RESUME PRESENTATION. Children 6 to 10 years old and adults. Duration: 50 minutes

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CAMILLE YIH-JUNE CHIA WITH LUDGER CÔTÉ, ÉMILIE LÉVESQUE, YI-LIN

1 Stormy Night 睡不著的夜晚 TEXT AND ILLUSTRATIONS : MICHÈLE LEMIEUX ADAPTATION AND DIRECTION : GERVAIS GAUDREAULT TRANSLATION : CAMILLE YIH-JUNE CHIA WITH LUDGER CÔTÉ, ÉMILIE LÉVESQUE, YI-LIN TSAI PREMIERED IN CHINESE DURING THE TAIPEI CHILDREN S ARTS FESTIVAL.

RESUME A little girl and her dog, on a stormy night. Questions spring up in her mind. Thoughts are born, take flight, come back to sting, bounce off the invisible walls of consciousness.

2 RESUME A little girl and her dog, on a stormy night. Questions spring up in her mind. Thoughts are born, take flight, come back to sting, bounce off the invisible walls of consciousness. In the deep of night, the child wonders about the meaning of life, ponders troubling questions, turns over the infinitely small and the infinitely large. The wind blows harder and harder, and then the storm explodes: fear of all sorts is admitted. And what if...? With humour, appropriateness, and subtlety, Stormy Night explores how thought is invaded by uncertainty, at an age when consciousness begins to intrude upon our carefree existence, never again to let go of us. Children 6 to 10 years old and adults Duration: 50 minutes PRESENTATION First published in Germany in 1996 as Gewitternacht, then translated into thirteen languages and published all over the world, and made into an animated film at the NFB in 2003, this short philosophical distillation has come alive, going from the drawing board to the stage. Through Stormy Night, the Quebec illustrator Michèle Lemieux immerses us in the private world of a little world who feels alone and defenceless at night... With this theatre project, Gervais Gaudreault takes the next step by giving life and movement to the fears and hopes of this child as she faces the darkness and the rumbling storm, as well as the existential questions that preoccupy, reminding us of our own vulnerability before the mystery that is life. 2

NOTE BY THE AUTHOR MICHÈLE LEMIEUX ABOUT HER BOOK STORMY NIGHT Philosophy is not the privilege of adults and scholars... I want to talk about life, imagination, dreams, fear.

3 NOTE BY THE AUTHOR MICHÈLE LEMIEUX ABOUT HER BOOK STORMY NIGHT Philosophy is not the privilege of adults and scholars... I want to talk about life, imagination, dreams, fear. And also about death that necessary theme of life that is, along with birth, the most important moment of our lives. For me, drawing is a form of writing, a direct form of transcription of emotions into a language of images. I like the abstraction of images images that must speak to a text. Thoughts, I think, are like sketches: they aren t definitive, but are constantly evolving in time and space. Nothing gives me more pleasure than to think that a child is sleeping with my book in his or her bed. I don t know what more I could want. 3

4 PRESS CLIPPING Lemieux s book is considered unique for a number of reasons. Its content is equally thought-provoking for a young adult, a grandmother or an 11-year-old-boy or girl. Indeed, it could be used as a course outline for Philosophy 101. [...] In fact, it is the most beautiful staging of a children s play I have witnessed in the 18 years I have covered children s theatre. With its delicate use of projected images (blown-up versions of Lemieux s sketches), brilliant lighting and sound design. Inventive creatures and fantastical costumes crafted to be inhabited and/or manipulated by Ludger Côté, I predict future design awards. Director Gervais Gaudreault surrounded himself with a fabulous creative team, translating Lemieux s sketches and words into an experience to forever be remembered. Kathryn Greenaway, The Gazette Le Carrousel s new production looks completely lovely. The direction, built around Michèle Lemieux s drawings projected on the stage, is skilful and clever, creating tableaux of great poetic beauty. Jean Siag, La Presse Director Gervais Gaudreault s idea of re-creating on stage the images from the book rather than those from the film is utterly appropriate. The set design is simple, consisting only of the bed of the young protagonist, played brilliantly by Émilie Lévesque. Little laughs, little fears: her voice is superb and her fears make us smile and laugh, softly and loud. A few creatures, manipulated or played by actor Ludger Côté, will be paying her a visit... Mr. Gaudreault experiments here with black and white, and thus totally respects the ambience of Michèle Lemieux s book.... Drawings taken from the book are projected in giant format on a translucent screen that separates the audience from the actress. The projections, created by Stéphane Longpré, and Dominique Gagnon s skilful lighting enable the little girl to appear in the middle of a field, in a sky sprinkled with clouds, in a forest without leaves or lightning bolts. Visually, the result is remarkable. A stormy night plunges the audience into the depths of a curious child s universal reflections and fears, and her fertile imagination, until the sun rises. Each question transports us into the shadows of a new tableau, a new sketch. Gervais Gaudreault s direction pays tribute to the book, in continuity with his most recent productions. David Lefebvre, MonThéâtre.qc.ca 4

