Suzanne Lebeau has been drawn to the theatre since 1966. At first, she was headed for a career as an actress: from 1966 to 1973, she played Molière, Ionesco, and Stoppard as she continued her training with Jacques Crête and Gilles Maheu in Montreal, then with Étienne Decroux in Paris. She also spent a year training in Poland, dividing her time between the Pantomime Theatre and the Puppet Theatre in Wroclaw.

After founding Le Carrousel with Gervais Gaudreault in 1975, Suzanne Lebeau gradually gave up acting to devote herself exclusively to writing. Today, she has more than twenty original plays, three adaptations, and several translations to her credit, is internationally recognized as a leader in playwriting for young audiences, and is among the most-performed Quebec playwrights in the world. Most of her works have been published and translated, some into several languages. Une lune entre deux maisons (1979), the first Canadian play written specifically for young children, has been translated into six languages; Salvador (1994), presented at the New Victory Theatre on Broadway, has been translated five times; and L’Ogrelet, produced in French, English, Italian, and Spanish by Le Carrousel, has also been translated into German, Maya, Portuguese, and Russian, and published in Argentina, France, and Mexico. Her most recent play, Le bruit des os qui craquent, premièred by Le Carrousel (2009), is also being staged by La Comédie-Française (2010). Two essays about her writing were published in France and Spain: Itinéraire d’auteur, by La Chartreuse – Centre national des écritures du spectacle (2002), and Las huellas de la esperanza, by Ensayo ASSITEJ-España (2007).

Since 1993, Suzanne Lebeau has made regular trips to La Chartreuse – Centre national des écritures du spectacle, in France, to give workshops and lectures and to participate in playwright residencies. The Musée de la civilisation in Quebec City asked her to act as an artistic consultant for the exhibition Grandir (1997) and to write texts for the exhibition De quel droit? (1998), produced for the fiftieth anniversary of the Declaration of Human Rights. In 1999, she went to Corsica for a residency at Théâtre Alibi, where she wrote a play with a group of children, and, as a recipient of the Canada/Mexico Scholarship, she did a two-month residency in Mexico, leading workshops with both writers and children; festivals in Africa, Argentina, Spain, Mexico, and the United States have invited her to give lectures and workshops. Since 2007, Théâtre Jean-Vilar de Vitry-sur-Seine and Suzanne Lebeau have been working together through an art exchange agreement with the Conseil régional d’Île-de-France. She was invited by Wajdi Mouawad to be the first artist to direct a workshop for writing for young audiences, which took the form of master classes, for the French Theatre Lab at the National Arts Centre of Canada (2009). She has also taught writing at the National Theatre School of Canada for 13 years and acts as a consultant for young authors in Canada and other countries, thus contributing to the emergence of new plays for young audiences.

The importance of Suzanne Lebeau’s body of work and her exceptional contribution to the rise of the genre of theatre for young audiences, both in Canada and abroad, has earned her many prizes and awards: the Prix de littérature dramatique des collégiens, Île-de-France Collidram, the Governor General's Literary Award for Drama, the Prix de la critique, young audiences category, awarded by the Association québécoise des critiques de théâtre, the Prix Sony Labou Tansi des lycéens, the Distinction de la Comédie-Française, and the Prix des Journées de Lyon des auteurs de théâtre ( Le bruit des os qui craquent – 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007); award for best text, FETEN (Cuentos de niños reales – 2009); the Prix Jack London (L’Ogrelet – 2007); the Prix littéraire de la citoyenneté de Maine et Loire (Salvador – 2002); Masque Award for original text (L’Ogrelet – 2000); the Prix Francophonie Jeunesse RFI (Salvador – 1995); the Chalmers Children’s Play Award (Little Victories – 1986); finalist for the Molières Awards (Petit Pierre – 2008 and L’Ogrelet – 2007). The Assemblée internationale des parlementaires de langue française made her a Knight of the Order of the Pleiades for her body of work (1998). The government of Quebec awards her the Athanase-David prize, the most prestigious reward for career achievement given to a Quebecois writer (2010) .

