A Théâtre français de Toronto Production
Madeleine Claude, Marie-Hélène Fontaine, Hannah Forest-Briand, Alex Harrouch, Olivier Lamarche, Gloria Mampuya and Daniel Sarkissian
Message from Ontario’s Ministry of Education: The opinions expressed in Les Zinspirés : Dix-joncté.e.s do not necessarily reflect those of the province.
(TRIGGER WARNING : One of the plays (Stay or Go) addresses themes of intimidation as well as physical and emotional abuse / Some scenes feature a strobing effect that may affect photosensitive viewers)
What is Les Zinspiré.e.s you ask? It is a youth-development initiative intended on introducing the art of playwriting and storytelling to teenagers. It’s a creative forum without censorship or taboos. Over the last 10 years, this initiative has brilliantly brought to life 50 thought-provoking, sometimes heart-wrenching and often hilarious stories written by teens themselves.
What is Les Zinspiré.e.s? It’s a generational mic-drop!
Les Zinspiré.e.s is a 10-year old writing competition conducted in French that reaches more than twenty schools each year. Hundreds of students dare to put their ideas on paper under the guidance of motivated teachers. Dedicated and engaging coaches supervise these young aspiring playwrights during their writing retreats. Les Zinspiré.e.s also involves visionary directors who are inspired by these voices, by this language of adolescence. It also involves designers who take us on a journey and bring life to these multiple worlds. This is what it takes to bring to the stage these new original stories, from one year to the next. And let’s not forget the tireless dedication of Pierre Simpson, our contest coordinator (thank you!). What is Les Zinspiré.e.s? It’s 10 years of creation and a total of 10 original productions: 2.0, 3D, Puissance 4, Cinq sur Cinq, Six degrés de séparation, L’âge de raison, Infiniment éveillé.e.s, Flambant 9 and, this year, it’s Dix-Joncté.e.s. Long live Les Zinspiré.e.s!
Karine Ricard
Disjoncter is to disconnect. It’s to unplug. Cut yourself off from the routine.
Disjoncter is also letting loose, going nuts, blowing a fuse.
The irony is that sometimes we need to unplug in order not to go mad. To switch off in order not to shut down. In recent years, we often find ourselves in a virtual world where we can be present without actually being present. Where a little black box with our username has replaced our face. Where the word “zoom” is no longer a verb or a noun, but a meeting place.
In spite of all this, 7 young authors wanted to imagine and create worlds, characters and issues outside this virtual world. People searching for each other, thirsting for love and reminding us how human contact is the basis of our resilience and survival.
Two full years have passed since Karine and Joël offered me the chance to direct Les Zinspiré.e.s. This 10th edition… Already! Finally, I can share with you these stories and characters that I live with and that inspire me. And we can all go a little crazy. Together.
Enjoy the show!
Constant Bernard
Madeleine Claude was born in Maceió, a coastal town in the north-east of Brazil. She grew up in Quebec, following her adoption shortly after her birth.
Her cultural diversity influences her artistic choices and it is what distinguishes her work greatly as an actress and singer. She gives every role she takes on, every song she writes, a unique touch. This is why she graduated with flying colours from New Image College of Fine Arts’ Acting Program in Vancouver.
Since Madeleine began her professional career, she has worked in both French and English, appearing in several films and television shows; most recently in 14 Love Letters, Indéfendables and Christmas on the Slopes which will be released in winter of 2022.
Her two EPs (Extended Play) entitled Bring on the Night and Femme are available on all digital music platforms. Madeleine sings and raps in three languages, French, English and Portuguese under her artist name Madé. Her musical style is pop/hiphop with a touch of Latin rhythms. She is currently working on her 3rd EP, which will be released in the spring of 2023.
Wanting to contribute to a cause close to her heart, Madeleine has become an ambassador for the Adoption Council of Canada.