5 TOURING HISTORY Premiered November 5th 2010 at Maison Théâtre (Montreal, Québec) In co-production with Muni Spec Mont-Laurier and Le Théâtre du Vieux-Terrebonne, in residence at Le Théâtre de la Ville de Longueuil In 2012, Premiered in Chinese in co-production with the Taipei Children s Arts Festival In 2013, Premiered in Spanish during the Festival Internacional 5 de Mayo, in Puebla In 2014, Premiered in Polish during the Korczak festival and the World Congress of ASSITEJ in Warsaw SEASON 103 PERFORMANCES IN QUEBEC : MONTRÉAL, MONT-LAURIER, TERREBONNE, QUÉBEC IN ONTARIO : OTTAWA IN FRANCE : MULHOUSE, THONON-LES-BAINS, ISLE D ABEAU, CHAMBÉRY, ÉPINAL, ARLES, ISTRES, VILLENEUVE-LÈS-MAGUELONE, NARBONNE SEASON 21 PERFORMANCES IN FRANCE : PARIS (TARMAC FESTIVAL ESCAPADES), VITRY-SUR-SEINE IN TAIWAN : TAPEI CHILDREN S ART FESTIVAL SEASON 29 PERFORMANCES IN QUEBEC : SHAWINIGAN, MONTRÉAL : MAISON DE LA CULTURE FRONTENAC AND ARRONDISSEMENTS DE LACHINE, RIVIÈRE DES PRAIRIES, MONTRÉAL-NORD ET OUTREMONT IN FRANCE : ORLÉANS, UZÈS, DÉCINES, VILLEFRANCHE-SUR-SAÔNE IN MEXICO : PUEBLA, SALTILLO, TORREÓN, MONTERREY, CULIACÁN, LOS MOCHIS SEASON 8 PERFORMANCES IN QUÉBEC : RIMOUSKI, MATANE, BAIE-COMEAU, SEPT-ÎLES, JONQUIÈRE IN POLAND : 18 TH ASSITEJ WORLD CONGRESS OF THEATRES FOR CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE, WARSAW 5

6 PUBLICATIONS Original edition in German : Gewitternacht, Weinheim, Germany, Beltz und Gelberg, 1996 Book club edition in German : Gewitternacht, Frankfurt, Büchergilde Gutenberg, 1996 Dutch edition : Nachgedachten, Rotterdam, Lemniscaat, 1996 Norwegian edition : Natt-tanker, Oslo, Gyldendal Tiden, 1996 French edition : Nuit d orage, Paris, Éditions du Seuil, 1996 Canadian and American edition : Stormy Night, Toronto, Kids Can Press, 1996 Australian edition : Stormy Night, Sydney, Silverfish, 1996 Danish edition : Jeg kan ikke sove!, Aahrus-Copenhagen, CDR Vorlag, 1996 Japanese edition : Tokyo, Kodansha, 1998 Chinese edition : Taipei, Ta-Tien Publishing, 1998 Korean edition : Seoul, BIR Publishing, 1998 Spanish edition : Noche de tormenta, Salamanca, Loguez ediciones Hebrew edition : Tel Aviv, Pikarski CREATIVE TEAM Text and illustrations : Michèle Lemieux Translation Camille Yih-June Chia Adaptation and direction : Gervais Gaudreault Assistant director : Milena Buziak / Ming-Chu Yu Cast : Ludger Côté, Émilie Lévesque, Yi-Lin Tsai Set, projections and props : Stéphane Longpré Costumes and props : Linda Brunelle Props assistant : Julie Vallée-Léger Lighting design : Dominique Gagnon Sound environment : Diane Labrosse Make-up : François Cyr Hair : Géraldine Courchesne Special collaboration, lighting design : Éric Gendron Production manager : Dominique Gagnon 6

