Western Gold: The Ballad of Georges Boivin

Western Gold: The Ballad of Georges Boivin

DATES & Times

November 10 – 28, 2021
Evenings: Wed – Sat @ 7:30 pm
Matinees (from Nov. 14): Wed, Thu, Sat, Sun @ 2:00 pm

Location

PAL STUDIO THEATRE
581 CARDERO STREET, VANCOUVER

Website

www.westerngoldtheatre.org

Western Gold Theatre
In association with Bouche Theatre Collectve

WESTERN GOLD:
THE BALLAD OF GEORGES BOIVIN

By Martin Bellemare | Translated by Jack Paterson with Johanna Nutter
Translated from LE CHANT DE GEORGES BOIVIN (Quebec, Canada)

FEATURING
Jay Brazeau and John Innes alternating as Georges Boivin in repertory

At 77, Georges Boivin “gives the dice a roll”. Georges just lost his wife, you see, the “centre of his universe”. He’s terrified “he’s no longer exists for anyone”. But there is life after 70 and it must continue even after great loss. With his three friends, all the same age as he, he sets out on road trip from Québec to Vancouver, in search of his first love who he hasn’t seen in 50 years.

“…explores with great insight thematic territory I’ve never seen covered before…the execution is poetic and the insight genuine…his (John Innes) skill is a joy… a wonderful combination of ease and thoroughness in his technique…he inhabits every word…moments of magic and even transcendence…an intimate — and rewarding — conversation about love.” – Colin Thomas, colinthomas.ca

“…insightful, thoughtful and mind-expanding…Brazeau gives a riveting performance, showing that emotions are still alive – and even volatile – even in your seventies… This is a beautiful play, filled with hope and longing and the realization that yes, there is life and love well into our golden years!” – EntertainmentVancouver.com

“…a heart-warming play that shakes off the myth often associated with old age.” – Reviewvancouver.com

Creating Access, Inter-Gernerational & Cross-Cultural Dialogue

It is no secret that elder artists face barriers to partcipating in the live performing arts due to our professional structures and the natural process of ageing. We have attempted in this project to fuse all elements from scheduling, to rehearsal and design processes, to live performance with access. What has been particularly exciting is how the individual needs, priorities, and theatrical interests of each actor have come to play, creating two district pieces unique to each artist.

Francophone Canadian playwrighting is a uniquely Canadian form and is on the forefront of international practices. Born from different circumstances and cultural needs, the francophone theatre often places metaphor and experience over dramatic arc and the “well-made play”. Cross Cultural collaboration is inherent to bringing this work to English language translation.

One of the great joys of this project was over the pandemic, as we created a Zoom space bringing artists together across cultural, lingual, and physical distances in an intergenerational conversation – with playwright Martin Bellemare and translation collaborator Johanna Nutter joining us from Montreal.

I have had the privilege over the last few months of working with 2 remarkable theatre artists, a wonderfully creative design team, highly supportive producing body in a pan-Canadian conversation. A tremendous thank you to Western Gold Theatre and the Georges Boivin team.

Credits

Writen by Martin Bellemare
Translated by Jack Paterson with Johanna Nutter
Directed by Jack Paterson

FEATURING
Jay Brazeau and John Innes alternating as Georges Boivin in repertory

Assistant Stage Manager: Jessica Adamson
Assistant Lighting Designer: Chengyan Boon
Sound Designer: Stephen Bulat
Artistic Director: Tanja Dixon-Warren
Video & Video Systems Design: Joel Grinke
Costume Designer: Alaia Hamer
Senior’s Access Consultant: Dr. Julia Henderson
Set Designer: Glenn Macdonald
Assistant Director: Hannah Siden
Video & Video Systems Assistant: Vanka Chaitra Salim
Stage Manager: Ingrid Turk
Access And Surtitle Coordinator: Anika Vervecken
Lighting Designer: John Webber

Meet our Playwrights & Translator

About the playwright

Martin Bellemare

(He, Him, His)

A graduate of the National Theatre School of Canada’s writing program, Martin Bellemare was nominated for the 2020 Siminovitch Prize and 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 premiered at the Francophonies in Limoges. The latter play was scheduled for a Montreal production in 2020.

His work has been produced in Quebec, France, Poland and Switzerland and translated into German, Italian and Lithuanian.

About the translator

Jack Paterson

(He, Him, His)

Jack’s practice has taken him across Canada, the UK and around the world. His work has ranged from contemporary devising, multi-disciplinary, cross-cultural and multi-ligual projects to new works  and contemporary approaches to classical theatre.  He trained at  Circle in the Square (NYC, USA), GITIS (Moscow, RU), SENI  (Denpasar, INA) and received his MFA from The University of Essex and East 15 Acting School (London, UK).  Recent project include devised creation in Italy (Teatro Trieste 34, Piacenza) and Indonsia (SENI, Denpasar), and a deep dive into German innovation with Flausen+ (theatre wrede+, Oldenburg). www.JackPatersonTheatre.com

About the colaborating translator

Johanna Nutter

(Elle, She, Her)

Johanna Nutter (she, euro-settler, multidisciplinary artist) developed her passion for translation through acting: being one of few perfectly bilingual theatre artists, she played leading roles at Centaur (Good People, You Will Remember Me) and La Licorne (Les Événements). The attention of both circles came thanks to the success of her solo my pregnant brother/mon frère est enceinte, which she translated during a residency in Tadoussac, accompanied by Linda Gaboriau. The show toured across Canada and Quebec in both languages, and to the UK and Belgium. Subsequently, she translated the works of Annick Lefebvre (Barbed Wire), Guillaume Corbeil (You’ll Go Looking for Her), and Florence Longpré & Nicolas Michon’s ballet-theatre hybrid CHLORINE, which she also produced and directed at Centaur, with her company creature/creature.