	Prix Athanase-David (Prix du Québec, 2010), the highest distinction in Quebec granted to a writer for his or her body of work.
	Prix de littérature dramatique des collégiens en Île-de-France Collidram (2010) for Le bruit des os qui craquent.
	Prix Sony Labou Tansi des Lycéens (2009) for Le bruit des os qui craquent.
	Distinction de la Comédie-Française (2008) for Le bruit des os qui craquent, at the end of the Journées de lectures d'auteurs contemporains 2008.
	Prix des Journées de Lyon des auteurs de théâtre (2007) for Le bruit des os qui craquent
	Prix littéraire de la citoyenneté from the Département de Maine et Loire, France (2002) for Salvador
	Knight of the Order of the Pleiades from the Assemblée internationale des parlementaires de langue française (1998)
	Masque award for original text from the Académie québécoise du Théâtre (2000) for L'Ogrelet
	Prix Francophonie Jeunesse (1994) (Radio France Internationale/Francophonies Théâtrales pour la Jeunesse) for Salvador
	Theatre grand prize, Journal de Montréal (1991) for Conte du jour et de la nuit
	Chalmers Children's Play Award (1985) for Les Petits Pouvoirs/ Little Victories

SUZANNE LEBEAU: LAS HUELLAS DE LA ESPERANZA
	Suzanne Lebeau: Las huellas de la esperanza, 2007 Published by Ensayo ASSITEJ España.
ITINÉRAIRE D'AUTEUR - SUZANNE LEBEAU
	Itinéraire d'auteur - Suzanne Lebeau, 2002 Published by La Chartreuse, Centre National des Écritures du Spectacle, with the collaboration of Lanctôt éditeur.
PLAYS PUBLISHED
IN ENGLISH
WITH PLAYWRIGHTS CANADA PRESS (CANADA)
	Anthology of Québec Women's Plays in English Translation - The Sound of Cracking Bones* 2010
IN SPANISH
WITH PRIMER ACTO (SPAIN)
	El ruido de los huesos que crujen (The Sound of Cracking Bones) * 2009
WITH REVISTA TRAMOYA (MEXICO)
	Petit Pierre * 2007
	Cuentos de niños reales (Contes d'enfants réels)* 2004
WITH BAJO LA LUNA / NORTE+SUR (ARGENTINA)
	El Ogrito (L'Ogrelet)* 2004
WITH EL MILAGRO EDICIONES (MEXICO)
	El Ogrito (L'Ogrelet)* 2003 including Salvador*
WITH ANONIMO DRAMA EDICIONES (MEXICO)
	El Ogrito (L'Ogrelet)* 2002 Paso de Gato, Revista Mexicana de Teatro No.3.
IN PERSIAN
	Salvador* 2004 Translated into English*, Spanish, Italian, and Persian.
IN FRENCH
WITH LEMÉAC (QUEBEC)
	Le bruit des os qui craquent* 2009 Translated into German, English, and Spanish*.
	Souliers de sable * 2006 Translated into English, and Spanish*.
	Conte du jour et de la nuit* 1991 Translated into English*, Spanish and Portugese.
	Comment vivre avec les hommes quand on est un géant* 1990 Translated into English, and Spanish.
	Ti-Jean voudrait bien s'marier, mais...* 1985
	La Marelle* 1984 Translated into English*, and Spanish.
	Les Petits Pouvoirs* 1983 Translated into English* and Creole.
WITH LANCTÔT ÉDITEUR, COLLECTION THÉÂTRE
	Petit Pierre* 2002 Translated into Chinese*, and Spanish*.
	L'Ogrelet* 1997 Translated into English*, Italian*, Spanish*, Portuguese, Maya, and Russian.
	Contes à rebours 1997 Produced by Productions Ipso Facto.
WITH THÉÂTRALES, COLLECTION JEUNESSE (FRANCE)
	Contes d'enfants réels * 2009 Translated into German, English, and Spanish*.
	Le bruit des os qui craquent* 2008 Translated into German, English, and Spanish*.
	Théâtre en court 2 (Frontière nord) 2007
	25 petites pièces d'auteurs (Le Grillon) 2007
