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2007-2008 Season What's new ?
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Pages des jeunes
Suzanne Lebeau
Gervais Gaudreault History
Petit Pierre Tales of Real Children Cultural activities
The Ogreling
le Pays des genoux
Souliers de sable
Biography
Theatrography
Awards
Bibliography
Disponibilités pour la tournée
Disponibilités pour la tournée

 

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 (three to five years of age), has been translated into five languages; Salvador (1994), presented at the New Victory Theatre on Broadway, has been translated four times; and L’Ogrelet, produced in French, English, Italian, and Spanish by Le Carrousel, has also been translated into German, Maya, Portuguese, and Russian. In 2003–04, L’Ogrelet was published in Argentina, France, and Mexico.

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 Chalmers Children’s Play Award (Les Petits Pouvoirs/Little Victories, 1986); Prix Francophonie Jeunesse (Salvador, 1995); the Masque award for original text (L’Ogrelet, 2000); Prix littéraire de la citoyenneté de Maine et Loire (Salvador, 2002); and nominations for the Governor General’s Award for four of her plays. In 1998, the Assemblée internationale des parlementaires de langue française made her a Knight of the Order of the Pleiades for her body of work. This recognition has gained her invitations all over the world.

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. In 1997 and 1998, the Musée des civilisations in Quebec City asked her to act as an artistic consultant for the exhibition Grandir and to write texts for the exhibition De quel droit?, 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; the following year, as a recipient of the Canada/Mexico Scholarship, she did a two-month residency in Mexico, leading workshops with both writers and children. In 2000, she also participated in the first Biennale of Ibero-American Playwrights in Mexico City. In recent years, ASSITEJ USA, the Chambre belge des théâtres pour l’enfance et la jeunesse, the Mexican festivals Telón Abierto and Titérias, and the Spanish festival Teatralia have invited her to take part in similar activities.

All these activities do not keep Suzanne Lebeau from writing. She has just finished a new play on child soldiers, Le bruit des os qui craquent, which will soon be premièred by Le Carrousel. Finally, she has been teaching writing for young audiences at the National Theatre School of Canada for thirteen years and acts as a consultant to young writers from Quebec and abroad, thus helping new writers for young audiences to emerge.

 

 

 

FINISHED IN   TITLE
2007  Frontière nord
2006  Le bruit des os qui craquent
2005  Souliers de sable
2001  Petit Pierre
1999  C'era una volta a notte
1997  Contes à rebours
1997  L'Ogrelet
1996  L'Héritière
1995  Les noces barbares, adapted from the novel by Yann Queffelec
1994  Salvador: la montagne, l'enfant et la mangue
1991  La Révolte, translated and adapted from the novel by Jose Oregón Morales, El Motin
1991  Petite Fille dans le noir
1991  Conte du jour et de la nuit
1990  Contes d'enfants réels
1989  Comment vivre avec les hommes quand on est un géant
1987  Gil, adapted from the novel by Howard Buten Quand j'avais 5 ans, je m'ai tué
1984  La Marelle
1983  De l'autre côté de la toile
1981  Les Petits Pouvoirs
1980  La couleur chante un pays (in collaboration with Diane Bouchard, Raymond Plante and Michèle Poirier)
1979  Une lune entre deux maisons
1978  Petite ville deviendra grande
1977  Chut! Chut! Pas si fort!
1976  La Chanson improvisée
1975  Le Jardin qui s'anime
1974  Ti-Jean voudrait ben s'marier mais...

 

 

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: La 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 SPANISH
 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 LANCTÔT ÉDITEUR, COLLECTION THÉÂTRE

Petit Pierre* 2002
Translated into 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)
Théâtre en court 2 (Frontière nord) 2007
25 petites pièces d'auteurs (Le Grillon) 2007
Souliers de sable * 2007
Petit Pierre * 2006
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 ALBIANA (CORSICA)
C'era una volta a notte 2006
Written during a writing residence at Théâtre Alibi (Oletta).
   
 WITH LA CHARTREUSE, CENTRE NATIONAL DES ÉCRITURES DU SPECTACLE (FRANCE)
Salvador* 1994
Translated into English, Italian, Spanish, and Persian.
   
 WITH VLB ÉDITEUR, COLLECTION THÉÂTRE
Salvador* 1996
Translated into English, Italian, Spanish, and Persian.
Contes d'enfants réels* 1995
Translated into English and Spanish.
 
 WITH LEMÉAC
Souliers de sable * 2006
Conte du jour et de la nuit* 1991
Translated into English 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.
Les Petits Pouvoirs* 1983
Translated into English and Creole.
   
 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).

 

 

THE COMPANY ]

2007-2008 SEASON ][ WHAT'S NEW? ] [ FRANCAIS ] [ ESPAÑOL ]
SUZANNE LEBEAU ] [ GERVAIS GAUDREAULT ] [ HISTORY ]
PETIT PIERRE ][ TALES OF REAL CHILDREN ] [ CULTURAL ACTIVITIES ]
THE OGRELING  ] [ LE PAYS DES GENOUX ][ SOULIERS DE SABLE ]

 

Photos and illustrations:
Manon André, Patrick Bergé, Véro Boncompagni, Caroline Bourbonnais, Bernard Brault, Nathalie Caron, Maxime Côté, Marc Cramer, Jacques Driol, Yves Dubé, Stéphane Dumais, Marc Dussault, François-Xavier Gaudreault, Jean-François Hamon, Kiko, Josée Lambert, Laurence Leblanc, Suzanne Ostein, Bernard Préfontaine, Olivier Prialnic, Isabelle Rancier, Monic Richard, Daniel Robillard, André P. Therrien, Julien Tremblay.

This site was designed in 1996 by Orénoque interactif
and has been updated since 2003 by Le Carrousel.

© Le Carrousel, theatre company - 1996-2008 - www.lecarrousel.net
E-mail : theatre@lecarrousel.net - Telephone: 514 529-6309