Connecting artists and audiences across distance, language and culture
THE SIMINOVITCH PLAYWRIGHT
NEW TRANSLATION PROJECT
Join our digital new translation workshop series and play a part in the new translation process.
In 2020, 5 Canadian playwrights in both official languages (French & English) were nominated for The Siminovitch Prize, Canada’s leading national theatre award. Each of these playwrights represents a leading voice in Canadian playwriting as nominated by their peers.
We contacted each of the playwrights who shared our excitement for this vision. They each selected 1 piece from their body of work for translation. These works represent a diversity of leading Canadian playwrights from different regions, lived experiences, cultural and linguistic heritages and draw from across their careers–from early noted works to recent creations.
DATE
Saturday October 8, 2022
TIME
PT: 3PM | MT: 4PM | CT: 5PM |
ET: 6PM | AT: 7PM
RUNNING TIME
2 HRS including Q&A with the playwright and translator
HOW TO ATTEND
Click the button below at showtime
FREE event. No registration required. Capacity 100.
Latecomers welcome – audience does not appear on screen.
This translation and workshop is made possible by grants from The Canada Council for the Arts.
Robert Moule
By Martin Bellemare
Translated to English by Jack Paterson
Translated from Moule Robert
“With Moule Robert, Martin Bellemare offers us a text of dazzling formal mastery (…). This virtuosic inventiveness is at the service of the ethical questions dividing our society. In his own way, Martin Bellemare wrestles with the question that haunted Brecht: how to be good in a world that is not?” – Prix Michel-Tremblay Jury
Robert Moule is a very ordinary man who works in a daycare. One day, he grabs a girl from the daycare by the arm and finds himself accused of sexual assault. He descends into a Kafka-like journey of inner decay and comic absurdity.
Moule Robert premiered in 2017, produced by Théâtre La Rubrique at the Mont-Jacob Cultural Centre (Jonquière). It has since been produced in Switzerland by POCHE/GVE, and in Belleville and Paris, France by Théâtre de Belleville.
-Recipient of the Prix Michel-Tremblay, 2018
-Shortlisted for the Prix SACD de la dramaturgie francophone, 2017
Gallery
Moule Robert by Martin Bellemare
La chaise et le grain de sable | Photo: Christophe Raynaud de Lage
Meet the Playwright & Translator
MARTIN BELLEMARE
A graduate of the National Theatre School of Canada’s writing program, Martin Bellemare was awarded the 2009 Gratien Gélinas Prize for Le Chant de Georges Boivin. La Liberté was presented at La Rubrique (Jonquière) in 2013 and in Montreal in 2015, and was scheduled to be staged in Ottawa in 2020. Maître Karim la perdrix (2018 Prix SACD de la dramaturgie francophone, awarded by the Société des Auteurs et Compositeurs Dramatiques) will premiere at the Théâtre des Capucins in Luxembourg in 2021. Moule Robert (CNL Scholarship, shortlisted for the 2017 Prix SACD de la dramaturgie francophone and the 2018 Michel Tremblay Prize) was produced simultaneously at La Rubrique and at the POCHE/ GVE in Geneva, then at the Théâtre de Belleville in Paris. Martin is a four-time recipient of the Aide à la création grant from the Centre national du Théâtre/ARTCENA in Paris, and two of his plays are included in the repertoire of the Comédie-Française. Two of his plays for young audiences, Un château sur le dosand Des pieds et des mains, which was first produced at the NAC, have toured in Canada and internationally. In 2019, Extraordinaire et mystérieux and Charlie et le djingpouite were produced, and Cœur minéral (Governor General’s Literary Awards, Winner 2020) premiered at the Francophonies in Limoges.
JACK PATERSON
Jack Paterson (he, him) is a Vancouver launched translator, devisor, director, dramaturg and creative producer whose practice has taken him across Canada, UK, EU and around the world. His work ranges from contemporary devised creation, multi-disciplinary, cross-cultural and multi-lingual projects to new works & texts, contemporary approaches to classical theatre. He is a recipient of The Ray Michal Body of Work Award, The Cole Foundation Award for Emerging Translators, and The John Moffat & Larry Lillo West Coast artist Award. His translations include The Ballade of Georges Boivin by Martin Bellemare, The Naughty Children’s Bedtime Stories by Etienne Lepage, Kiwi by Daniel Danis, and Horses from Horses from Heaven Fall in a Reign of Ash by Naghmeh Samini (Iran).
