Cole Foundation Mentorship for Emerging Translators

Rhiannon Collett

Rhiannon Collett (they/them) is an award-winning non-binary playwright, performer, director and translator based in Montreal and Toronto. Their work explores the ritualization of grief, gender performativity, queer/trans identity and the psychological effects of sexual objectification.

Selected playwriting credits include Miranda & Dave Begin Again / Miranda et Dave recommencent encore(2016 Playwrights Guild of Canada RBC Emerging Playwright Award, presented in French at the 2019 Festival du Jamais Lu, and the 2020 Festival les Petites Formes, Martinique); Wasp (commissioned by Nightswimming, presented at the 2019 Rhubarb Festival, and developed at the Stratford Festival Lab), The Kissing Game (commissioned by Youtheatre and Young People’s Theatre, developed at the 2018 Banff Playwrights Lab, produced by Youtheatre, awarded the META for Outstanding New Text 2019); Tragic Queens (commissioned and devised with CABAL Theatre/Wildside Festival 2018); There Are No Rats in Alberta (created as a part of the 2017-18 Buddies in Bad Times Emerging Creators Unit, presented at the Rhubarb Festival 2018 ), and the English language translation of Chienne(s) by Marie-Eve Milot and Marie-Claude St-Laurent (in development with BoucheWHACKED! Theatre Collective). Rhiannon’s work is funded by the Toronto
Arts Council, the Canada Council for the Arts and the Ontario Arts Council.

Rhiannon was a guest artist at the LungA festival in Seyðisfjörður, Iceland and artist-in-residence at the Mauser Eco House in Costa Rica. They are a graduate of Generator’s Performance Criticism Training Program, Buddies in Bad Times Emerging Creators Unit, Playwrights’ Workshop Montreal’s Young Creators Unit and Black Theatre Workshop’s Artist Mentorship Program.

Rhiannon is a settler in Toronto, on the traditional territories of the Mississaugas of the New Credit First Nation, the Huron-Wendat and the Haudenosaunee peoples, and in Tiohtià:ke (Montreal), on the traditional, un-ceded territory of the Kanien’kehá:ka people.

The translation

Ces regards amoureux de garçons altérés

“In a gay bathhouse in Montreal, a tiny room becomes one man’s confessional. Drugged to the bone, he’s locked himself away for 60 hours, forever. His body is no longer his own, and his words, fuelled by crystal meth, are relentless. Amidst the chaos, he tells us – as best he can – of the last few years, of the last few hours. In the black hole of romantic grief, his head full and his heart broken, he struggles with his desire to disappear.”

Rhiannon Collett was working on “The Loving Gaze of Lost Boys”, their English translation of “Ces regards amoureux de garçons altérés, with translation dramaturg Maureen Labonté and playwright Éric Noël. With Eric in the room, Rhiannon was supported throughout the process by dramaturg Maureen Labonté, alongside actor Dakota Wellman and director Gabe Maharjan.

Katherine Turnbull

Katherine Turnbull is a writer, translator, theatre creator, and actor. She has a Bachelor of Fine Arts [Honours] in Acting with a minor in French Studies from the University of Windsor. Based in Montreal, she works in French and English in theatre and film. Katherine is fascinated by the messy and complex aspects of life, and so she explores the nitty-gritty of humanity in her projects.

In 2021, Katherine translated La nuit du 4 au 5 by Rachel Graton, commissioned by Talisman Theatre. The resulting translation, The Night From the 4th to the 5th, has recently been shortlisted for the Tom Hendry Best Drama Award. In May 2022, Talisman Theatre presented it as a digital reading, which has since won awards at the 2023 Snow Leopard International Film Festival (Madrid, Spain) & Sweden International Film Festival for Best Drama, Best Black and White Film, and Best Stage Play. It also received four (4) nominations at the 2023 MAGMA Film Festival (Best Feature & Experimental Film, Best Directing, Best Original Concept, and Best Ensemble).
She is honoured to have been selected as the 10th mentee of the Cole Foundation Mentorship for Emerging Translators and thrilled to dive into this process working on Rachel Graton’s 21 under the mentorship of Maureen Labonté.

The translation

21 by rachel graton

Bobby Theodore — Translator

Bobby Theodore is a scriptwriter, dramaturg, and translator. After graduating from the National Theatre School of Canada’s playwriting section in 1998, he was a Governor General Award finalist in 2000 for his translation of 15 Seconds by François Archambault. Since then, Bobby has gone on to translate over 35 plays from French to English and has received 2 Betty Mitchell Awards (with François Archambault) for Outstanding New Play. For the stage, he co-created 300 Tapes (with Ame Henderson), which premiered at the Theatre Centre in Toronto and at Alberta Theatre Projects in Calgary. His most recent projects include a translation of Paradise in Flames by François Archambault, a transadaptation of Public Enemy by Olivier Choinière (Published by Playwrights Canada Press, Produced by Canadian Stage), and working as content developer and scriptwriter on the new visitor experience for Province House in PEI. Currently, Bobby is co-writing (with JC Niala) The Importance of Being Oscar Wilde’s Valet, a counterfactual exploration of Wilde’s relationship with Stephen Stephens, a Black minstrel performer he hired as his valet while touring the US.

