Canada History Week 2022

STAGE AND SCREEN

ROSE OUELLETTE , known more commonly by her stage name La Poune, had a diverse career spanning over seven decades. As a pioneer of burlesque theatre and comedy in Quebec, Rose influenced generations of francophone performers and comedians. She also holds the distinction of being the first woman in North America to serve as artistic director of two separate playhouses.

Video Illustrator : Audrey Malo lives and works in Montreal. Her work explores contrasts of shapes, colours, and compositions. She illustrates books for a young audience and designs editorial and advertising illustrations. Her work has appeared in the New York Times , the Washington Post , and the Globe and Mail .

LÉO-ERNEST OUIMET was an early director, producer, and distributor of Canadian film. In 1906, he opened the Ouimetoscope, the first permanent cinema in Montreal. He made shorts based on his family and current affairs to add local flavour to his programs, making him one of the most notable Canadian film producers prior to the First World War. Ouimet built a career on creating local cultural products despite Hollywood’s dominant cultural influence.

MICHEL TREMBLAY is an influential Québécois playwright and novelist. His early plays, such as Les Belles-Soeurs , show a realistic representation of the working-class neighbourhood where Tremblay was born. Controversial at the time, he is well-known for his use of Montreal’s working-class language known as joual . Tremblay’s early plays were significant for his representation of working-class women and queer characters. Some of his notable theatrical works include Hosanna and For the Pleasure of Seeing Her Again , and his plays contributed significantly to the development of alternative theatre in Quebec.

Michel Tremblay (Wikimedia Commons/ Lëa-Kim Châteauneuf).

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