At Espace Libre, another millennial, Félix-Antoine Boutin, recently joined to take charge of the artistic destiny of the theater. Anyone who likes to shake up theatrical forms has found the right fit in this place dedicated to experimentation since its creation.
“This place is inhabited by ghosts,” Félix-Antoine Boutin immediately tells us as he welcomes us into the employee kitchenette. No need to ask who haunts the Fullum Street theater: the evidence is before our eyes. A photocopied portrait of Robert Gravel is taped to a wall. Jean-Pierre Ronfard’s ashes are prominently placed, a reminder of the 20th anniversary of the director’s death, which coincided with the day of our interview.
And these ghosts of two of the eight founders of Espace Libre are not too heavy for the new artistic director to bear? “No, they’re nice ghosts! I feel a kinship with them, even if I didn’t know them. »
Like his predecessors, Félix-Antoine Boutin likes to question his theatrical practice. The actor, author, director and founder of the company Création dans la salle presented several projects from one end of the metropolis to the other before landing at the head of Espace Libre. “For me, each show in front of an audience constitutes a research laboratory for the next show,” says the one who needs to meet the other in order to move forward, to “move internally”.
This impulse towards others is one of the driving forces that drives his directorship at Espace Libre. “I come from a creative background. I like things to be done horizontally. This does not mean that responsibility is diffused among all the people working on a project. Someone has to make the decisions. But in my opinion, when people feel that they are part of the project, they are more involved than if they are simple performers. I arrived at Espace Libre with this approach of discussion and mutual trust. It really matters to me. »
“I have the impression that my generation works a lot like this, in a community spirit,” continues Félix-Antoine Boutin. I also see it in the new directors of Prospero, Quat’sous, Espace Go… I think that a cultural change has begun in the theater sector with the arrival of all these new faces. »
Faced with the difficulties currently experienced by the sector, particularly in terms of funds granted by the various arts councils, several theater managements have decided to join forces. “We want to pool our resources, try to make joint communications, discuss our successes. We stick together. There are things to invent together. »
He adds: “We are no longer from the generation of pioneers, like those who preceded us. The world has changed; it is more framed, more structured. Every day, a new little box is added to fill in…”
Obviously, these boxes which multiply on grant applications annoy him… “We are asked to be more Catholic than the Pope in terms of diversity, eco-responsibility, indigenousness, accessibility for disabled people… We are all for it, but when it becomes a system, when we are paternalized in every matter, it puts pressure that helps no one.
In short, the challenges awaiting millennials at the helm of theaters are numerous. “Our generation finds itself taking care of built heritage,” says Félix-Antoine Boutin. We can’t raze everything and start from scratch. There is also an incredible mass of artists to engage in Quebec. We are one of the world’s territories where there are the most artistic offerings per inhabitant! It’s a great challenge, but you have to give yourself the means to meet it. We don’t make all these efforts for ourselves, but for the public. »