Photo Credit: Keith Barker

Danielle Le-Saux Farmer — Translator

Comédienne, metteure en scène, autrice et traductrice, Danielle Le Saux-Farmer est diplômée de l’Université d’Ottawa en théâtre, et du Conservatoire d’art dramatique de Québec en interprétation. Elle a assuré la direction artistique et générale du Théâtre Catapulte de 2017 à 2023. Depuis sa sortie de l’école en 2011, elle a joué au Théâtre du Trident, à la Bordée, à Premier Acte, au Périscope, au Théâtre la Licorne, au Théâtre Denise-Pelletier, ainsi qu’en tournée à travers le Canada. On a pu la voir, entre autres, dans Le Projet Laramie au Théâtre du Trident, dans l’adaptation théâtrale de La Guerre des Tuques de Fabien Cloutier et dans L’art de la chute, projet qui la compte comme coautrice et pour lequel elle reçoit une nomination pour un prix d’interprétation. Elle a signé trois traductions pour le théâtre : Avant l’archipel d’Emily Pearlman, création dans laquelle elle joue et qui a connu plus de cent représentations, Beyond the Night Sky, une création des Nuages en pantalon et The Art of the Fall, traduction publiée de L’art de la chute aux éditions QC Fiction. Elle a également assuré la mise en scène d’une adaptation de Dans le bois de David Mamet en 2013, d’une création du Collectif du Vestiaire, Le Jeu, texte de Pascale Renaud-Hébert, en 2017, ainsi que Princesse de personne de Pascale Renaud-Hébert. Plus récemment, on a pu la voir dans la tournée pancanadienne de Un.Deux.Trois. de Mani Soleymanlou. Danielle était de la distribution de Durant des années de Louis-Philippe Roy à l’automne 2023 et a créé, à l’écriture, mise en scène et interprétation, le premier chapitre de son projet de théâtre documentaire sur la langue française, Oh! Canada.

Photo Credit: Stéphane Bourgeois

Sophie Gee — Translator

Sophie is a director and creator of multidisciplinary work. Through her company Nervous Hunter, her works include Bonnes Bonnes (Théâtre Aux Écuries), Lévriers (MAI (montréal, arts interculturels), National Arts Centre, CAM en tournée), and The Phaedra Project (No! I! Don’t! Want! To! Fall! In! Love! With! You!) (MAI (montréal, arts interculturels)). Her directing work for other companies include Habibi’s Angels: Commission Impossible by Hoda Adra and Kalale Dalton-Lutale (Talisman Theatre), The Tropic of X by Caridad Svich (Imago Theatre), and Duos en morceaux for Théâtre INK. In January 2024, she was a directing consultant on Chimerica at Théâtre Duceppe where she directed the scenes in Mandarin. Alongside set and costume designer Eo Sharp, she recently completed Un an en défilés, a monthly series of participatory parades in Verdun to explore the act of walking together as a community over a year. Sophie is a graduate of the directing programme at the National Theatre School.

Photo Credit: Jeremy Cabrera

Evelyne de la Chenelière — Playwright

Écrivaine et comédienne, Evelyne de la Chenelière est une figure incontournable de la scène québécoise et de la dramaturgie contemporaine.

Ses pièces de théâtre, traduites et montées au Québec et au Canada comme ailleurs dans le monde, interrogent les limites du langage et l’expérience de l’écriture. En 2017, elle est finaliste pour le Prix Siminovich à l’excellence et à l’innovation en théâtre canadien, et reçoit en 2018 la distinction de Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres de la République française.

Parmi ses pièces, La vie utile, créée à Espace Go et présentée au Festival TransAmériques dans une mise en scène de Marie Brassard, a reçu le prix Marcel Dubé de l’Académie des lettres du Québec. Bashir Lazhar a fait l’objet d’une adaptation au cinéma par le cinéaste Philippe Falardeau, sous le titre de Monsieur Lazhar. Le film a été mis en nomination pour l’Oscar du meilleur film en langue étrangère. Son plus récent texte, Le traitement de la nuit, a été créé par Denis Marleau à Montréal et par Kornelius Eich à Francfort dans sa traduction allemande.

Régulièrement invitée à aborder sa pratique et les thèmes parcourant son œuvre, elle a participé comme conférencière à différents festivals de littérature et de théâtre à Mexico, Barcelone, Limoges, Toulouse, Paris, Édimbourg, Londres, Sarrebruck, ainsi qu’au Caire.

Elle a également donné des classes de maître et participé à des colloques (Conservatoire d’art dramatique de Montréal, Université de Munich, Conservatoire de Tours, Université de Valencia, Université de Madrid, École Normale Supérieure de Paris).

Comme comédienne, on a pu la voir s’illustrer, entre autres, sous la direction de Marie Brassard, Daniel Brière, Jérémie Niel, Brigitte Haentjens, Florent Siaud, Cédric Delorme-Bouchard, et plus récemment le cinéaste Denis Côté.

Le parcours d’Evelyne de la Chenelière est marqué par une exploration formelle et un désir de questionner l’art vivant, tant par l’écriture que par le jeu. Sa singularité fait d’elle une artiste qui déjoue les attentes. Elle est présente dans les grandes institutions au Québec et à l’étranger, mais aussi dans le secret de leurs marges.

Photo Credit: Charlotte de la Chenelière

Maud de Palma-Duquet — Playwright

Maud de Palma-Duquet obtient son diplôme du Conservatoire d’art dramatique de Québec en 2012. La même année, elle participe aux Chantiers du Carrefour International de théâtre de Québec. Elle bénéficie également d’un mentorat d’écriture avec l’auteur Fabien Cloutier grâce à la mesure Première Ovation. La pièce qui en résulte, Enfant unique, est mise en lecture au théâtre Premier Acte. En 2013, elle participe à la soirée de clôture du Festival du Jamais Lu Québec en tant qu’autrice et comédienne. C’est dans le cadre de ce même festival, lors de l’édition montréalaise du printemps 2022, que son texte Bénévolat est mis en lecture pour la première fois. Cette pièce lui mérite le prix Gratien Gélinas et est présentée au Théâtre La Licorne en janvier et février 2024 avant d’être reprise en décembre. Comme interprète, on a pu la voir notamment dans Act of god, une production du Théâtre Niveau Parking, ainsi que dans Chante avec moi d’Olivier Choinière. Éternelle curieuse, elle a aussi étudié en droit et en journalisme à l’Université de Montréal.