Her illustrated books, translated into twenty languages, have earned numerous international awards, including the 1997 grand prize at the Bologna Book Fair, the most prestigious international award

7 MICHÈLE LEMIEUX THE AUTHOR Michèle Lemieux entered the world of illustration in the late 1970s. For five years, she worked in Germany, where she published her first books; she then returned to Montreal, where she has been a professor at UQAM s School of Design since Her illustrated books, translated into twenty languages, have earned numerous international awards, including the 1997 grand prize at the Bologna Book Fair, the most prestigious international award for children s literature. A number of Lemieux s books have been adapted for film and theatre. From 2000 to 2002, she worked on an animated film, based on her book Stormy Night, at the National Film Board of Canada. In 2004, this film has won a dozen international awards, including the Crystal Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival, the special jury award at the Hiroshima International Animation Festival, and the grand prize at the Kinder Film Fest in Tokyo. She has participated in numerous exhibitions in Europe, North America, South America, and Japan, and she is currently. GERVAIS GAUDREAULT THE DIRECTOR Founder and co-artistic director of Le Carrousel with Suzanne Lebeau, Gervais Gaudreault performed in the company s early productions. However, he was soon bitten by the directing bug. In the 1980s, he directed Une lune entre deux maisons, Le Carrousel s first show to tour internationally. Since then, he has directed most of the company s productions, including L Ogrelet, Petit Pierre (Technical Merit award from the Canadian Institute for Theatre Technology), and Le bruit des os qui craquent (critics award, theatre for young audiences category, from the Association québécoise des critiques de théâtre). In 2011, he directed Le bruit des os qui craquent in Spanish with the actors of the prestigious National Theatre Company of Mexico. He has thus become the principal architect of the unique artistic signature that has become Le Carrousel s calling card. During his career, Gervais Gaudreault has directed almost 30 plays, including a dozen productions in foreign languages (English, Spanish, Italian, Mandarin, and Polish). He is also invited to direct shows produced by other companies; his credits include Corneille s Le Cid at Théâtre du Trident, Je suis d un would be pays by François Godin at Théâtre d Aujourd hui, and Dissident, il va sans dire by Michel Vinaver for Les Tréteaux de Haute-Alsace de Mulhouse. Gervais Gaudreault taught vocal techniques in the Option-Théâtre program at Collège Lionel-Groulx from 1992 to 2001; from 1998 to 2003, he directed public readings at the National Theatre School of Canada. His expertise has earned him frequent invitations to France, Argentina, and Mexico. Currently, he is developing an international research and creation centre for theatre for theatre for children and youth: The Cube. Show photographs : François-Xavier Gaudreault. Other photographs : Wolfgang Noethlichs, François-Xavier Gaudreault. 7

