Anne-Marie Ouellet: The original project was about White Out. Thomas and I were looking for a way to explore the novel La Maladie de la Mort by Marguerite Duras.
Nancy Bussières: Me, I was coming back from three months in the north of Scandinavia, north of the polar circle, and I was very inhabited by the infinite landscapes and this very diffuse white light. It was a very contemplative vision.
A.-M. O.: Nancy showed us a work by the artist James Turrell which corresponded well to the atmosphere of the novel, when the man realizes that his love has disappeared and he falls into a great empty. The White Out of the title symbolizes the inner storm that lives in us when the landmarks of our personal lives crumble, especially during times of mourning, depression or disorganization.
N.B.: White Out is anything but an illustration; it is an evocation. From the point of view of lighting, there are many hallucinated scenes, where what is seen does not correspond to reality. It plunges us into a state of introspection. We have developed video tools to bring out the light. It comes like a wave; one has the impression that the sea enters the room. There is the smoke and the mist which add to this atmosphere of loss of bearings.
Thomas Sinou: For sound work, my goal is to cross all boundaries. I juxtaposed the interior sounds, picked up by small microphones hidden on the stage, with exterior sounds like the sound of the wind or the sea. The whole thing is musicalized to become a dramatic landscape. Little noises get so loud you can feel them!
A.-M. O: In this way, we seek to destabilize the spectator, to shake his body to provoke another way of listening. To create an opening through every pore of her skin!
A.-M. O: In White Out, seven performers are children aged 8 to 14. Their arrival brings life back into space. With them, the space is transformed, the room becomes inhabited. We were interested in thinking about what is on the other side of emptiness and loss… During the creative workshops, the children arrived with very rich proposals, but too colorful for White Out. With The Children’s Room, we wanted to give them more space, explore their imagination. Their games are amplified by sound and light. We are in a tale with few words, where we are carried by the presence of these children.
A.-M.O.: Yes. Non-actors have not learned to save face, to watch themselves play. They arrive with greater naivety. We adopt several strategies to keep them listening without them becoming little soldiers who do what we ask of them. In theatre, I like to feel that not everything is planned or controlled. Otherwise it’s too smooth. It frightens me !
T. S: Since the founding of the company in 2008, it’s the one we’ve spent the most time on. The whole show is a performance.
N.B.: Previous shows have also allowed us to develop a light control tool that allows us to interact with the characters, to better dialogue the performance.
A.-M. O.: We worked a lot on the images and their rhythm. The show has previously performed at the National Arts Center in Ottawa and Le Carrousel in Quebec City; reviewers have pointed out that one rarely sees such a fine and refined relationship between the elements of game, light and sound. I say that because we spent a lot of time on this!