Photo Credit: Paule Beaudoin

Tamara Nguyen — Playwright

Tamara Nguyen est autrice et conseillère dramaturgique. En 2016, elle obtient un baccalauréat en littératures de langue française et philosophie de l’Université de Montréal et en 2019, elle complète une formation en écriture dramatique à l’École Nationale de Théâtre du Canada. Sa pièce Légendes de canapé est montée par Héloïse Desrochers en 2020 au Théâtre des Béloufilles. En 2023, la pièce Bonnes Bonnes qu’elle a co-écrite avec Sophie Gee est présentée au Théâtre Aux Écuries. La même année, sa pièce Les papillons du littoral est montée par Claudia Chan Tak au Quai 5160. En 2024, sa pièce Maelström est mise en scène par Annie Ranger au Théâtre Aux Écuries. À titre de conseillère dramaturgique, Tamara a travaillé avec Claudia Chan Tak sur Au revoir zébu présenté à La Chapelle en 2022 et avec Stephie Mazunya sur la pièce S’enjailler qui est présentée au Centre du Théâtre d’Aujourd’hui en 2024. Tamara s’intéresse à la satire politique, à la manière dont l’art peut mettre un frein au défilement de l’actualité pour permettre une réflexion de fond.

Photo Credit: Maxime Côté

Linda Gaboriau — Translator

Translator and dramaturg, Linda Gaboriau has translated over 125 plays and novels from the French, including the works of Québec’s most prominent playwrights. Her translations of plays by Michel Marc Bouchard, Normand Chaurette, Daniel Danis, Wajdi Mouawad and Michel Tremblay have been published and widely produced across Canada and abroad. Her long collaboration with Michel Marc Bouchard has included the film adaptations of Lilies (1996 Genie Award, Best Motion Picture), The Tale of Teeka and The Girl King, directed by Mika Kaurismaki. Her theatre translations have garnered many awards across Canada. She has been a finalist for the Governor General’s Award for Translation six times and she won this award in 1996 for Stone and Ashes (Daniel Danis), in 2010 for Forests (Wajdi Mouawad) and in 2019 Birds of a Kind (Wajdi Mouawad). Her most recent publication is with Talon: TWISTS OF FATE which includes the translation of two Michel Tremblay novels: AU HASARD LA CHANCE/IF BY CHANCE and LES CLEFS DU PARADISE/DESTINATION PARADISE. And soon to be published and premiered at Centaur Theatre: EMBRASSE/KISSES DEEP by Michel Marc Bouchard. For several years she was in charge of the dramaturgical workshops at Montreal’s Centre des auteurs dramatiques (CeAD) where she subsequently coordinated translation and exchange projects with English and Spanish-speaking countries. At the Banff Playwrights Colony she was an associate director, in charge of translation projects. From 2002-2007, she was the founding director of the Banff International Literary Translation Centre. Linda Gaboriau was named a Member of the Order of Canada in 2015 and an Officer of Ordre national du Québec in 2023.

Photo Credit: Josée Lambert

Olivier Choinière — Playwright

Depuis plus de vingt ans, Olivier Choinière œuvre comme auteur, metteur en scène et traducteur pour le théâtre. Il est co-directeur général et artistique de L’ACTIVITÉ, compagnie de création basée à Montréal. Diplômé en écriture de l’École nationale de théâtre en 1996, Olivier Choinière est lauréat du Prix Gascon-Thomas 2015 et du Prix Siminovitch 2014, remis à un auteur dramatique canadien.

Il se fait connaître avec Le bain des raines (1998), puis par Autodafé (1999), mis en scène par André Brassard. Ses pièces Venise-en-Québec (2006) et Nom de domaine (2013) ont été finalistes des Prix du Gouverneur Général du Canada. Félicité (2007) a été présenté au Royal Court Theatre de Londres. Plusieurs de ses pièces ont été traduites et ont été jouées au Canada, en Europe et en Asie.

En 2000, il fonde L’ACTIVITÉ, compagnie de création basée à Montréal, avec laquelle il met en scène près de 20 spectacles, dont Chante avec moi (2010), Mommy (2013), Ennemi public (2015), qui s’est valu le Prix Michel-Tremblay, Manifeste de la Jeune-Fille (2017), qui s’est vu récompensé par le Festival Primeurs ainsi que Zoé (2020), Prix Marcel-Dubé. 8 de ces spectacles prenaient la forme de déambulations sonores à travers la ville.

Olivier Choinière enseigne à l’École nationale de théâtre du Canada et donne fréquemment des conférences et des ateliers. Ses textes sont publiés chez Atelier 10, Leméac et Dramaturges éditeurs.

À travers ses œuvres, il explore différentes formes de représentations et cherche à donner un rôle actif aux spectateurs.

Photo Credit: Charles Lafrance

“Playwrights’ Workshop Montréal has completely transformed my experience of being an artist. Fatma Sarah Elkashef and I had our first dramaturgical conversation in 2018, and in a way, it hasn’t stopped. For the past five years, we have collaborated on two very different projects: a five character play with music about a rockstar family and the complicated legacy of our cultural icons, and a digital-hybrid solo show about power, coercion, and escaping a cult. We share a belief that how we make work is as important as the work itself. From ongoing dramaturgical conversations, to dramaturgical residencies (2022, 2023), to full-cast workshops (2020, 2021, 2023), to the Gros Morne Residency in Newfoundland (2022), Playwrights’ Workshop Montréal has provided me with unparalleled and essential support. I wouldn’t be the playwright I am today without this organization.”