Meet
the Cast

Jay Brazeau (He, Him)

Jay is seemingly everywhere.  His TV work includes SUPERNATURAL, PSYCH, STARGATE SGI, BATES MOTEL, ROGUE, WEST WING, THE X FILES, AIR BUD and THE KILLING.  Films: DOUBLE JEOPARDY, WATCHMEN, INSOMNIA, BEST IN SHOW, COOL RUNNINGS, WE’RE NO ANGELS, THE POSSESSION, LITTLE WOMEN, ANDRE, HEAD OVER HEELS, HORNS, FATHERS AND SONS and many others.  You’ve HEARD him in countless voice roles for cartoons from “Sabrina: The Animated Series” to “My Little Pony”. Plus voicing the the NFB Oscar-nominated THE BIG SNIT.  Jay’s favourite theatre roles includes: Man in the Chair “The Drowsy Chaperone” (National Arts Centre, Vancouver Playhouse), Tevye “Fiddler on the Roof” (California The Rubicon Theatre), “The Goat”  (Presentation House Theatre), Cyrano (Pittsburgh’s Three Rivers Shakespeare Festival), The Wiz in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s North American Tour of “Wizard of Oz” and the wonderful Edna Turnblad in the Canadian premiere of “Hairspray”.  Jay is writing his own play FORTUNATE SONS and co-writing a screenplay THE PROFESSIONALS.  IMBD 

John Innes (He, Him)

John Innes was an early graduate of the National Theatre School (’67). He has performed in every major regional theatre in Canada, including 12 seasons with the Stratford Shakespeare Festival where he received a Tyrone Guthrie Award twice. He has also performed in regional theatres in the United States including 3 seasons with the Denver Center Theatre Company. In all, he has been a working actor for over 55 years.

About our Partners

About Western Gold Theatre

Western Gold Theatre is the premier company in the country focused on sharing and celebrating the talents of senior professional theatre artists (age 55+). Western Gold also mentors emerging younger professional artists as they ‘share the boards’ with us. We are a vibrant creative gathering place for artists and audiences, young and old. www.westerngoldtheatre.org

Resources: Francophone Canadian Theatre

About Centre des auteurs dramatique

An association of authors serving authors, CEAD is a centre for the support, promotion and dissemination of French-language dramaturgy here. It occupies a unique place both in terms of the number of authors it brings together and the objectives of quality and innovation it pursues. www.cead.qc.ca

About Playwrights’ Workshop Montreal

Playwrights’ Workshop Montréal is a new creation development centre. PWM gives artists the opportunity to create and experiment, dream and take risks, fail and try again. Our dynamic collaborative process draws on our team’s unique expertise and is tailored to the artist’s individual needs. At PWM, playwrights, dramaturgs, translators, directors, performance artists, and theatre companies across the country find a creative accomplice willing to invest deeply in the development of meaningful work. www.playwrights.ca

Special

Thank You

flausen+ International Collaboration Catalyst

flausen+ International Collaboration Catalyst

BRIDGING ARTISTS ACROSS BORDERS

International Creative Catalyst Incubator 

Bouche Theatre Collective, flausen+ bundesnetzwerk, Residenza I.Dra,, & theater wrede+
Tor 6 & flauesen+ fest. (Bielfeild, Germany)

Sept. / Oct. 2021, Bouche joined the flausen+ Festival (Bielefeld, Germany) to participate in the Catalyst phase of an international collaboration with Italian, and German artists.

The flausen+ Residency is an innovation incubator that acts as a catalyst for and then develops new ideas, forms, and voices.

We gathered an amazing team from across three provinces: Vanka Chaitra Salim (BC), Makram Ayache (Alberta), & Deneh’Cho Thompson (Saskatchewan).

For 1 week, our artists worked with the Italian (Residenza I.Dra) and German (flausen+) artist teams in the f+ way of creation. The award winning platform is supported by the flausen+ Network of 28 German companies and growing EU partners and is at the for-front of independent German innovative practices.

“… truly perspective altering..I learned about artistic processes that are dynamically different than a Canadian method of theatre. It’s enriched my practice deeply…” – Makram Ayache

“This experience has inspired me and challenged the ways I approach my practice. I cannot express enough how thankful I was to be part of this…” – Vanka Salim

“…a vital conversations about how art gets made and how processes can better serve artists and communities alike…” – Deneh’Cho Thompson

Canada Flausen+ Team

MAKRAM AYACHE

Makram Ayache (he/him) is a community-engaged writer, actor, director, and producer. His playwriting explores meaningful representations of queer Arab voices. He bridges complex & interlocking political struggles to the intimate and real experiences of the people impacted by them. Ayache is the 2020 recipient of the Playwrights’ Guide of Canada’s annual Tom Hendry Award for his play Harun. He has also been nominated for four Elizabeth Sterling Haynes Awards. www.makramayache.com

DENEH’CHO THOMPSON

Deneh’Cho Thompson (he/him) is a director, actor and playwright and member of the Pehdzeh ki Nation. As Assistant Professor at the University of Saskatchewan he oversees the wîcêhtowin Theatre Program, one of few Indigenous programs in a Canadian university. Deneh’Cho’s research focuses on the development, naming, and centring of Indigenous pedagogies; new play development, in various roles, and Indigenous collaborations while centering the values of reciprocity, respect and reflexivity. Deneh’Cho is also engaged in the (re)storying of personal family archives focusing on healing, resilience, and Indigenous storywork as a pathway towards the creation of new works of theatre.

