A DIFFERENT LANGUAGE IS A DIFFERENT VISION OF LIFE.
A glimpse into new translation
Join Bouche Theatre Collective our online for our English language new translation workshops. Discover the leading new works of francophone Canadian theatre, and meet the playwrights and their translators.
DATE
Sunday March 14 2021
TIME
PT: 12PM
MT: 1PM
CT: 2PM
ET: 3PM
AT: 4PM
GMT/ WET: 8PM
CET: 9PM
RUNNING TIME
2 HRS
Bouche Theatre Collective IN ASSOCIATION WITH AXIS THEATRE, PRESENTATION HOUSE THEATRE & THE CANADIAN PLAY THING
TALES OF THE MOON
By Philippe Soldevila | Translated by Leanna Brodie
Inspired & adapted from shorts stories by Pere Calders
Translated from Conte de la lune (Quebec, Canada)
“…the clear skies of hope, and poetry able to chase away the darkest clouds and the deepest suffering…a celebration of beauty.” – Le Soleil
Nothing is impossible when you believe in your dreams, you can even go to the moon. A diary in an abandoned suitcase carries us back to the 1940s, to a little Catalan village in the heart of Spain. Joan is ten years old. The war that has torn his country apart is finally over, and after an absence of five years, his father at last returns home. Joan’s wild imagination helps him to survive a father imprisoned by Franco’s fascists, the disappearance of his dog – and the fact that he’s rotten at math! Years later, his diary tells of the Spanish Moon, of lemon trees, and of long forgotten days.
Featuring Carmen Aguirre, Anthony Santiago, Micheal Scholar, JR, and Sabrina Vellani
This project was made possible by a grant from Canada Council for the Arts. It is produced with the co-operation of the UBCP/ACTRA.
Produced by Théâtre les Confettis with le Théâtre Sortie de Secours. Photography by Louise Leblanc.
Meet the Playwright & Translator
ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHT
Philippe Soldevila
“I’m born of Quebec, both feet in the snow. My parents are born of nations under the sun. ” – Phillipe Soldevila
Philippe Soldevila (he, him, his) is a leading francophone director, playwright, author, and translator. With a BA in French literature (Université Laval) and Theatre (University of Ottawa), he studied at the Conservatory of dramatic art of Quebec. He is the artistic director of Théâtre Sortie de Secours. In May 1998, he received the John Hirsch Award from the Canada Council for the Arts in recognition of his work as a director. He wrote and directed Tale of the Moon (Mask 2006 for Best Production for Young Audiences, Éloizes 2007 Production of the Year Award and ZOF Award of the French Cultural Federation and SAIC). His artistic approach is guided by his fascination with cultural intermingling and identity issues.
ABOUT THE TRANSLATOR
Leanna Brodie
Leanna Brodie (she, her, hers) is an actor, playwright, and translator whose passions include lifting up the stories and voices of women, and championing a new generation of French-Canadian playwrights by transmitting their extraordinary theatrical visions into the English language. Her original plays The Vic, For Home and Country, The Book of Esther, and Schoolhouse (Talon Books) have been performed across Canada. Her translations include Christian Bégin’s After Me and Why Are You Crying?; Louise Bombardier’s My Mother Dog; Annie Brocoli’s Stardust; Rébecca Déraspe’s You Are Happy, I Am William, and Gametes; Amélie Dumoulin’s Violette; Sébastien Harrisson’s From Alaska and Two-Part Inventions; Catherine Léger’s Opium_37 and I Lost My Husband!; David Paquet’s Wildfire and The Shoe; Olivier Sylvestre’s The Paradise Arms; Philippe Soldevila’s Tales of the Moon; Larry Tremblay’s Panda Panda; and multiple plays by Hélène Ducharme of Théâtre Motus, whose acclaimed, Dora Award-winning Baobab continues to tour China and the Americas after more than 600 performances.