– Scout Rexe

“Ever since my graduation from theatre school in 2015, Playwrights’ Workshop Montréal has been an invaluable support, both institutionally and personally. They supported further development of my solo show Miss Katelyn’s Grade Threes Prepare for the Inevitable, which went on to have over 75 performances in English and French, as well as my site-specific Everyone We Know Will Be There, which ran in residential houses in Edmonton in Calgary back in 2016. They’ve offered me ongoing access to an environment where I’m able to witness new play development in action. As a playwright, it can be rare to receive support that has no agenda, where your supporters’ only objective is to help you germinate a story that you yourself are happy with before anyone else. This has always been my experience with PWM, making it one of my favourite theatre institutions in Canada, and a place that I recommend to other playwrights enthusiastically and often.”

– Elena Belyea

“I really got involved in activities during the pandemic, searching for ways to stay creative and stay sane; I came across PWM’s call for submissions – online opportunities. PWM’s Digital Dramaturgy Initiative – Montreal residency in 2021 was my first experience and I had a wonderful and enlightening experience learning and deepening my understanding of theatre and the art of thinking and writing for theatre. I went on to also participate in:

PWM + MAI Joint Support for Artists (2021 – 2022)
Exploring Practice workshop – Spatial Dramaturgy: Developing an Urban Performance Practice with Shauna Janssen (Apr – May 2022)
Exploring Practice – The Dramaturgical Process: First Principles and Practical Applications with Andrea Romaldi (Jan – Feb 2023)
PWM X Arrivals Legacy Project (2023)
PWM’s Cross Cultural Adaptation Lab (Jul 2023 – Oct 2025)

I enjoy the fact that they always have interesting offerings for development and mentorship. I love the staff, as well as the individuals they bring in to facilitate workshops. They have all been down to earth, open, knowledgeable, and just fun to be around and speak to on a human level.

Having the opportunity to incorporate theatre and writing into my dance practice has been a very rewarding journey. I am grateful for the time I’ve been able to spend with both Sarah and Aki in conversation and for the relationships fostered. The individuals who make up an organization are important and PWM has wonderful individuals all throughout.

As I’ve been working on my first play, ‘Wild Roots’, PWM has been gently riding the wave, supporting my explorations and development in playwriting. I never feel pressured to present as anything or one other than me, allowing myself to feel the freedom to really find my own voice and solidify my own footing. That is huge for me.

In the end, what I can say is PWM, ‘Thank you for being a friend!’”

– Jamila Joseph

“For as long as I can remember, PWM has been an artistic and social hub of the community. One can always depend on great conversation and artistic exchange when you spend time there. As a young actor it was always a point of pride to be hired to read a new script in workshop: it was a wonderful job no matter how quickly you passed through their doors or how long you stayed; it has been some of the best training I have ever received as an actor. It taught me how to be clear and rigorous and respectful. As a playwright, I have received an incredible amount of support from the folks at PWM and would have never completed my last play without their belief in me. The relationship I have with PWM is a rare one. I have taken that and used it to build the artist I have always wanted to become. Dramaturgy received through PWM: The Tashme Project: The Living Archives and Mizushōbai- The Water Trade. Residencies through PWM: Gros Morne, ÉsterELLE- 2019. I have participated in endless workshops and a multitude of invaluable Master Classes, like playwriting with Daniel MacIvor, Carole Fréchette and Robert Chafe.”

-Julie Tamiko Manning

Actor, theatre creator, playwright, mentor, independent producer

Montreal/ Tiohtià:ke/ Mooniyang

“Without Playwrights’ Workshop Montréal, I would not have the career in theatre translation that I have. Nor would I have been able to sustain a career in Montreal as a playwright working in both English and French. PWM introduced me to the Francophone-theatre milieu as a potential translator in the 2010s. From there grew my familiarity with the agents and stakeholders of the milieu, which led to me serving as a kind of bridge between Anglophone and Francophone theatre in Montreal, a role I happily play today, along with a growing number of bilingual and multilingual artists who make their livelihoods in both English and French in this city.

I had my first experience with theatre translation in the PWM Translation Unit with Maureen Labonté in 2010-2011. That was when I initially started work on the translation of Amaryllis [Vipérine] by Pascal Brullemans. In 2016, I participated in PWM’s Glassco Translation Residency in Tadoussac for Amaryllis [Vipérine], this time with the guidance of Bobby Theodore. The book Amaryllis and Little Witch (Playwrights Canada Press) would later go on to be nominated for the Governor General’s Award for translation in 2021.

In 2013, I was the first ever recipient of PWM’s Cole Foundation Mentorship for Emerging Translators to translate Je n’y suis plus (Marie-Claude Verdier), which was workshopped and received a public reading at PWM. I would go on to mount a production, directed by Jen Quinn, at Toronto’s SummerWorks Festival in 2016, to great acclaim.

In 2018, Talisman Theatre commissioned the translation of Minuit by Marie-Hélène Larose-Truchon. Workshopped through PWM, it gave me the opportunity to benefit from the tutelage of the Grande Dame of Québécois-theatre translation, Linda Gaboriau, and also to journey to New Orleans, where we had a workshop with local actors and a public reading at the Southern Repertory Theatre.

In 2019, I participated in “Theatre Translation Workshop with Frank Heibert”, offered through PWM’s Exploring Practice program, to work on Marie-Claude Verdier’s touring play, Andy’s Gone (Playwrights Canada Press). The book was one of five selected in 2022 for Top Grade: CanLit for the Classroom, a program run by the Association of Canadian Publishers’ Children’s Committee.

