Interactive radio drama explores children's bereavement, fear of death
This story is translated from Radio-Canada's French-language coverage of selected works from the Canada Council for the Arts Digital Originals grant. À lire en français sur le site de Radio-Canada.
The image ran through Anne-Marie St-Louis' head throughout the summer of 2019: a little girl, alone on stage, with a goldfish. The idea became so insistent that the graduate of the Theatre and Development program at Concordia University ended up contacting her friend Juliane Choquette-Lelarge, an illustrator and cartoonist. The two women had taken their first steps on stage together at the beginning of high school; and now, they were going to create their first shared professional project.
The play, initially called What is Living, was performed last February in the Centaur Theatre's Saturday Morning Children's Series. Through live sketching, games and a sad goldfish, the audience got to know the story of 12-year-old Brenda, in mourning for her grandfather, who ends up on a TV show.
"With COVID-19, all the themes that we covered in our play, such as bereavement in children and the fear of death, were even more present in society. We said it would be worth it to find a way to adapt it digitally," said Anne-Marie St-Louis, who also works as a theatre professor.
Adapting the work for the screen presented a challenge. By integrating the drawings created by Choquette-Lelarge and recording the voice of Éléonore Brieuc, the actor who brought Brenda to life on stage, the two creators made a theatrical production halfway between radio drama, audio book and photo album.
"The digital format allows the viewer to have more control over what they see, so the idea of it being an interactive work emerged. It's a formula where the child clicks and can follow his own story," explained Choquette-Lelarge.
The funds they received thanks to Connexion Creation not only allowed both artists to pay themselves at a time when theatre revenues were at a standstill but also to seek the opinions of several experts, like a doctor and a caregiver.
"Without pretending to be professionals, we also have a therapeutic vision. We would like our work to start a discussion and allow young people who have lost someone close to reclaim their way in life," said Choquette-Lelarge.
Another common thread runs through En Vie, that of philosophy for children. Through the tribulations of Brenda and her goldfish, Guillermo, the young audience can question the meaning of existence. What is it to be alive? When do you stop being?
The duo wants to show their work in schools or theatre classes.
"We want it to become a reference, to be shared," said St-Louis.
This story is part of Digital Originals, an initiative of the Canada Council for the Arts. Artists were offered a $5,000 micro-grant to either adapt their existing work or create new work for the digital world during the COVID-19 pandemic. CBC Arts has partnered with Canada Council to feature a selection of these projects. This story is translated from Radio-Canada's French-language Digital Originals coverage. You can see more of these projects here.