Meet the Workshop
Team
CARMEN AGUIRRE (SHE, HER, HERS)
Carmen is a multiple-award winning theatre artist and author and a Core Artist at Electric Company Theatre. She is the writer of the international bestseller Something Fierce: Memoirs of a Revolutionary Daughter and its bestselling sequel Mexican Hooker #1 and My Other Roles Since the Revolution. She has written and co-written twenty-five plays and has over eighty film, tv, and stage acting credits. www.carmenaguirre.ca
ANTHONY SANTIAGO (HE, HIM, HIS)
Anthony’s selected theatre credits include: Best of Enemies (Pacific Theatre), Coriolanus (Bard on the Beach), Company (Raincity Theatre), Sweat (The Arts Club/The Citadel Theatre), Dear Elizabeth (Wunderdog Theatre) Superior Donuts (Ensemble Theatre Company), True West (Sonderhouse Productions). Special love and thanks to his family, friends, Nya-Manet, James and AKC.
MICHAEL SCHOLAR, JR. (HE, HIM, HIS)
Michael is the Artistic Director of November Theatre, whose notable productions include The Black Rider (National Tour) and Hard Core Logo: Live (PuSh Festival). Michael has directed and acted with companies across North America including La Mama (NY), Globe Theatre (Regina), Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Ex Machina (Quebec), Tarragon (Toronto), Arts Club Theatre (Vancouver), Catalyst Theatre (Edmonton) and Belfry Theatre (Victoria) to name a few. www.novembertheatre.com
SABRINA VELLANI (SHE, HER, HERS)
Sabrina Vellani is an Indo-Canadian actor and poet. She graduated from UBC’s BFA Theatre Acting program in 2018. She has acted in Killjoy Theatre’s Burqa Boutique and Axis Theatre’s co-production with Babelle Theatre: All My Friends Are Animals. She was recently in Five Cedar Films’ Speak, which premiered at IFFSA’s 2020 Festival. IMBD
Guest Dramaturg: KIM SELODY (HE, HIM, HIS)
Kim Selody has worked as a writer, director, and actor in Canada and internationally for over 30 years. He has directed more than 100 productions, many world premieres for youth and young audiences. Playwriting credits include Silverwing, The Hobbit, Fool’s Angel, Synthetic Energy, Suddenly Shakespeare and The Last Drop. His reach as a dramaturg has spanned decades, countless projects in many countries. Kim has served as Artistic Director of the Playwrights Theatre Centre, Carousel Players in Southern Ontario, and at Presentation House Theatre since 2011
CREATIVE PRODUCER: JACK PATERSON (HE, HIM, HIS)
Jack is an award winning theatre maker whose work and practice has taken him across Canada, UK, EU and around the world. Work has ranged from devising creation, multi-disciplinary, cross-cultural and multi-ligual projects to new works & texts, contemporary approaches to classical theatre.
Learn more about gender affirming language here
About Bouche & our Partners
About Bouche Theatre Collective
Founded in 2012, Bouche has been bringing artists and audiences together separated by language, distance, and culture locally, nationally, and internationally. With a specific focus on the cross pollination between Canadian francophone and anglophone artists and the international community, Bouche reaches out through translation, multi-lingual work, and devised creation. www.bouchewhacked.com
About Axis Theatre
Axis Theatre is an entertaining, smart and inspirational company focused on engaging young and young-at-heart audiences. In the age of “looking down,” Axis draws young eyes up to engage them in interactive experiences that educate, inspire and transform. www.axistheatre.com
About The Canadian Play Thing
The Canadian Play Thing is a playwright-centred virtual theatre that shares live readings of new and under-produced Canadian plays online. The goal is to support and celebrate the work of playwrights, and to connect our theatre family across the country. Artists and audiences around the world are welcome. www.plaything.ca
About Presentation House Theatre
Presentation House Theatre (PHT) is the north shore’s professional theatre company, where ideas play and grow into quality performing arts for all ages. For more than 40 years, friends and strangers have gathered in this welcoming space to enjoy innovative programming and quality professional shows. www.phtheatre.org
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