In 2020, I was commissioned by PWM to translate Camille : le récit by Audrey-Anne Bouchard and Marc-André Lapointe and in 2022, Camille: The Story was produced at the Segal Centre, where it won a META Award for best production.

Having benefited from the tutelage and mentoring of the giants of Québécois theatre translation – Maureen Labonté, Linda Gaboriau and Bobby Theodore – PWM then deemed me ready to serve as a mentor to emerging translators. Since 2019, I have had the honour of being the translation mentor for Traductions Croisées, the program jointly organized by Playwrights’ Workshop Montréal and Centre des auteurs.trices dramatiques (CEAD) to encourage the emergence of new translators for Québécois plays.

As part of the Traduction Croisées mentorship program (Introduction to Theatre Translation), I mentored Katherine Turnbull for her translation of La nuit du 4 au 5 by Rachel Graton, which was produced by Talisman Theatre in 2022. Katherine Turnbull was just selected as the 10th mentee for the Cole Foundation Mentorship for Emerging Translators.”

-Alexis Diamond

Other Worlds will be presented with as a Geordie Theatre mainstage production from September 29 – October 7, 2023.

Visit Geordie Theatre to learn more.

Alexis Diamond — Translator

A proud Montrealer, Alexis Diamond (she/her) is an anglophone theatre artist, opera and musical librettist, translator, dramaturg and theatre curator working on both sides of Montréal’s linguistic divide. She creates works for a wide range of audiences, from toddlers, to school-aged children, to all ages, to adults only, which have garnered awards, residencies, and attention at home and abroad. Alternately playful, poetic and profound, her texts and performances break open the stories we inherit and the myths we perpetuate, often to our detriment. She was a finalist for the 2020 Governor General’s Award for her translation of Pascal Brullemans’ plays for young audiences, Amaryllis and Little Witch (Playwrights Canada Press). Alexis is a member of the Board of the Conseil québecois de théâtre. She has a B.A. Honours in English and Creative Writing from Concordia University and an M.A. in English Literature from the Université de Montréal.

Headshot by Ron Diamond.

Even Gilchrist — Playwright

Even Gilchrist (he/him) is a theatre designer and creator based on Treaty 6 territory, located in amiskwaciy (or Edmonton, AB). He is a recent MFA Theatre Design graduate of the University of Alberta, and received his undergraduate degree in theatre from the University of Ottawa.

As a scenographer, his desire for creative processes lives in finding ways in which design is the catalyst of storytelling, rather than reactionary to the script, and was very much so the case in the creation of Re:Construct.

Recent design credits include: Boy Trouble (Production Design – Amoris Projects) and 10 Funerals (Set and Lighting Design – Shadow Theatre). Check out evengilchrist.com for more info on new projects!

Headshot by BB Collective.

Jasmine Dubé — Auteure dramatique

Cofondatrice et directrice artistique du Théâtre Bouches Décousues (TBD), Jasmine Dubé est comédienne, au- teure et metteure en scène.

Sa première pièce, Bouches décousues, a été jouée plus de 350 fois au Québec et en Europe. Petit monstre s’est méritée le prix de la meilleure production « jeunes publics » de l’Association québécoise des critiques de théâtre en 1992. La bonne femme a remporté trois Masques décernés par l’Académie québécoise du théâtre en 1996 : Production « jeunes publics », Texte et Mise en scène. Ma petite boule d’amour (2018), Le pingouin (2002), La mère merle (2000) et Le bain (1998) ont reçu le prix du public à Beloeil. La série Nazaire s’est retrouvée finaliste des prix Chronos 1997, en France et en Suisse. En 1998, l’album L’ourson qui voulait une Juliette a reçu le prix Alvine-Belisle, choix des bibliothécaires pour le meilleur livre jeunesse. Certains de ses textes sont traduits en anglais, portugais, espagnol, grec, innu-aimun et en italien.

En 1996, Jasmine Dubé a reçu le prix Arthur-Buies pour l’ensemble de son œuvre. En 1998, Artquimédia lui décernait l’Agathe de distinction pour son rayonnement artistique à l’échelle nationale et internationale et elle recevait de la Renaissance française, la médaille du Rayonne- ment Culturel. En 2006, TBD était le lauréat du Grand prix du Conseil des arts de Montréal pour « son apport immense à la vit alité et au déve- loppement du théâtre d’ici ». En juin 2010, on inaugurait la bibliothèque Jasmine-Dubé à Amqui. En 2013 elle recevait le Prix Raymond-Plante pour son travail exceptionnel en littérature jeunesse.

Headshot par Angelo Barsetti.

Émanuel Dubbeldam — Translator

Émanuel Dubbeldam is a queer and transgender franco-albertan artist based in Edmonton. He has been acting onstage and onscreen since his childhood and began working in the industry as a professional in 2010. With many years of acting, hosting, and emceeing under his belt, Émanuel also writes sketches, screenplays and stage plays in his two first languages.

Headshot by Liam Mackenzie.

François Grisé — Auteur dramatique

François Grisé est comédien et artiste multidisciplinaire. Sa pratique englobe les codes du théâtre, mais aussi de la performance, de l’installation et des arts visuels. En 2012, il fonde Un et un font mille pour accueillir ses créations hybrides: œuvres multidisciplinaire, événements, tableaux vivants et activités d’innovation sociale.

En 2017, il écrit Tout inclus, une pièce de théâtre-documentaire. Elle a enclenché un grand cycle de création et d’action face aux réalités du vieillissement. Dans son prolongement, il a créé le mouvement HABITATS, un espace d’innovation sociale et d’action citoyenne où l’on se pose activement la question : Comment voulons-nous habiter notre vieillesse?