8 THE COMPANY Convinced of the need for a true artistic encounter, Le Carrousel places at the core of its creative approach the question What should we say to children? and reflects deeply on artists self-censorship when dealing with young audiences. Supported by creative research that breaks through limits and boundaries, co-founders Suzanne Lebeau and Gervais Gaudreault used their passion to form a repertoire of original works that are considered, in Quebec and abroad, to be milestones in the history of theatre for young audiences. For more than 40 years, Le Carrousel has sought to tear down the walls between audiences and between practices, out of the conviction that theatre for children must also reach out to and even disturb adults. Today, Marie-Eve Huot defends this unique vision of childhood and art as she joins Gervais Gaudreault as the company s co-artistic director. This handover is a window opening to the future and will secure a tradition to be transcended so that the story continues and evolves. 79 INTERNATIONAL TOURS 26 PREMIERES 84 INTERNATIONAL FESTIVALS MORE THAN4 500 PERFORMANCES AUDIENCE MEMBERS REPERTOIRE TRANSLATED INTO 23 LANGUAGES MORE THAN 55 PUBLICATIONS AROUND THE WORLD Le Carrousel and its team Artistic Directors Gervais Gaudreault, Marie-Eve Huot Associate Artist Suzanne Lebeau Executive Director Ginette Prévost Administrator Nathalie Ménard Technical Director Dominique Gagnon Technical Director Assistant Nicolas Fortin Manager, Outreach and Development Fanny Oberti Communications and Tour logistics Ludger Côté Administrative Assistant Maude Desrosiers 2017, Parthenais Street, Montreal, Quebec, H2K 3T1, Canada Phone number: (514) Fax: (514) theatre@lecarrousel.net Web site: 8

9 THEATROGRAPHY OF LE CARROUSEL By Suzanne Lebeau 2016 TROIS PETITES SŒURS 2014 CHAÎNE DE MONTAGE 2013 GRETEL AND HANSEL 2012 A MOON BETWEEN TWO HOUSES 2009 THE SOUND OF CRACKING BONES 2006 SHOES OF SAND 2002 PETIT PIERRE 1997 THE OGRELING 1994 SALVADOR 1993 TALES OF REAL CHILDREN 1991 A TALE OF DAY AND NIGHT 1989 COMMENT VIVRE PARMI LES HOMMES QUAND ON EST UN GÉANT 1987 GIL, d après Quand j avais 5 ans je m ai tué 1984 HOPSCOTCH 1982 LITTLE VICTORIES 1979 A MOON BETWEEN TWO HOUSES 1978 PETITE VILLE DEVIENDRA GRANDE 1977 LA CHANSON IMPROVISÉE CHUT! CHUT! PAS SI FORT! 1976 LE JARDIN QUI S ANIME 1975 TI-JEAN VOUDRAIT BEN S MARIER MAIS... By Martin Bellemare 2016 DES PIEDS ET DES MAINS une collaboration avec le Théâtre Ébouriffé By Michèle Lemieux 2010 STORMY NIGHT By Geneviève Billette 2005 THE LAND OF KNEES By Dominick Pareauteau-Lebeuf 1999 L AUTOROUTE By Normand Chaurette 1996 PETIT NAVIRE By Hélène Lasnier M106 AWARDS - Prix Collidram (France, 2010); Prix Sony Labou Tansi des Lycéens (France, 2009); Prix des Journées de Lyon des auteurs de théâtre (France 2007) and Distinction de la Comédie-Française (France, 2008); Le bruit des os qui craquent; - Prix littéraire de la citoyenneté du département de Maine et Loire, (France, 2002); Salvador; - Masque awards for original text and lighting design, Académie québécoise du Théâtre (2000); L'Ogrelet; - The Assemblée internationale des parlementaires de langue française made Suzanne Lebeau a Knight of the Order of the Pleiades for her body of work (1998); - Prix Francophonie Jeunesse (1994) (Radio France Internationale/Francophonies Théâtrales pour la Jeunesse); Salvador; - Theatre grand prize, Journal de Montréal (1991); Conte du jour et de la nuit; - Chalmers Children's Play Award; Les Petits Pouvoirs/ Little Victories (1985). 9

This end carries us forward, breathes life and its changes. Today is a promise.

This end carries us forward, breathes life and its changes. Today is a promise. 2015 2016 2015 END. This is my last time writing the season s editorial. This is what I wanted. This is what I was permitted. END. It s a small word, just three letters. Yet it goes in all directions.