As a translator just starting out, I felt very privileged to be part of the Tadoussac 2002 residency. I had worked with Linda Gaboriau once before (in Banff the previous spring) and was very much looking forward to the experience again. I was also eager to speak at greater length with Sébastien about the play he had written and that I was in the process of translating.

One of the first things I wanted to do was to have Sébastien read the play aloud: Linda had suggested this to me before, and with good reason. Having access to the play as it sounded in his head helped confirm certain choices I had made or should consider making (in terms of tone, levels of language, etc.).

I had a first wave of questions after that reading, and then I took the next few days to do a thorough line-by-line comparison of my rough draft with the original script and to play with multiple possibilities. At the same time, Sébastien read the rough draft and came back to me with comments of his own which I added to the mix.

By the time I started my sessions with Linda, I had done a good deal of filtering and sifting. My pages were a mess of highlighting and scribbles. We spent the next few days going through the play, page by page, me saying I’m not so sure about this passage or Linda saying, now this sounds a little off here. The thing that amazes me the most about Linda, besides her considerable talent and her extraordinary sense of what constitutes a good choice, is how at one she is with the process: there’s a lot about it that’s tedious, and yet she never shows the slightest hint of impatience. She is immensely available to the process which makes working with her all the richer.

By the time I left Tadoussac, I was very near a solid second draft. I am grateful to Linda for her insights, to Bill for his warm welcome and infinite generosity, to Playwrights’ Workshop for their administrative support, vision and commitment to the process. And to the other participants with whom I shared meals, walks, discussions, soccer games, alcohol, and, oh yes, the occasional spat.

It was worth it.

Crystal Béliveau
Tadoussac Translation Colony 2002