VANKA CHAITRA SALIM

Vanka Chaitra Salim (she/her) is a Muslim Indonesian-Canadian Set, Lighting and Projection designer, theatre technician and scenic painter based in the Unceded xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh-ulh Temíx̱w (Squamish), and səl̓ilwətaɁɬ təməxʷ (Tsleil-Waututh) territories, colonially known as Vancouver, BC. She enjoys experimenting with different mediums of storytelling that revolve around the interaction and interplay of art, culture and technology. Apart from her involvement in the theatre community, Vanka also works as an acrylic paint-maker at Kroma Artist’s Acrylics and is part of Srikandi Indonesia Dance Group. She also loves gaming, game art & design, dance, videography, illustration and learning XR technologies, and has recently been experimenting with immersive experiences. She is grateful and beyond excited to have the opportunity to learn, collaborate and experiment with the rest of the team at Flausen+ Festival. www.vankasalim.com

JACK PATERSON

Jack Paterson’s (he/him) practice ranges from devised creation, multi-disciplinary, cross-cultural, and multi-lingual projects to new works, and contemporary approaches to classical theatre in Canada and internationally. He’s a recipient of The Ray Michal Body of Work Award, The Cole Foundation Emerging Translator Award, and The John Moffat and Larry Lillo Award for Outstanding West Coast Artist. He co-founded Vancouver’s Mad Duck Theatre (2001-2009), Vancouver’s only theatre groupe with a gender equity mandate. In 2012, he co-founded Bouche Theatre Collective, bridging local, national, and international artists separated by distance, language, and culture. In 2017, he co-founded Global Hive Labs., a collective of international theatre practitioners working together in devised creation. He has trained at leading international theatrical institutions including Circle in the Square (NYC, USA), GITIS The University of Performing Arts (Moscow, RU), SENI Indonesian Institute of the Arts (Bali, INA) and received his Masters in Fine Arts from the renown East 15 Acting School and University of Essex (London, UK). www.JackPatersonTheatre.com

About our Partners

About RESIDENZA I.DRA (Italy)

Based in Brescia (Italy), Residenza IDra is a multidisciplinary independent development and producing centre, Our desire to be adequate to our times, in search of new forms of representation through integration and collaboration. In addition to development residencies, IDra produces The Wonderland Festival (Mibact and the Lombardy Region), Città Dolci Touring Circuit, NdN (New dramaturgy Network), CURA Project and AL Petroni Award. IDRA actively participates in various networks including CRESCO, ETRE and IETM. www.residenzaidra.it

About FLAUSEN+ & FLAUSEN+ FESTIVAL (Germany)

​flausen+ is unique innovation incubator platform for generating new forms, new approaches and new ideas. For the last decade, the “flausen+” model has been driving creative scenic research by providing paid residencies for process based new explorations free of the pressure of production. To date flausen+ has facilitated over 48 ensembles and 160 artists in their research. flausen + explicitly promotes bold approaches and highly current socio-political topics.

flausen + residency ensembles have gone on to receive high acclaim with their work presented at leading EU companies such as GHent (Brussels) and festivals. According to pulk fiktion, recipient of prestigious George Tabori Award for their work placing children and parents on an equal footing, “we would never have dared to tackle such a theme and aesthetic form without flausen.”

Supported by the flausen+ network of 29 theatres across Germany, flausen+ awards 9 residencies per year, in 5 German states hosted by 8 theaters. In addition to producing, hosting and artistic support of the residencies, flausen+ Network members provide administrative support.

Ensemble projects developed through the flausen+ Residencies are further supported by the network with additional research periods, 2 co-productions with flausen+ network theatres per year, the network touring model (NATIONALE PERFORMANCE NETZ) and are showcased at The flausen+ Festival (Bielefeld) and the flausen+ bundeskongress (Koln).

Presenting f+ projects, the biennial f+ Festival has become a gathering point for independent, small, and mid-sized companies from across the EU. Artists, company leaderships, and cultural representatives meet, develop new artistic and admin. relationships, and exchange knowledge through a series of networking activities, workshops, panels, and events.

www.flausen.plus

Special Thank you to our Supporters

Full Circle: First Nations Performance

Full Circle: First Nations Performance (Proudly located on the traditional, unceded territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish) and səl̓ílwətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations) provides opportunities for Indigenous artists to create, work and train in the Arts. Producers of the annual Talking Stick Festival, Moccasin Trek: Arts on the Move!, Indian Acts and home to the Aboriginal Ensemble. www.fullcircle.ca

PHT Creative Hub

The PHT Creative Hub Co-operative has transformed how we collaborate and share performing arts with our communities. Co-op artist members from across performance disciplines fill our spaces, work on their own creative projects, and share their skills and expertise with each other. The PHT Creative Hub Co-operative

A Glimpse into New Translation: Mall

A Glimpse into New Translation: Mall

A DIFFERENT LANGUAGE IS A DIFFERENT VISION OF LIFE

A glimpse into
new translation

Join us online for our English language new translation development workshop series.

