FORMA

Magali Chouinard “A White Woman” (Canada)

An interactive, poetic performance realized by a puppeteer artist from Canada. The objects and puppets, animated by the artist, remain as close to the spectators as possible.

Magali Chouinard

The Canadian artist began as a teacher of the French language, but throughout her years teaching in the secondary school, Pierre-de-Lestage de Berthierville, she created a puppet theatre with her pupils; they staged ten different shows. In 2006, she decided to return to study at the Université du Québec à Montréal and take part in lectures on puppet mechanics. She really caught the bug then, resulting in a new show called “The Wandering Soul” – a story of man’s inner explorations which, with every transformation, mark out the stages in human life, and all this is seen from close up.  

“From the time of my first meeting with the art of puppetry, projects focused on different modes of expression have continually provided new directions for my work. In “The Wandering Soul” I have used animation, shadows, puppets, sculpture, drawing and writing. Taking advantage of this multidisciplinary approach I am creating a net of meanings around symbolic characters and places. “The Wandering Soul” is a dynamic project which changes all the time. At present, it is a series of short forms, in black and white aesthetics, each of them corresponding to the narrative sequence of the end project. At the moment, however, each of them exists independently. The forms presented in this collection are not a complete product, they haven’t been finished yet… the work continues all the time, at many levels … - says the artist.

“A White Woman”

A White Woman is a symbol of an inner state characterised by incredible sensitivity and, at the same time, of an adult, a child, an elderly person, a wolf and a raven. These figures have emerged from the inner world; contrasted sharply with their surroundings, moving in slow motion and in black and white, they reveal the areas of light and shadow that fill the space.

During the play, the White Woman gives out little white birds to the spectators. Inside the origami birds there are short poems telling people to open the door to their own inner lives. The White Woman’s movements are slow and soundless; she enters the human depths to touch the soul.

Duration time: 30 min.

Artists:

The show was prepared by Richard Morin, Marthe Adam, Emmanuelle Calvé and Jean Cummings in cooperation with Magali Chouinard.

Studio photos: Jean-Guy Lambert

fot.: Francine Lalonde,Dan Davis, Gilles Renaud,  Isabelle L'Italien, Jean-Guy Lambert.