Art for Art’s Sake
Bishop’s Students Perform Yasmina Reza’s Art in Bandeen Hall
It all started when graduating Bishop’s Drama student Lucy Collingwood decided that she wanted to direct some theatre in her free time this spring. Along with four other students, they set about to put on a play, just for the heck of it.
They called themselves The Poutine Players.
With second year Drama and Secondary Education student Emily St-Aubin as Stage Manager, and fourth year Taylor Demontigny, third year Trevor Marlatt and alumni Jeffrey Basiliere as the cast, they discussed which play to put on. Demontigny suggested Art, and they simply went from there.
For those not familiar with this play, Art was written by French playwright Yasmina Reza. It first premiered in 1995 in Paris, and even after such a short time it has already become a classic of contemporary European theatre. It has been translated and produced worldwide and honored with numerous awards, including the Moliere Award for best author and the Tony Award for best play.
Art is a play of ideas, which is very difficult to stage, because if the audience cannot follow the argument, the play is lost. Art tempers this with its dialogue. Reza’s play is filled with hilariously sharp dialogue, and all three leads do a superb job of tackling it.
The true strength of the play is the humor. The actors really find their stride in the chemistry of the three men, and the little moments of humor that aren’t found in the script.
The first strength of this play is its casting. Demontigny as Marc shows an aggression and hostility in his performance akin to a feral predator. Every laugh he makes seems to bare fangs, making him instantly captivating. Demontigny also shows incredible depth of character. Of all the men, Marc’s transformation is the most profound, and Demontigny sells it perfectly.
Marlatt is cast brilliantly as Serge. Serge is imbued with a quiet strength and underlying snobbishness making him an ideal counter to Marc’s ferocity. Marlatt has a talent for subtlety that gives power to his character.
Basiliere rounds up the cast as Yvan, who is on the fence between the two. Basiliere balances the whiny timidity and the eccentric explosions masterfully, switching between them with ease.
The play was performed in Bandeen Hall. Collingwood explained that staging a play in Bandeen provided challenges and opportunities for unique stagecraft. The stage is a long strip with the audience on either side of it. Collingwood claims the tricky part was to solve the problem of sight lines. Based on the performance, it was successful. Everything is clearly visible, and the audience feels a great deal of intimacy with the actors.
Another good thing about setting a play in Bandeen Hall is that the acoustics are incredible. Volume was never an issue, even when the actors were at other ends of the stage, with their backs turned.
Art by The Poutine Players is not only a great show, (and at $6 for students and $8 for adults, a price that can’t be beat) but it shows how resourceful and proactive students here at Bishop’s really are.
These students decided they wanted to challenge themselves with an incredibly demanding play, and with their success, they proved that art can happen anywhere. The result is a great accomplishment to cap off another school year, and an ideal swan song for some of our graduating Drama students.