Discover the leading new works of francophone Canadian theatre, meet the playwrights and their translators, and play a part in the new translation process.

FREE EVENT

DATE

Sunday, October 17, 2021

TIME

PT (Vancouver): 12PM
MT (Calgary): 1PM
ET (Montreal): 3PM
GMT (London UK): 20:00 hrs
CET (Berlin EU): 21:00 hrs

RUNNING TIME

2 hrs including Intermission and conversation with the playwright

In Association with Touchstone theatre & PHT Creative Hub Co-operative

Mall

By Emmanuelle Jimenez | Translated by Johanna Nutter
Translated from CENTRE D’ACHATS (Quebec, Canada)

“This is one of the best texts of the new season…hard-hitting and hysterical…” – Mario Cloutier, La Presse +

Featuring Deena Aziz, Carmina Bernhardt, Lally Cadeau, Lucia Frangione, Christine Quintana, Suzanne Ristic, & Sabrina Vellani

Searching, finding, buying, again and again: the t-shirt, the earrings, the dog, the rabbit, the snake, the flying carpet… In search of comfort, seven women of divers background and ages dive desperately into a whirlwind of outrageous consumption. Seven prisoners of the shopping mall, each of them encounters her destiny.

Emmanuelle Jimenez examines shopping malls as both symbols of our collective alienation but also of our need for community. The need to share, to communicate, to feel surrounded, then confronts the need to consume more and more of the same things, at the risk of finding our souls bruised and our dreams shattered.

This translation and workshop is made possible by a grant from Canada Council for the Arts.  This project is produced with the co-operation of the UBCP/ACTRA.

CENTRE D’ACHATS by Emmanuelle Jimenez; une création du Théâtre de la Marée Haute in co-production with le Centre du Théâtre d’Aujourd’hui. Photo by Valerie Remise

Meet our Playwright & Translator

About the playwright

Emmanuelle Jimenez

Emmanuelle Jimenez (she, her, hers) trained in performance at the Conservatoire d’art dramatique de Montréal. While continuing working as an actor, she devoted herself to writing. Her plays include Du vent entre les dents (Théâtre d’Aujourd’hui), Rêvez, montagnes! (Nouveau Théâtre Expérimental), Le dénominateur commun co-written with François Archambault (Théâtre Debout), Cendres (Des pieds des mains), and Bébés co-written with Alexis Martin (Nouveau Théâtre Expérimental). She’s led numerous cultural projects, including with La Maison Bleue in Côte-des-Neiges and the Montreal North Cultural and Community House. She was a member of the Board of Directors of the Festival du jamais Lu from 2003 to 2010 and has been a member of the AQAD Board of Directors since 2014.

About the translator

Johanna Nutter

Johanna Nutter (she, euro-settler, multidisciplinary artist) developed her passion for translation through acting: being one of few perfectly bilingual theatre artists, she played leading roles at Centaur (Good People, You Will Remember Me) and La Licorne (Les Événements). The attention of both circles came thanks to the success of her solo my pregnant brother/mon frère est enceinte, which she translated during a residency in Tadoussac, accompanied by Linda Gaboriau. The show toured across Canada and Quebec in both languages, and to the UK and Belgium. Subsequently, she translated the works of Annick Lefebvre (Barbed Wire), Guillaume Corbeil (You’ll Go Looking for Her), and Florence Longpré & Nicolas Michon’s ballet-theatre hybrid CHLORINE, which she also produced and directed at Centaur, with her company creature/creature.

Meet the workshop team

Deena Aziz (she, her, hers)

Based in Montreal and Pittsburgh (and any place with stable wifi), Deena is an actor, dramaturge and industry advocate in theatre and film. She has “followed the work” across Canada, in the US, and internationally, but these days, like many, she’s been sticking close to home.

CARMINA BERNHARDT (SHE, HER, HERS)

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.

Lally Cadeau (SHE, HER, HERS)

I had a glorious almost 50 year run as a pretty constantly employed actress. Lovely people and fond memories.

LUCIA FRANGIONE (SHE, HER, HERS)

Lucia Frangione is an award winning actor and internationally produced playwright from Vancouver. Favourite roles include Annie in Misery for the Arts Club, Rosa in Espresso for The Belfry and Estelle in No Exit for the Electric Theatre Co/Virtual Stage. www.LuciaFrangione.com

CHRISTINE QUINTANA (SHE, HER, HERS)

Christine is an actor, playwright, and co-artistic director of Delinquent Theatre, based on unceded Coast Salish Territory. www.christinequintana.ca

Suzanne Ristic (she, her, hers)

Suzanne has been a performing artist for over forty years. She is a recipient of the Jessie Richardson award for outstanding actress, 1988, in Danny and the Deep Blue Sea. She wrote and produced her first play Poor and is presently in development of a new play: Driving Me Crazy with co-writer Linda Carson, slated for production next year.