Violeta Sarmiento Marabotto — Traductrice

Née à Mexico, Violeta Sarmiento est comédienne, diplômée du Centro Universitario de Teatro (CUT) de l’Université Nationale Autonome du Mexique (UNAM). Elle a aussi un diplôme en psychologie avec mention honorifique (UNAM).

De 2012 à 2014, elle suit le programme de maîtrise sur les méthodes de formation théâtrale pour les pratiques pédagogiques innovantes intitulé The New Face of Acting Teachers, sous la direction de Jurij Alschitz (UNAM). Elle a également une maîtrise en psychothérapie intégrale à l’Instituto de Psicoterapia Integral y Ciencias de la Salud en 2021.

En 2011, elle participe au séminaire sur la traduction de littérature dramatique francophone organisé par Boris Schoemann et Humberto Pérez Mortera.

En 2012, elle fonde l’Instituto Magia Producciones, où elle est traductrice, productrice, metteuse en scène et comédienne. Elle se spécialise dans la traduction en espagnol de la dramaturgie en langue française.

En 2018, elle est invitée à la rencontre internationale Dramaturgies en Dialogue, organisée par le Centre des auteurs dramatiques (CEAD) à Montréal, en tant que productrice, traductrice et metteuse en scène.

Parmi les œuvres qu!elle a traduites, produites et jouées, on peut citer Portrait Chinois d’une imposteure de Dominick Parenteau-Lebeuf, Petite Sorcière de Pascal Brullemans, Huis clos de Jean Paul Sartre, qui a remporté le prix de la meilleure production au XIVe Festival National de Théâtre au Mexique en 2006. Iris tient salon de Dominick Parenteau-Lebeuf a été présentée de 2015 à 2020, y compris dans des festivals au Mexique et au festival Les Coups de Théâtre en 2018.

En 2022, Petite Sorcière a été en nomination par l’ACPT (Agrupación de Críticos y Periodistas de Teatro) dans deux catégories : meilleure pièce pour le jeune public et meilleure conception de mouvement. En 2016, Iris tient salon a été nominée par l!ACPT dans la catégorie : meilleure actrice révélation.

Entre 2014 et 2018 elle est membre de la troupe permanente de la Compañía Nacional de Teatro (CNT). À deux reprises, (2011-2012) et (2019-2020), elle reçoit la subvention gouvernementale du FONCA (Fonds national pour la culture et les arts) dans le programme Créateurs de scène.

Entre 2011 et 2013, elle a joué en espagnol les œuvres d’origine québécoise Forêts et Ciels de Wajdi Mouawad, sous la direction de Hugo Arrevillaga.

Sa formation multidisciplinaire comprend la musique, le chant, la danse et le théâtre. Dans le domaine vocal, elle a étudié les techniques de Bel Canto, Roy Hart et Linklater. Elle possède aussi une formation en danse classique et fait de fréquentes mises à jour des techniques contemporaines. Elle a fondé le groupe musical Expresso doble. Pendant cinq ans, elle a produit des spectacles et enregistré des chansons en studio.

Elle enseigne Jeu réaliste à Casazul (École des arts du spectacle), de même que Voix et parole à la Casa del Teatro. De 2008 à 2016, elle a enseigné Expression du vers du Siècle d’Or espagnol au CUT-UNAM, et, en 2012, à CEUVOZ. Elle exerce également sa pratique comme psychothérapeute intégrale.

Charles Bender — Translator

Charles has been a regular presence at the helm of the Indigenous Day Live event and is the host of Sans reserve on APTN. We recently saw him as host of the National Truth and Reconciliation live event broadcast on CBC and APTN. He has also worked as host/facilitator for many aboriginal organisations or events across Canada.

As an actor, you might have caught him in Sioui-Bacon, Mohawk Girls or, more recently, as Joe Naveau in Eaux Turbulentes or Frère Brière in Pour toi Flora. On stage, he has worked with many companies with social justice as part of their mandate such as Teesri Duniya, Ondinnok and Tableau d’Hôte.

In 2015, Charles co-founded productions Menuentakuan, an indigenous theatre company invested in creating new paths of dialogue amongst indigenous and non-indigenous people in Canada. He has translated various plays by indigenous authors such as Where The Blood Mixes by Kevin Loring, Thuderstick by Kenneth T. Williams, Free as Injuns by Tara Beagan and alterNatives by Drew Hayden Taylor. He has just finished translating Maria Campbell’s Halfbreed and is currently working on translating Tomson Highway’s Permanent Astonishment. As part of his community involvement, he sits on a variety of boards and comities to make sure indigenous voices are represented and heard.

Developed plays include Governor General Award nominated works by Sean Dixon, Brendan Gall, Jonathan Garfinkel, Michael Healey, Joan MacLeod, and Hannah Moscovitch, and Governor General Award-winners Erin Shields and David Yee; eleven Dora Award Outstanding New Play nominees and three winners; and a Trillium Book Award winner. Throughout her career, Andrea has been a regular panellist for the Directors Lab North, and contributed a chapter entitled “Master Class: Dramaturgy and New Play Development” to the book The Directors Lab edited by Evan Tsitsias (Playwrights Canada Press 2019). She has mentored both graduate students and professional theatre makers through university training programs, internships, and play development programs at a variety of theatres. Previously, she has worked with Brian Quirt at Nightswimming and with Maureen Labonté and Neil Munro at the Shaw Festival, and contributed to Canadian Stage’s inaugural Festival of Ideas and Creation. Andrea also participated in workshops at the National Theatre Society (Dublin) while she pursued her MPhil in film and theatre at Trinity College, Dublin.

Elaine Normandeau

For 25 years, after studying law and then theater, Elaine Normandeau has worked as an assistant director and stage manager in French and English theatre.