A veteran actress based in Toronto for the past thirty years, Marie-Hélène has appeared in numerous productions, including Plan B at Tarragon Theatre, for which she was nominated for a Dora Award, and La Passagère, a Théâtre La Tangente production. Marie-Hélène appeared at Théâtre français de Toronto in Le Collier d’Hélène, which was nominated for a Dora Award, as well as in Le Mariage forcé and La Critique de L’École des femmes, Le Faucon, Le Gars de Québec, Eddy, Bonbons assortis, À toi, pour toujours, ta Marie-Lou, Albertine en cinq temps and more recently in Le Club des éphémères. Marie-Hélène also played in the English version of Bonbons assortis (Assorted Candies), directed by Diana Leblanc, with Viola Léger. Her television credits include Adrienne Clarkson Presents on CBC, Top Cops on Alliance and Les Belles-soeurs on TVOntario. She played the role of Gratienne Desrosiers in Météo+ for TFO and starred in the film I Am Yours directed by Leonard Farlinger where she plays The Mother. Marie-Hélène is, additionally, a visual artist.
Originally from Quebec City, Hannah is a bilingual queer artist. Passionate about the arts, humans and adventures, Hannah graduated from George Brown School in Toronto in 2020 after studying psychology. Since then, she has participated in several television and theatre projects, including a lead role in the Web series Les Liaisons Dangereuses : Correspondances inédites produced by Théâtre français de Toronto (TfT). You will also soon see her in Marie-Claire Marcotte’s play Flush at TfT and in the play Darkest Dark directed by Jim Millan at the Young People Theatre.
Alex Harrouch is a bilingual Montreal-born actor, best known for his role as Leo in Degrassi. Gamers may also recall his performance in Ubisoft’s acclaimed video game, Far Cry 3.
He now resides in Toronto and has appeared in several series, with recurring roles in Letterkenny and Murdoch Mysteries and smaller roles including The Handmaid’s Tale and The Hot Zone, opposite Elisabeth Moss and Topher Grace respectively.
Film credits include Canadian Film Fest winner How to Plan an Orgy in a Small Town, The Marijuana Conspiracy and Buffaloed, starring Zoey Dutch. He has also appeared in a number of TV movies and will be seen next in How to Kill Your Husband, streaming on Tubi. He is thrilled to be joining the TfT’s Les Zinspiré.e.s : Dix-joncté.e.s in his first ever professional theatre role.
He is represented by Monika Thomas (Creative Drive Artists) in Toronto and Marc Elias in Montreal.
Olivier is a bilingual multidisciplinary actor and creator having worked in a variety of mediums ranging from theatre, opera, video games, film and television. In the live sector he has worked for many companies including National Arts Center of Canada, Festival d’Opéra de Québec, Black Theatre Workshop Montreal and the New York Metropolitan Opera. He most recently wrote and directed the radio play Pierre et le Loup : Une Pièce Symphonique in collaboration with PlayShed Theatre and Ensemble Volte, with both English and French versions being released in 2023. This is his first collaboration with the TfT.
Gloria Mampuya is a black bilingual actor of Cameroonian and Congolese descent. Originally from Ktinékétolékouac (Sherbrooke, Quebec) and now based in Tkarón:to she has recently graduated from York University. She is thrilled to join this incredible group of artists to share these tales written by the creative youth of Ontario, and even more so to be able to work in French again. Previous credits include: The First Stone (New Harlem Productions/GCTC), Othihêw (Shakespeare in the Ruff), Pipeline (Black Theatre Workshop/Théâtre La Licorne), Mortified (York University), 365 Days/365 Plays (York University), Iphigenia 2.0 (York University).
Daniel Sarkissian is a bilingual actor and filmmaker. He is delighted to be performing in Les Zinspiré.e.s, his first professional theatre experience. As an actor, he has also appeared in various films, television programs and commercials. Some of his work as a filmmaker has been shown on Amazon Prime, NBC Comcast and other major networks. Over the years, he has interviewed musicians and producers from the world’s biggest bands, including Guns N’ Roses, KISS, Nirvana and others. Most of his interviews are available on his YouTube channel.
Anthony Atalian is a student at McMaster University in the Integrated Biomedical Engineering and Health Sciences program, where he majored in Biomedical and Electrical Engineering. In addition to his studies, he is involved in several technical, cultural and humanitarian clubs at the university. He is regularly involved in the Armenian community of which he is a member, especially in church affairs and services. He completed his secondary education at Père René de Galinée. During his time at PRDG, he was able to explore his interests in science by participating in several extracurricular activities; and, experience his secondary interests in activities such as student government and, most importantly, hone his French skills.