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

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. www.jackpatersontheatre.com

About our Partners

About TOUCHSTONE THEATRE

For over 42 years Touchstone Theatre has been a mainstay of theatrical innovation and excellence on the West Coast. The company’s all-Canadian mandate has helped develop and launch some of the country’s most important playwrights and actors, and its substantial body of work has garnered over 75 local and national awards. Now in its fifth decade of production Touchstone remains a lightning rod of theatrical activity. Its purely Canadian focus makes it essential in the region, and its reputation for excellence has earned the respect of audiences, critics, and colleagues.  Touchstone Theatre

About The PHT Creative Hub
Co-operative

The PHT Creative Hub Co-operative has transformed how we collaborate and share performing arts with our communities. Co-op artist members from across performance disciplines fill our spaces, work on their own creative projects, and share their skills and expertise with each other. The PHT Creative Hub Co-operative

 

Francophone Canadian Theatre Resources

About Centre des auteurs dramatique

An association of authors serving authors, CEAD is a centre for the support, promotion and dissemination of French-language dramaturgy here. It occupies a unique place both in terms of the number of authors it brings together and the objectives of quality and innovation it pursues. www.cead.qc.ca

About Playwrights’ Workshop Montreal

Playwrights’ Workshop Montréal is a new creation development centre. PWM gives artists the opportunity to create and experiment, dream and take risks, fail and try again. Our dynamic collaborative process draws on our team’s unique expertise and is tailored to the artist’s individual needs. At PWM, playwrights, dramaturgs, translators, directors, performance artists, and theatre companies across the country find a creative accomplice willing to invest deeply in the development of meaningful work. www.playwrights.ca

About Théâtre la Seizième

Founded in 1974, Théâtre la Seizième is the main French language, professional theatre company in British Columbia. Since its creation, la Seizième contributes to the richness and diversity of the performing arts through its activities in new play development, production, presentation, and touring in French. Through powerful experiences that reflect the very best of francophone performing arts, from here and elsewhere, our company aims to inspire, enrich, and bring together diverse audiences. www.seizieme.ca

Special

Thank You

Land Acknowledgement

Bouche’s activities take place on and are launched from the unceded traditional territories of the Coast Salish People: the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations. We recognize and honour the recommendations from the Truth and Reconciliation commission and acknowledge the importance of Indigenous sovereignty on this unceded territory.

*A territorial or land acknowledgement is an act of reconciliation that involves making a statement recognizing the traditional territory of the Indigenous people who called the land home before the arrival of settlers, and in many cases still do call it home.
For more information on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada click here.

Western Gold: The Ballad of Georges Boivin

Western Gold: The Ballad of Georges Boivin

WESTERN GOLD:
THE BALLAD OF GEORGES BOIVIN

By Martin Bellemare | Translated by Jack Paterson
Western Gold Theatre – Virtual Gold

 

Western Gold Theatre

in association with Bouche Theatre Collective
& The Canadian Play Thing

Virtual Gold

Western Gold presents a series of FREE online presentations, podcasts, and creative workshops to help keep you engaged and entertained during these challenging times.

Click here for Western Gold Theatre’s most recent Virtual Gold offerings!

FREE EVENT

DATE

Sunday, August 29, 2021

TIME

PT: 2 PM
MT: 3 PM
CT: 4 PM
ET: 5 PM
AT: 6PM

RUNNING TIME

1 hr 20 mins with talk back to follow

Western Gold Theatre

In association with Bouche Theare Collective
& The Canadian Play Thing

WESTERN GOLD:
THE BALLAD OF GEORGES BOIVIN

By Martin Bellemare | Translated by Jack Paterson with Johanna Nutter
Translated from LE CHANT DE GEORGES BOIVIN (Quebec, Canada)

Featuring Paul Beckett, Jay Brazeau, John Innes and Allan Morgan
Translation Dramaturgy by Johanna Nutter.

“…a theatrical road-movie brimming with vulnerability…the play destroys any prejudice that older people are devoid of passionate. Even after great loss, love is possible.” – Alix Forgeot, L-Express.ca

“Admirably well-constructed, Le chant de Georges Boivin intimately reveals the experiences of an elderly person with great finesse and delicacy.” – Jury of Prix Gratien-Gélinas 2009

At 77, Georges Boivin “gives the dice a roll”. Georges just lost his wife, you see, the “centre of his universe”. He’s terrified “he’s no longer exists for anyone”. But there is life after 70 and it must continue even after great loss. With his three friends, all the same age as he, he sets out on road trip from Québec to Vancouver, in search of his first love who he hasn’t seen in 50 years.

Join us after the reading for a conversation with the playwright and translator.

This translation and workshop were made possible by grants from Canada Council for the Arts. Artists appear courtesy of Canadian Actors’ Equity Association under the Dance Opera Theatre Agreement.  This  project is produced with the co-operation of the UBCP/ACTRA.

Le chant de Georges Boivin featuring legendary québécois actor Pierre Collin.
Directed Mario Borges and produced by Les productions Kléos (2012-2015).

Georges Boivin’s Journey 

“Le Chant de Georges Boivin is a precious gift. A “beautiful adventure” for a senior artist…” – Isabelle Houde, Le Soleil

LE CHANT DE GEORGES BOIVIN has been presented at Théâtre du Rideau vert (Montréal, 2010), Théâtre de la Huchette (Paris, 2011), and la Maison-des-Arts (Laval, 2011) with Théâtre Bluff.