	Souliers de sable * 2007 Translated into English, and Spanish*.
	Petit Pierre * 2006 Translated into Chinese*, and Spanish*.
	Une lune entre deux maisons* 2006 Translated into English*, Spanish*, Flemish, Portuguese, and Catalan.
	L'Ogrelet* 2003 Translated into English*, Italian*, Spanish*, Portuguese, Maya, and Russian.
	Salvador* 2002 Translated into English*, Italian, Spanish, and Persian.
WITH VLB ÉDITEUR, COLLECTION THÉÂTRE
	Salvador* 1996 Translated into English*, Italian, Spanish, Persian, and Slovak.
	Contes d'enfants réels* 1995 Translated into English, German, and Spanish*.
WITH LEMÉAC
	Souliers de sable* 2006 Translated into English, and Spanish*.
	Conte du jour et de la nuit* 1991 Translated into English*, Spanish, and Portuguese.
	Comment vivre avec les hommes quand on est un géant* 1990 Translated into English.
	Ti-Jean voudrait bien s'marier, mais...* 1985
	La Marelle* 1984 Translated into English*, and Spanish.
	Les Petits Pouvoirs* 1983 Translated into English*, and Creole.
WITH ALBIANA (CORSICA)
	C'era una volta a notte 2006 Written during a writing residence at Théâtre Alibi (Oletta). Translated in Corsican.
WITH LA CHARTREUSE, CENTRE NATIONAL DES ÉCRITURES DU SPECTACLE (FRANCE)
	Salvador* 1994 Translated into English*, Italian, Spanish, Persian, and Slovak.
WITH QUÉBEC /AMÉRIQUE, COLLECTION JEUNES PUBLICS
	La couleur chante un pays 1981 Produced by Théâtre de l'Avant-Pays.
	Une lune entre deux maisons* 1980 Translated into English*, Spanish*, Flemish, Portuguese, and Catalan.
TRANSLATIONS / ADAPTATIONS
Choix multiple 2003 Translation of Opción Múltiple by Luis Mario Moncada Gil presented in a public reading by CEAD, in co-production with the Festival de théâtre des Amériques and the Centro Cultural Helénico de México, 5 June 2003. Les Noces barbares 1995 Adapted for the theatre from the novel of the same title by Yann Queffelec, Premièred by Théâtre Blanc. La Révolte** 1991 Translation and adaptation, in collaboration with Manuel Aranguiz, of the play by José Oregón Morales, El Motin. Gil* 1987 Adapted for the theatre from the novel by Howard Buten Quand j'avais cinq ans, je m'ai tué, 1986. Translation into English.
* Play premièred by Le Carrousel. ** Play produced as a public reading by Le Carrousel.
These plays are available at Maison Théâtre and in Quebec bookstores. They are also distributed in Europe at La Chartreuse de Villeneuve-lez-Avignon and at the Quebec bookstore in Paris: please contact Le Carrousel to find out where and how to obtain them. All works by Suzanne Lebeau are available at Le Carrousel or at: Centre des auteurs dramatiques (CeAD).

Photos, and illustrations:
Manon André, Bernard Bélanger, Véro Boncompagni, Caroline Bourbonnais, Bernard Brault, Nathalie Caron, Maxime Côté, Marc Cramer, Jacques Driol, Yves Dubé, Stéphane Dumais, Marc Dussault, Matthew Fournier, Émilie Gagné-Prud’homme, François-Xavier Gaudreault, Alain Gauvin, Sophie Grenier, Jean-François Hamon, Josée Lambert, Bruno Marcil, Wolfgang Noethlichs, Bernard Préfontaine, Olivier Prialnic, Isabelle Rancier, Mathieu Rivard, Yves Renaud,Daniel Robillard, Marie-Claude Rodrigue, Pierre Roussel, Jean-Christophe Verbert, Chen Yu-Wei, Izabel Zimmer.

© Le Carrousel, theatre company - www.lecarrousel.net
E-mail : theatre@lecarrousel.net - Telephone: 514 529-6309