My name is Alexia Dumouchel and I am a student at the University of Ottawa in Business Management. In my free time I like to go on adventures with my friends, travel (exploring countries: Cuba, England, France, Monaco, Italy, Vatican, Germany, Netherlands), explore nature (walking, canoeing, travelling), explore my artistic creativity (drawing, painting, writing, photography and videography). My script was inspired by an anecdote I actually experienced with two of my friends at a Tyler The Creator concert. When I was 15 years old, this experience was traumatic. But when I wrote this script I wanted instead to create a funny and comical piece. Going to a concert and being alone in a big city for the first time can be an exciting but scary experience when you are a teenager. But when you get a little older it becomes such nostalgic memories and fun stories to tell.
My name is Alexa Laliberté, I’m 18 years old and I’m currently studying at York University in the theatre program! I went to Père-René-de-Galinée High School just like Alexia and Anthony! I’ve always been very passionate about theatre so it’s very exciting to have the chance to see something I wrote come to life on stage! Because of COVID, it’s been a while since I wrote this story, so it’s very interesting to see what went through my mind, almost two years ago, in my French class. I’m not sure whether I want to pursue playwriting or performance in the future, but regardless, Les Zinspiré.e.s was an incredible experience and I’m so grateful that my story was chosen!
My name is Clara, I am 17 years old, and I am in grade 12. I am from Romania; I moved to Canada when I was 5 years old, and I speak French, English and Romanian. Writing was a new experience for me, as I usually prefer drawing. However, after discovering that I had a deep hatred for colouring, and after hearing several people tell me that my personal stories amused them, I decided to give it a try. And here we are! For my script, I was inspired by stories like Lamb to the Slaughter, Romeo and Juliet, and Luceafarul. I also wanted to explore more of the English culture of the 1950s.
Safa Usman is a 1st year student at Queens University who loves everything that relates to Art. As a dramatic child bathed in theatre and music from a young age, Safa aspired to connect her love of writing with her love of theatre in order to better understand the actor’s perspective, in its entirety. Along the way, Safa learned the art of playwriting and how it differs from storytelling. After embarking on this inspiring journey of writing, editing, learning and growing, Safa learned a lot about how to express herself in French, in writing, and how to communicate to an audience a theme that matters to her greatly: the human connection.
My name is Briana Phillips and I am the author of “Tamika”. I am now 17 years old and a student at Toronto Metropolitan University. On the rare occasion when I’m not studying, I like to play video games, watch Netflix documentaries and have long talks with friends. Earlier this year I developed a new passion for writing and reading (except poetry)! I had always done it at school out of obligation, but now I do it for fun! One of my favourite things to do is to make those around me laugh! Some people might even describe me as one of the funniest people they know. And I think this is reflected in my writing!
Clara Koeller Smirnios is a French Immersion student at KCI. She lives in Waterloo, where she plays the flute and teaches youth Art. She is currently working towards becoming a high school French and music teacher. Clara is a proud member of the LGBTQ+ community and her writing is inspired by her life and the lives of her peers. Her piece aims to draw attention to the challenges of women trapped in a spider’s web, as well as the fact that it is always possible to escape from an unhealthy relationship.
Lara Arabian is a trilingual actress (Armenian, English, French) with a passion for producing new original works. A graduate of the University of Toronto and the Sorbonne (Paris IV) and nominated for a Dora Award (as an actor and writer), she works across Canada.
As a writer, she was part of the prestigious Playwrights Lab at the Banff Centre for the Arts and her radio series Convictions a collaboration between Théâtre français de Toronto and Ici Radio Canada debuted in the spring of 2021. She was also the writing coach for Les Zinspiré.e.s : Infiniment éveillé.e.s (Dora Award Nomination, Best New Script for Young Audiences) and Flambant 9.
Lara is the first recipient of the Joël Beddows bursary for new playwrights.