During these years, she had the privilege of working on landmark productions such as Le Procès and Siegfried by Wagner directed by François Girard, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and Le misanthrope directed by Michel Monty, Belles-Soeurs directed by René Richard Cyr, Intérieur and Au coeur de la rose directed by Denis Marleau, Variations énigmatiques, Un fil à la patte and Equus directed by Daniel Roussel, Une musique inquiétante/Old Wicked Songs directed by Martin Faucher, Waiting for the Barbarians and Amadeus directed by Alexandre Marine and Top Girls directed by Micheline Chevrier. In 2017, Elaine Normandeau participated as linguistic director in the film Hochelaga, terre des âmes by François Girard, immersed in Mohawk and Anishnaabe cultures. She also works as a translator and creates surtitles for the theatre.

The translation

Muliats by Charles Bender, Charles Buckell, Marco Collin, Xavier Huard, Natasha Kanapé Fontaine et Christophe Payeur (le collectif)

David Gagnon Walker

David Gagnon Walker is an award-winning writer and performer from Amiskwaciwâskahikan (Edmonton, AB).

David is a graduate of the playwriting program at the National Theatre School of Canada, and holds an M.A. in Performance Studies from the University of Toronto. With multimedia designer Tori Morrison, he produces projects as Strange Victory Performance, a micro-company interested in experimental text-based experiences at the intersections of live performance, literary writing, and participatory art.

The translation

The Retreat

As the recipient of PWM’s 2019 Cole Foundation Mentorship for Emerging Translators, David Gagnon Walker translated La Retraite by Gabrielle Chapdelaine. Translation dramaturgy was provided by Maureen Labonté. A public reading of this translation, directed by Rose Plotek, was presented in 2019 at PWM, featuring Jimmy Blais, Adam Capriolo, James Loye, Leni Parker, Alex Petrachuk and Julie Trepanier.

Jennie Herbin

Jennie is fascinated by language, storytelling, and their ability to pierce boundaries, shaping collective imaginations.

A Nova Scotia native, Jennie is a graduate of Neptune Theatre’s Pre-Professional Acting Training Program in Halifax. A move to Montréal in 2011 led to studies in Hispanic Literature and French Literature at McGill, and then an M.A. in Translation Studies from Concordia University. Her experience as a digital content creator and translator spans several fields.

The translation

Clean Slate

As the recipient of PWM’s 2017 Cole Foundation Mentorship for Emerging Translators, Jennie Herbin translated Table Rase
by Catherine Chabot. Translation dramaturgy was provided by Maureen Labonté.

A public reading of this translation, directed by Leslie Baker, was presented at PWM in 2018, it featured Stefanie Buxton, Cleopatra Boudreau, Gita Miller, Julie Trepanier, Rebecca Gibian, Anie Richer, and Brett Donahue.

Synopsis
Six friends gather at a site of their shared childhood: They drink, they laugh, but most importantly, they admit things they’ve never before had the courage to say. In a time where the heroes of the past exist less and less, the young women must support each other as they independently become the heroes they need. Inspired by the seemingly incomprehensible decision of their friend, the girls make a pact to shed their traumas and bad habits and start afresh. With the honesty and intimacy of a death bed, Clean Slate allows the audience to eavesdrop on a brave, messy, and above all authentic portrait of millennial sisterhood.

John Jack Paterson

Jack is a Vancouver director, divisor, dramaturge, actor and translator whose work and study have taken him across Canada and around the world.

He trained at Circle in the Square (NYC), GITIS The Russian Academy for Performing Arts (Moscow, RU), Seni Institute for the Arts (Denpasar, IND) and received his MFA in Direction from East 15 (London, UK). His work ranges from cross-cultural, multi-disciplinary and multilingual devised experiences to classical and new play mainstage projects.

Favourite credits include The List (Vancouver); a devising/ original practice fusion Romeo & Juliet (Cardiff, Wales); the devised projects Wasting Time (Denpasar, IND) and Odyssey (London, UK); the text/ flamenco fusion The Love of Don Perlimplin (The Shaw Festival); and the Vancouver premiere of Titus Andronicus.

The translation

Kiwi

As one of two recipients of PWM’s 2018 Cole Foundation Mentorship for Emerging Translators, John Jack Paterson translated Kiwi by Daniel Danis. Translation dramaturgy was provided by Maureen Labonté.

A public reading of this translation, directed by Cristina Cugliandro, was presented at PWM in 2018, it featured Michelle Rambharose and Justin Malcolm.

Synopsis:
Kiwi is 12 years old. Abandoned on the city streets she meets a gang of homeless youth. She’ll do anything to keep this new family – she’ll change her name, forget her past and be loyal. As the authorities clear out the streets. With her friend Lychee, she learns how to survive: to run, to fly and to dream of a better life.

Jordan Arseneault

Jordan is a Montréal-based writer, translator, dis/organizer and performer.

A prominent activist in the city’s queer community, he writes for various online publications on nightlife, culture, and politics, as well as contributing frequently to CKUT 90.3FM.

The translation

River Bed

As the recipient of PWM’s 2016 Cole Foundation Mentorship for Emerging Translators, Jordan Arseneault translated Éric Noël’s Faire des enfants (2011, Théâtre de Quat’Sous, published by Leméac Éditeur. Translation dramaturgy was provided by Maureen Labonté. A public reading of this translation, directed by Jesse Stong, was presented at PWM in 2017.

Synopsis:
Very early one Sunday morning Philippe and his mother Myriam wake up at the same time. Set over a 48-hour period, told in two acts split between the city and the suburban countryside, River Bed is an emotionally acute play about the yearnings and impulses that unsettle our familiar reality.

Melissa Bull

Photo Credit:
Maxime Raymond Bock

Melissa Bull is a writer and editor, as well as a French-to-English translator of fiction, essays, and plays.