2013/14, a production directed by Mario Borges and featuring well known francophone actor Pierre Collin (above), was seen across Quebec and francophone communities across Canada from Community and Senior Centres to the National Arts Centre (Ottawa).

Meet our Playwrights & Translator

About the playwright

Martin Bellemare

(He, Him, His)

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 premiered at the Francophonies in Limoges. The latter play was scheduled for a Montreal production in 2020. Martin was one of the five playwrights nominated for Canada’s leading theatre awarsd the 2020 Siminovitch Prize.

About the translator

Jack Paterson

(He, Him, His)

Jack Paterson is a Vancouver director, devisor, dramaturge, translator, and creative producer whose practice has taken him across Canada, UK and around the world. Projects have ranged from contemporary devising, cross-cultural, multilingual, and multi-disciplinary experiences, new creations, text and translations development to main stage and classical theatre in post drama and contemporary forms. Jack trained at leading international institutions including Circle in Square (NYC, USA), GITIS The University of Performing Arts (Moscow, RU), The Indonesian Institute of the Performing Arts (Denpasar, IND) and received his MFA in Theatre Direction from the renowned East 15 Acting School & The University of Essex (London, UK). He is a recipient of “The Ray Michal Award for Outstanding Body of Work”, “The Cole Foundation Award for Emerging Translators” and “The John Moffat & Larry Lillo Award for Outstanding West Coast Artist”. www.JackPatersonTheatre.com

Meet the workshop team

Paul Beckett (He, Him, his)

Paul Beckett has been out of the theatre scene due in a large part to the pandemic. But over this time, Paul has been finding his way with writing. Please keep your eyes peeled and your ears open for he and his partner’s one-act play “The Village Girl and the Frog King”, which will be airing are a radio production on Vancouver Co-operative Radio, CFRO. The play which probably brought Paul his greatest attention was a one-man show solo piece about the late 19th century Parisian artist, Henri de Toulouse Lautrec. That had to be about thirty years ago. Currently, he is working under CAEA contract to workshop the translation of Quebec writer Martin Bellemare’s piece about 4 men, seniors, driving from Montreal to Vancouver in search of a long-lost love.

Jay Brazeau (He, Him, HIS)

Jay Brazeau has been featured in dozens of films and many more TV series and specials, best known for his role as Sam Fisher in Cold Squad, as Harlan in Stargate SG-1, and for voicing Uncle Quigley in Sabrina: The Animated Series, and as Bobby in Double Jeopardy, as Referee in the Air Bud Films, and his film role in We’re No Angels. A busy stage actor, credits include Duddy and Brighton Beach Memoirs (The Citadel), Moonlight and Magnolias and Other People’s Money (Vancouver Playhouse); Urinetown (Firehall Arts Centre); Hairspray (Mirvish), ); The Producers (Arts Club Theatre); Fiddler on the Roof (The Rubicon Theatre, California) and “Man in chair” in the Drowsy Chaperone (National Arts Centre).

Allan Morgan (He, Him, HIS)

Allan Morgan has been a professional actor for more than 30 years, with his home in Vancouver. He is currently one of the artists in residence at the Massey theatre in New Westminster. Allan’s acting work has taken him across the country, and he has been the recipient of numerous awards for his work. He has also written two one-person shows: Pride for the Young Gay, the Un-Gay and the Jaded Queen in All of Us, as well as, I Walked the Line.

John Innes (He, Him, HIS)

John Innes was an early graduate of the National Theatre School (’67). He has performed in every major regional theatre in Canada, including 12 seasons with the Stratford Shakespeare Festival where he received a Tyrone Guthrie Award twice. He has also performed in regional theatres in the United States including 3 seasons with the Denver Center Theatre Company. In all, he has been a working actor for over 55 years.

Dramaturg: Johanna Nutter (Elle, She, Her, Hers)

Johanna Nutter is artistic director of creature/creature, a polymorphic company born of Nutter’s passion for blurring lines between established divisions. Her work has toured extensively throughout her home province of Quebec, across Canada and internationally, in both English and French, to such venues as Soho Theatre (London), The Pleasance (Edinburgh), Les Halles (Brussels), and La Licorne (Montreal). She won the PWM/Cole Emerging Translator award and brought CHLORINE (Longpré & Michon), which produced and directed at The Centaur (Brave New Looks 2016). She is currently working on texts by Annick Lefèbvre, Guillaume Corbeil, and Étienne Lepage.

AGEING IN THE ARTS CO-ORDINATOR : DR. JULIA HENDERSON (SHE, HER, HERS)

Julia Henderson has a PhD in Theatre Studies from the University of British Columbia; her disserta-tion explored how theatre and performance practices contribute to cultural constructions of aging and old age in contemporary North American theatre. She is now a SSHRC-funded Postdoctoral Fellow with Concordia University where her research focuses on the Imagination Network of Gibsons’ Raising the Curtain project, a community-engaged initiative that involves collaborative creation with people with the lived experience of dementia. Julia’s research on dramaturgies of age offers insights on how dramatic structure, design, staging, performance style, and marketing might influence understandings of ages across the life course. She is Vice Chair of the North American Network in Aging Studies and on the Governing Board of Concordia University’s Ageing + Communication + Technologies Project. Her work on ageing and theatre has been published in Theatre Research in Canada, The Journal of American Drama and Theatre, Theatre Journal, Canadian Theatre Review, Age, Culture, Humanities, RIDE: The Journal of Applied Theatre and Performance, and the Thornton Wilder Journal. Recently, Julia has guest-edited an upcoming issue of Theatre Research in Canada titled “Age and Performance: Expanding Intersectionality”— the first to address the topic of age.