For the past several years, Mélanie has been happy to join the Zinspirés team as an actor, jury member and/or writing coach: Les Zinspirés 2.0; Les Zinspirés : Puissance 4 (finalist Dora Award 2016 Outstanding Production, Outstanding New Play); Les Zinspirés : Cinq sur Cinq (finalist Dora Award 2017 Outstanding New Play), Les Zinspirés : Six degrés de séparation (finalist Dora Award 2018 Outstanding New Play). She recently appeared in Rébecca Déraspe’s play Peau d’ours, a production nominated for the Prix Rideau Awards 2022. Mélanie also divides her time between television and voice-over work.
Geneviève Fontaine is both an actress and a writer. She appeared in Les murs ont des yeux, Eaux Turbulentes, Flippons 2021, Ainsi Va Manu, and soon in Échec et moi. Her first professional short film, Tête à Tête, was shot with the financial support of the Ontario Arts Council and is currently touring festivals. Geneviève is currently working on her first television series, as well as writing her first feature film and an immersive play. She is proud to have joined the 2021-2022 Zinspiré.e.s team as a writing coach.
Vincent has been involved with the writing contest, the Zinspirés. on multiple occasions, as either an actor, a writing coach, a jury member or a speaker. He has performed with several theatre companies, including TfT, Corpus, Dusk Dances, DLT, BoucharDanse and Théâtre la Seizième. He was recently awarded the RBC National Award for Excellence for an emerging artist by the Fondation pour l’avancement du théâtre francophone au Canada. Vincent holds an Honours B.A. in Theatre from the University of Ottawa, is a graduate of Studio 58, and has completed the clowning intensive workshop at the Manitoulin Conservatory for Creation and Performance. www.vincentleblancbeaudoin.com
Following her career as a soloist with the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, the Orchestre Métropolitain, the Orchestre symphonique de Québec, the Opéra de Québec and Opera Lyra Ottawa, Christina now devotes herself to acting.
With theatre, she has performed in The Sound of Music (Just for Laughs), The Baklawa Recipe (Centaur Theatre), L’Assemblée (Porte Parole) and La Cantatrice chauve as well as in the web series Les Liaisons dangereuses : correspondances inédites (TfT). On TV, she has had roles in The Art of More, Saving Hope, Designated Survivor, Workin’ Moms, Les Simone, Good Sam, Nurses, The Detectives, Plan B and Les Bracelets rouges.
Christina is delighted to have participated in this edition of Les Zinspiré.e.s for the first time as a writing coach.
Constant is a bilingual actor, director and singer based out of Toronto.
A Franco-Ontarian at heart, he was born and raised in the city of Rockland, Ontario, just east of Ottawa. He holds a degree in Theatre from the University of Ottawa as well as a Music Theatre Performance Degree from Sheridan College.
On stage, Constant has performed in many musicals and plays across Canada. In 2012, he was cast as The Genie in Disney Cruise Line’s Aladdin and spent 8 years traveling the world aboard the Disney ships. Highlights from his past stage performances include: Le Passé Antérieur, Les Zinspiré.e.s (Théâtre français de Toronto), The Rocky Horror Show (Citadel Theatre), Le Passé Antérieur (Theatre de l’île), Silence en coulisses (Théâtre du Trillium), Frozen, Twice Charmed: A Cinderella Story and Tangled: The Musical (Disney). Later this season, he will be performing in Vaches: The Musical, a production by Créations In Vivo.
On the silver screen, Constant plays Reginald in Overlord and the Underwoods (CBC Gem/Nickelodeon) and Momo in Makinium (Radio-Canada). Earlier this year, he made his film debut in Gail Maurice’s feature film ROSIE which premiered at TIFF.
Constant is thrilled to be making his directorial debut with Théâtre français de Toronto directing the 10th Anniversary production of Les Zinspiré.e.s : Dix-joncté.e.s!
Originally from Strasbourg, Ariane holds a master’s degree in IMAC (Image Multimédia Audiovisuel et Communication), the only engineering school in France mixing science and art.
After several years as a project manager in a digital communication agency in Paris, Ariane moved to Toronto in 2018. She works as a stage manager, project manager and administrator for various arts organizations and companies, including WeeFestival, Nova Dance, CORPUS and ARC Theatre. Ariane is also a member of the Board of Directors of Toronto’s Francophone community troupe Les Indisciplinés.