Melissa has published her poetry, essays, articles, and interviews in a variety of publications including Event, Lemon Hound, subTerrain, Prism, and Matrix. Her collection of poetry, Rue, was published in 2015, and her collection of short stories, The Knockoff Eclipse, was published in 2018. Her translation of Nelly Arcan’s Burqa de chair was published by Anvil Press in 2014, and her translation of Marie-Sissi Labrèche’s novel, Borderline, is forthcoming. Melissa lives in Montreal.

The translation

The Baklawa Recipe

Melissa Bull was the recipient of the 2015 Cole Foundation Competition for Emerging Translators. Her translation of Pascale Rafie’s La recette de baklawas, The Baklawa Recipe, opened at Centaur Theatre in Montreal in January 2018. It was directed by PWM’s own Artistic Director Emma Tibaldo.

Johanna Nutter

Johanna Nutter is a performer, creator, and curator of live arts.

Johanna Nutter (she, they) is a Montreal-based performance maker and facilitator devoted to authentic storytelling. Her award-winning work has toured bilingually across Canada and Internationally. In 2016, she formed creature/creature, consolidating her passion for negotiating the delicate spaces between people, subjectivities, and artistic practices. Johanna is also devoted to advancing creative, active pedagogy, producing interactive educational programming in various African countries.

She attended PWM’s translation residency in Tadoussac, working with Linda Gaboriau on Mon frère est enceinte, the French version of her international hit solo, My Pregnant Brother. It played in both languages at La Licorne, where it was awarded the Cochon d’Or for Meilleure production de la relève 2011-2012 and went on to tour throughout Quebec, across Canada, and to Scotland, England, and Belgium.

The translation

Chlorine

Johanna Nutter won the then Cole Foundation and PWM’s Emerging Translator Award in 2014 and translated CHLORINE (Florence Longpré & Nicolas Michon), that she then produced and directed on stage (Centaur, Brave New Looks).

Alexis Diamond

Photo by Ron Diamond

Alexis Diamond is a Montreal-based playwright, opera librettist, translator and theatre curator.

Her award-winning plays, operas and translations for audiences of all ages have been presented across Canada, in the U.S. and in Europe. She also collaborates with several international artists on performance-installations involving text, movement and sound.

In 2019, Alexis Diamond served as co-artistic director of the famed festival of new writing, the Jamais Lu Festival, where she also presented a bilingual play, Faux-amis, with co-author Hubert Lemire, with support from the CALQ. In 2018, Alexis began a multiyear collaboration with professor Erin Hurley (McGill University) and Emma Tibaldo (Playwrights’ Workshop Montréal) researching the history of English-language theatre in Quebec, which will include a reading series and a publication.

Three of her translations were presented during the 2018-19 season (for Geordie Productions 2Play-Tour, Talisman Theatre and Le Petit Théâtre de Sherbrooke). December 2017 saw the premiere of a piece for orchestra and narrator she penned for the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra with composer Abigail Richardson. She is currently working on a historical diptych set in Montreal in the early 1940s, two musicals (with Nick Carpenter, and with Evan Tsitsias/Rosalind Mills), and a bilingual piece aimed at audiences aged 2-6 with composer Stephanie Moore for Jeunesses Musicales Canada.

Alexis served as president of Playwrights’ Workshop Montréal for five years. She has a B.A. Honours in English and Creative Writing from Concordia University and an M.A. in English Literature from the University of Montreal.

The translation

Je n’y suis plus – I’m Not Here

Alexis Diamond was the first winner of the then named Cole Competition for Emerging Translators in 2013. She translated Marie-Claude Verdier’s play Je n’y suis plus – I’m Not Here.

Her company, Composite Theatre Co., produced the play at Toronto’s 2016 SummerWorks Performance Festival, where Jen Quinn received an honourable mention for her direction. I’m Not Here was previously produced at the 2015 Voila! Festival in the UK (director Courtney Larkin) and received a staged reading at BoucheWHACKED’s annual presentation of new francophone works in translation, the TA GUEULE WORKSHOP AND READING SERIES, in May 2016.

Cole Foundation Mentorship for Emerging Translators

To learn more about the 10th recipient of the Cole Foundation Mentorship for Emerging Translators, click here.

How to Apply

The Mentees

Alexis Diamond

Johanna Nutter

Melissa Bull

Jordan Arsenault

John Jack Paterson and
Jennie Herbin

David Gagnon Walker

Elaine Normandeau and Rhiannon Collett

Katherine Turnbull

Rhiannon Collett

The translation

Ces regards amoureux de garçons altérés

Katherine Turnbull

The translation

21 by rachel graton

Elaine Normandeau

The translation

Muliats by Charles Bender, Charles Buckell, Marco Collin, Xavier Huard, Natasha Kanapé Fontaine et Christophe Payeur (le collectif)

David Gagnon Walker

Jennie Herbin

John Jack Paterson

Jordan Arseneault

Melissa Bull

Johanna Nutter

Alexis Diamond

To learn more about the 10th recipient of the Cole Foundation Mentorship for Emerging Translators, click here.

How to Apply

The Mentees

Alexis Diamond

Johanna Nutter

Melissa Bull

Jordan Arsenault

John Jack Paterson and Jennie Herbin

David Gagnon Walker

Elaine Normandeau and Rhiannon Collett

Katherine Turnbull

The translation

Ces regards amoureux de garçons altérés

The translation

21 by rachel graton

The translation

Muliats by Charles Bender, Charles Buckell, Marco Collin, Xavier Huard, Natasha Kanapé Fontaine et Christophe Payeur (le collectif)

John Jack Paterson and
Jennie Herbin