Meet the New Translation Team
CARMINA BERNHARDT (SHE/HER) | Actor
Vancouver-born, London-based, mixed Caucasian/ Japanese/ Chinese woman who acts, writes, directs for theatre and film. Graduated with Distinction from Royal Central School of Speech and Drama’s MA Acting for Screen. Recipient of the London Library’s Emerging Writers Award 2019 and in 2020, New Earth Theatre’s BESEA Professional Writers Programme.
LAUREN BROTMAN (SHE/HER) | Actor
Lauren has performed with beloved theatres across Canada and Europe, receiving a Dora Award, the Jessica Fraser Award and the Christopher Plummer Fellowship Award. New play workshops include Canadian Stage, AfriCanadian Playwright’s Festival, Nightwood, Theatre Passe Muraille, fu-GEN, Bouche Theatre, Crow’s, The Grand etc. She trained at University of Toronto, Soulpepper and with Mark Rylance, the SITI Company, Yael Farber, Graham McLaren.
Her company Bound to Create has partnered with Obsidian, Tapestry, Native Earth, Talking Stick, Theatre Northwest, RMTC, Canadian Stage and has received several Dora nominations and awards. Upcoming: She Carries Me Again.
PAUL DAVID POWER (HE/HIM) | Actor
Paul David Power has spent the past 25 years working as a writer, playwright, actor and director. His formal training includes holding a BA in English with a concentration in theatre and a BAA in Journalism.Paul’s work includes roles in over 30 stage plays across the country as well as directing and producing. His leadership positions include President of the Liffey Players Drama Society in Calgary AB for three years, Artistic Director for Hubcity Theatre in Moncton NB for five years and Artistic Associate for the Shakespeare by the Sea Festival in St. John’s NL for three years. Paul is also an award winning playwright with five produced works to his credit including the award winning Roomies, Last Chance, The View From Down Here, In Your Eyes and his current award winning and critically acclaimed touring production, Crippled. Paul is currently the Artistic Director of his own NL based company – Power Productions – a professional theatre company dedicated to the development of works and artists with a focus on the disabled Deaf and MAD Arts domain. www.power productionsnl.com
DENEH'CHO THOMPSON (HE/HIM) | Dramaturgy
Deneh’Cho Thompson, Assistant Professor, University of Saskatchewan is an actor, director, and educator of mixed Indigenous decent. His research interests include Indigenous pedagogies for theatre training, Indigenous dramaturgies, and destabilizing the mainstream theatre forms.
RICK DOBRAN (HE/HIM) | INHOUSE WORKSHOP Actor
Rick Dobran is an actor and writer living in Vancouver, BC. Rick is very excited to be able to contribute to this creative effort.
MICHAEL SCHOLAR, JR. (HE/HIM) - INHOUSE WORKSHOP Actor
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
Johanna Nutter | CREATIVE PRODUCER & DRAMATURG
Johanna Nutter (she) is a Tiohtià:ke/Montréal-based actor, writer, collaborator, translator, curator,
and dramaturg devoted to creating and supporting meaningful relationships through storytelling and play. Fully bilingual, her award-winning work has toured in both English and French throughout Quebec, Canada, and Europe. Johanna is the founder of Espace Freestanding Room, former curator of Centaur Theatre’s Annual Wildside Festival, and Artistic Director of interdisciplinary theatre company creature/creature. www.creature/creature.org
Yolanda Feratto | CREATIVE PRODUCER
Yolanda Ferrato (she, her) is a translator, theatre artist, and arts manager based in Toronto. She served as Artistic Associate with the London Quebec Culture Festival with whom she directed the UK premiere of Larry Tremblay’s The Ventriloquist and translated Porcupine by David Paquet. As an Arts Manager, she has worked with Tarragon Theatre and Driftwood Theatre and produced Gargantua’s work at Theatre Passe Muraille, Factory Theatre, and SummerWorks. She is also a contributing author of New Dramaturgies: International Perspectives on Theory and Practice, published in 2014 by Methuen Drama.
About 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 Théâtre français de Toronto
Théâtre français de Toronto (TfT) is a company performing repertoire and new work for Francophones and Francophiles. As a gathering place where everyone can meet, the company puts quality work at the forefront by offering a diversified and inclusive program. Through its programs, TfT supports, encourages, and spurs on the artistic emergence and professional development of its community.
About Théâtre Action
Théâtre Action is an organization that gives a voice to the Franco-Ontarian theatre community.
We gratefully acknowledge the support of