Assistant Director: Hannah Siden (SHE, HER, HERS)

Hannah is a filmmaker, writer, actor, and yoga teacher. She is currently based in Vancouver, BC.  Most recently, she wrote and directed the short film Breathing Easy over Zoom, featuring Arts Club regulars Agnes Tong and Anita Wittenberg. She also directed, produced, and co-edited a music video for singer-songwriter David Beckingham in collaboration with Ballet BC, Plastic Wings. Her latest short screenplay, Tumbling, is a Semi-Finalist at the 2021 HollyShorts Screenplay Contest.  She holds a BA in International Development Studies from McGill University, an MA in Acting from East 15 Acting School, and a postgraduate filmmaking diploma from the London Film Academy. She also holds a 200hr yoga teaching certification from Semperviva Yoga. www.hannahsiden.com

* Artists appear courtesy of Canadian Actors’ Equity Association under the Dance Opera Theatre Agreement and the UBCP/ACTRA ULB Agreement.

About our Partners

About Western Gold Theatre

Western Gold Theatre is the premier company in the country focused on sharing and celebrating the talents of senior professional theatre artists (age 55+). Western Gold also mentors emerging younger professional artists as they ‘share the boards’ with us. We are a vibrant creative gathering place for artists and audiences, young and old. www.westerngoldtheatre.org

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

Resources: Francophone Canadian Theatre

About Centre des auteurs dramatique

An association of authors serving authors, CEAD is a centre for the support, promotion and dissemination of French-language dramaturgy here. It occupies a unique place both in terms of the number of authors it brings together and the objectives of quality and innovation it pursues. www.cead.qc.ca

About Playwrights’ Workshop Montreal

Playwrights’ Workshop Montréal is a new creation development centre. PWM gives artists the opportunity to create and experiment, dream and take risks, fail and try again. Our dynamic collaborative process draws on our team’s unique expertise and is tailored to the artist’s individual needs. At PWM, playwrights, dramaturgs, translators, directors, performance artists, and theatre companies across the country find a creative accomplice willing to invest deeply in the development of meaningful work. www.playwrights.ca

Special

Thank You

A Glimpse into New Translation: Facelift

A Glimpse into New Translation: Facelift

Facelift

By Nathalie Boisvert | Translated by Johanna Nutter

A DIFFERENT LANGUAGE IS A DIFFERENT VISION OF LIFE

A glimpse into
new translation

Join us online for our English language new translation development workshop series.

Discover the leading new works of francophone Canadian theatre, meet the playwrights and their translators, and play a part in the new translation process.

FREE EVENT

DATE

Sunday July 18, 2021

TIME

PT (Vancouver): 12PM
MT (Calgary): 1PM
CT (Regina): 2PM
ET (Montreal): 3PM
AT (Halifax): 4PM
GMT (London UK): 20:00 hrs
CET (Berlin EU): 21:00 hrs

RUNNING TIME

2 hrs including Intermission and conversation with the playwright

In Association with The Canadian Play Thing, PHT Creative Hub Co-operative,  Ruby Slippers Theatre & Théâtre la Seizième

FACELIFT

By Nathalie Boisvert | Translated by Johanna Nutter
Translated from FACELIFT (Quebec, Canada)

Featuring Nimet Kanji, Lisa C. Ravensbergen and Gwynyth Walsh
Q&A moderated by Catherine Ballachey

A woman in her fifties leads us in a makeup tutorial: first the foundation, then the eyes and finally the mouth… As she constructs the perfect face, she shares with us the secrets of successful make-up, her thoughts on the necessity of this camouflage, the dangers of age, loneliness and failure. As she drifts away from the female ideal, she enters into a dialogue with Nelly Arcan and Simone de Beauvoir. The activity of daily make-up turns into a examination a woman’s life, questioning the relationship between women and beauty, seduction, ageing and the subject of women’s freedom in the face of social diktats.

A brand new work, Facelift was featured at TEAMTHEATER TANKSTELLE e.V (Munich) and TeamTheatreGlobal:Quebec 2019

This translation and workshop is made possible by a grant from Canada Council for the Arts.  This project is produced with the co-operation of the UBCP/ACTRA.

Meet our Playwright & Translator

About the playwright

Nathalie Boisvert

Nathalie Boisvert (she, her, hers) holds a bachelor’s degree in acting and a master’s degree in drama from the University of Quebec in Montreal (1993). In 1997, her first play, The Sordid Story of Conrad B., was performed at the Festival ide Spa (Belgium), remounted in Brussels and translated into English by Bobby Theodore. In 1999, her work, L’été des Martiens (Lansman) premiered simultaneously in Quebec (Théâtre Niveau Parking) and France (La Comédie de la Mandoune) and again produced simultaneously in 2006 in Dusseldorf (Landstheatre) and Berlin (Grips) in German translation by Frank Heibert. Translated into English by Bobby Theodore, it was also produced in 2002 by Theatre Direct (Toronto). In 2006, her play Vie et Mort d’un village, received lauréate des Journées de Lyon (Éditions Comp’Act) and she received le Prix Gratien-Gélinas in 2007 for Buffet chinois. Her Antigone au printemps was a finalist for the 2018 Governor General’s Award French Language Drama and received the Prix Émile-Augier.