Pierre is very proud of all these talented young writers and sincerely thanks the teachers, families and creative teams who have supported them for the past 10 years. Originally from Welland, Pierre is a graduate of the University of Ottawa. His previous projects include: La Cantatrice chauve, Le Dîner de cons and Les Médecins de Molière, (Dora Award finalist, Rideau Award winner). Director: Zinspiré.e.s 1, 2.0, 3D, La plus grosse poutine du monde. Television: Hannibal, Murdoch Mysteries, Reign, Transplant, Three Pines, Le Rêve de Champlain, Motel Monstre, Mehdi & Val, Léa Olivier, Makinium, Ainsi va Manu, Paris Paris. Cinema: mother!, Noël en boite, Rosie.
Beatriz Arevalo is a Costume and Production Designer from São Paulo, Brazil. From a young age, her sense of inventiveness allowed her to look for originality and innovation when traveling and exploring different cultures.
“My heart bursts with creativity and passion, and through my work, I wish to pass that along.”
Her itinerant and inquisitive nature drew her closer to design. Beatriz has worked and studied in Belgium, Brazil, USA, and Canada. She now works as a freelancer in Toronto, navigating between Film, TV, and Theatre, always looking for new opportunities and challenges.
Some of Beatriz credits include “A Brief History of the Unicorn” (short - 2019), “Smile” (short, 2021), “The overkill” (short, 2022), "Solstice d’hiver" - Theatre Prospero (2021) and “Les Liaisons dangereuses : correspondances inédites” (web-series, 2022). For larger productions, some of her credits include “Zombies 3” (2022) as Costume BG and Dancers Coordinator and “SPIN” (2021) as Costume Dancers Coordinator.
Inclusivity and ingenuity are key components that Beatriz strives towards.
Glenn Davidson is happy to return to TfT. He designed the set and lighting for the 2015 and 2018 editions of Les Zinspirés and other TfT productions such as Soirée Tchekhov, Lettres d’amour, Coeur de Chien, À toi pour toujours, Ta Marie-Lou, Albertine en cinq temps, and La Cantatrice chauve among others. Other projects include Undercover (Tarragon Theatre), Bombers (4th Line Theatre), Freud’s Last Session (Harold Green Jewish Theatre), and Tale of Two Cities (Tafelmusik). His worked has earned him two Dora Mavor Moore Awards, and he is a Pauline McGibbon Award recipient.
A versatile artist, Brian is a songwriter, performer, musician, actor, musical director, stage director and music teacher. He has received several awards for his compositions such as four awards at Contact Ontarois 2020 for Vaches The Musical, a Trille d’Or for L’écho d’un peuple, a Trille d’Or for Réveille, a Trille d’Or for Zone.
With lyrics by Jean-Pierre Perreault, he composed the music for the song “Mon beau drapeau”, sung in Ontario’s French schools. With his wife Lucie and his children Benoît, Mélina and Jérémie, they participated in the Radio-Canada program Un air de famille. Afterwards, they launched their album and toured the province of Ontario.
Many artists have sung his compositions such as Véronic Dicaire, Michel Bénac from the group Swing, Roxane Potvin from Cirque du Soleil, Manon Séguin, Jean-Marc Lalonde, Jojo, Martine Lafontaine, Martin Massé, Luc Lalonde, Le choeur du Moulin and Les Chansonniers de Gloucester. Brian has performed with artists such as Bruno Pelletier (Notre-Dame-de-Paris), Ariane Gauthier (Roméo et Juliette) and Véronic Dicaire. He has opened for artists such as Marie-Chantal Toupin, Laurence Jalbert, France D’Amour, Luce Dufault, Audrey Demontigny, Damien Robitaille, Vilain Pingouin, Martin Deschamps and Roch Voisine.
Patrick Lynn is a production manager and stage manager who grew up in Fredericton, New Brunswick. In 2017, they moved to Toronto to complete their Bachelor of Fine Arts at TMU in “Performance: Production and Design”. Previous projects include: Rehearsal Stage Manager, Cacao | A Venezuelan Lament, Victoria Mata Productions (2022); Production Manager, Sweeney Todd, Talk is Free Theatre (2022); Stage Manager, A Grimm Night, Transcen | Dance (2022); Production Manager, The House of Bernarda Alba, Aluna Theatre & Modern Times Stage Company (2022).
Mathieu Taillardas