive than that of women in the industry even today, according to several players.
“It happens regularly that, from the outset, it is the story of a guy who is chosen. He is the one who directs, imposes the characters,” says Geneviève Morin, member of La Sprite and of the CIA (Coalition of Anonymous Improvisers), in Montreal.
For her part, Pascale Renaud-Hébert has the feeling that we sometimes select girls for the sole purpose of achieving parity. “In the minds of some players, the guys are always better. At the end of the year, or during a recruitment camp, we discuss more about the place of a girl than that of a guy. If a player is in danger, it is necessarily because of the parity to be respected, not because of his game.
“To have my place in improv as a girl, I have the impression that I still have to work twice as hard. I have to be more absurd, funnier, more involved. My playing time is not always equal to that of a guy, I have to take advantage of every moment of play offered to shine,” adds Geneviève Morin.