About the translator

Johanna Nutter

Johanna Nutter (she, euro-settler, multidisciplinary artist) developed her passion for translation through acting: being one of few perfectly bilingual theatre artists, she played leading roles at Centaur (Good People, You Will Remember Me) and La Licorne (Les Événements). The attention of both circles came thanks to the success of her solo my pregnant brother/mon frère est enceinte, which she translated during a residency in Tadoussac, accompanied by Linda Gaboriau. The show toured across Canada and Quebec in both languages, and to the UK and Belgium. Subsequently, she translated the works of Annick Lefebvre (Barbed Wire), Guillaume Corbeil (You’ll Go Looking for Her), and Florence Longpré & Nicolas Michon’s ballet-theatre hybrid CHLORINE, which she also produced and directed at Centaur, with her company creature/creature.

Meet the workshop team

Nimet Kanji (She, her, hers)

Nimet is an award winning Theatre and TV/Film actor and has had the pleasure of working with Edward James Olmos (Battlestar Galactica), Kevin Sorbo (Paradox) and John Cusack (Martian Child) amongst other notable names. Her theatre credits include ‘Sultans of the Street’ (Carousel Theatre), ‘9 Parts of Desire’ (The Maggie Tree) and ‘Victim Impact’ (Theatre Conspiracy).

Lisa C. Ravensbergen (She, Her, Hers)

A tawny mix of Ojibwe/Swampy Cree and English/Irish, Lisa is an award-winning, multi-hyphenate theatre artist and emerging scholar. Her work is rooted in Indigenous protocol, ontologies, and decolonial methodologies and is recognized nationally and internationally for its rigour and artistic excellence. Lisa resides on unceded Coast Salish territory. lisacr.com

Gwynyth Walsh (She, Her, Hers)

Well versed on stage and screen, Gwynyth is happy to be working with Jack Paterson again. Screen credits include Virgin River, Man in the High Castle and Black Summer. Stage credits include The Tempest ( with Jack! ), Mary Stuart, King Charles III, and Barefoot in the Park.

Guest Dramaturg: Diane Brown (She, Her, Hers)

Diane is a multi award-winning director, actor, and Artistic Director of Ruby Slippers Theatre (RST). In 2017, she received the prestigious Bra D’Or Award from Playwrights Guild of Canada and was a 2018 Nominee for the Women of Distinction Awards, in recognition of her years of empowering the voices of diverse female-identifying artists. She and RST earned the reputation as Vancouver’s finest producers of crucial Quebec works in English, translations commissioned by RST. Diane has a BFA from SFU and an MFA in Directing from UBC.

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. www.jackpatersontheatre.com

About our Partners

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 The PHT Creative Hub
Co-operative

The PHT Creative Hub Co-operative has transformed how we collaborate and share performing arts with our communities. Co-op artist members from across performance disciplines fill our spaces, work on their own creative projects, and share their skills and expertise with each other. The PHT Creative Hub Co-operative

 

About Ruby Slippers Theatre

Ruby Slippers Theatre imagines a world where diversity is celebrated through a deeper understanding of each other. www.rubyslippers.ca

Francophone Canadian Theatre Resources

About Centre des auteurs dramatique

An association of authors serving authors, CEAD is a centre for the support, promotion and dissemination of French-language dramaturgy here. It occupies a unique place both in terms of the number of authors it brings together and the objectives of quality and innovation it pursues. www.cead.qc.ca

About Playwrights’ Workshop Montreal

Playwrights’ Workshop Montréal is a new creation development centre. PWM gives artists the opportunity to create and experiment, dream and take risks, fail and try again. Our dynamic collaborative process draws on our team’s unique expertise and is tailored to the artist’s individual needs. At PWM, playwrights, dramaturgs, translators, directors, performance artists, and theatre companies across the country find a creative accomplice willing to invest deeply in the development of meaningful work. www.playwrights.ca

About Théâtre la Seizième

Founded in 1974, Théâtre la Seizième is the main French language, professional theatre company in British Columbia. Since its creation, la Seizième contributes to the richness and diversity of the performing arts through its activities in new play development, production, presentation, and touring in French. Through powerful experiences that reflect the very best of francophone performing arts, from here and elsewhere, our company aims to inspire, enrich, and bring together diverse audiences. www.seizieme.ca

Special

Thank You

Land Acknowledgement

Bouche’s activities take place on and are launched from the unceded traditional territories of the Coast Salish People: the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations. We recognize and honour the recommendations from the Truth and Reconciliation commission and acknowledge the importance of Indigenous sovereignty on this unceded territory.

*A territorial or land acknowledgement is an act of reconciliation that involves making a statement recognizing the traditional territory of the Indigenous people who called the land home before the arrival of settlers, and in many cases still do call it home.
For more information on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada click here.