Quebec theatres ready to welcome back live audiences
Posted February 3, 2022 5:40 pm.
Last Updated February 3, 2022 5:46 pm.
Quebec theatres will soon be able to welcome back audiences when they reopen on Feb. 7 – at half capacity, intermissions prohibited, and the vaccine passport must be adhered to.
They were part of the lockdown measures at the end of December to help slow the spread of Omicron in the province.
“It’s gonna be half capacity, then little by little it’s gonna become full,” said Marc-André Leclair, actor with Ensemble Theatre LGBTQIA2+.
“It’s depressing when you come into a theatre, now, but it’s also overwhelming, and it’s also very encouraging because you say, I’m gonna fill up this theatre now, because I’m gonna bring back the people, and were gonna make them love theatre again!”
Leonardo de Vinci Centre (CREDIT: Pamela Pagano)
Montreal director, Jean-François Quesnel, had many productions in the works before COVID-19 took centre stage – like ‘Hosanna,’ a play by French-Canadian writer Michel Tremblay. With it being composed of only two actors, the team says it was simple to keep practicing during the closures, but performing live was missed.
“It was a bit difficult that everything was closed […]. Not only for the artist, but for people you know, they have to keep the culture alive, especially Montreal, where it’s a place where you have a lot of artists,” explained Florent Deschênes, also an actor with Ensemble Theatre LGBTQIA2+.
Quesnel has also been directing a play with a big cast rehearsals, but the production had to be pushed back because of the virus, and now practicing over zoom wasn’t as easy as they thought it would be.
“It’s a 16 person play. With the fact that I’m playing four of these characters myself. Sometimes there’s a delay, and then you don’t know who is talking, and because sometimes you can’t see them, you don t know who’s giving the line back, so you’re a little bit miffed,” Charles Philippe Laurin, actor with Ensemble Theatre LGBTQIA2+. “It’s been really hard to adapt which is ironic because before the pandemic we thought it can’t be that hard turns out, yes it is.”
“The craft of an actor is difficult. The job of an actor is hard. Being an actor with restrictions is just a nightmare,” added Laurin.
(CREDIT: Charles Philippe Laurin, Actor, Ensemble Theatre LGBTQIA2+)
Now that restrictions are being eased for theatres, Laurin says he’s glad it will bring back the many people it takes to put together a play like the costume designers, makeup artists, stage managers and more and the Ensemble Theatre LGBTQIA2+ team is looking forward to getting back on stage and breaking down the fourth wall with a live audience.
“The costumes are already done, the scenery is already done. Everything is already done. It’s like ready to go. We’re like a box of ‘Goodfood’ honey, it’s already prepped, we just have to, like, do it!”
