About
The Project V
I have undertaken an in-depth exploration of psychological violence in order to develop a dramaturgical lexicon centered on the senses, images, sounds, sensations, and light. The goal is to lay the foundation for an original approach to the character who is a victim of this violence, without relying on words, by exploring visual and sensory means of expression. This project aims to address invisible violence, particularly that experienced by men, and the difficulty of recognizing it socially. Psychological violence, often difficult to prove and define, leads the victim to doubt themselves, manipulated by the abuser to the point of believing they are responsible for their own suffering.
I am seeking to create a performance where a lone man, in all his vulnerability, is confronted with psychological violence in an oppressive silence. This stage space, paradoxically open and free, will serve to illustrate a mental prison, where the character’s apparent freedom becomes a form of constraint. The scenic elements—sound, light, puppet objects, puppet, cage without walls—will be designed to evoke subtle yet powerful aggressions, without the use of words.
Artistic Collaborations:
The creative team includes artists from various disciplines, allowing for a plural and integrated approach to the project.
- Actor-puppeteers: Martin Vaillancourt and Caroline Tremblay participated in the physical and puppetry explorations.
- Choreographer: Nicolas Zemmour will be involved in the creation of the performance in the fall of 2025.
- Dramaturg: Eve Lemieux contributes to the dramaturgical construction by analyzing the images created during the explorations and deriving guiding principles from them.
- Composer: Jérôme Roy is composing music that amplifies the emotional impact of the performance.
- Lighting Designer: Mathieu Marcil is working on the lighting design to accentuate emotional tension and add an additional dimension to the lights, transforming them into a puppet-character.
- Illustrator: Catherine St-Martin visually translates the emotions and images perceived on stage, thus creating an initial visual lexicon that could be used in future scenography.
Key Elements of the Project:
- The Body as a Puppet: The use of the human body as a puppet allows for the embodiment of psychological manipulation, offering a powerful and striking representation of the violence experienced.
- Creative Silence: The absence of spoken words is essential for expressing verbal violence, creating powerful images without explicit discourse, and especially allowing for a poetic expression of the theme.
- Visual and Auditory Dramaturgy: The combined use of light, sound, movement, and puppetry constructs a theatrical space where psychological violence is presented in a palpable and evocative way.
- Collaborative Method: The project relies on close collaboration between the artists, each contributing their vision and skills to enrich the research and creation of the performance.
The Project V brings forth strong images and innovative concepts, opening avenues for reflection on how to represent this violence on stage in a subtle yet impactful way. The project continues to evolve, and this initial exploration has laid the groundwork for a theatrical performance that, I am convinced, will touch the audience and open up a space for reflection on a topic that remains largely taboo.
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