Imago Théâtre

A co-production with Scotland's
Stellar Quines Theatre Company

November 2011
Espace GO

Group Bookings: 514-274-3222

one life is not enough

Ana is cursed from birth, cursed with the gift of splitting, of becoming someone else, in a different time, in a different place. Ana lives through her own family tree of selves, starting from one little girl born 5000 years ago in Ur, the first city of the world, to an itinerant artist in 2012, living in the underground malls of Montréal.

Ana’s curse may bring her joy and deliverance. In a moment of crisis, she splits and re-creates herself. When she is stable, Ana uses her vast life experience to great creative ends. She is inspired by her life to dance, to sing, to make love, to paint.

ANA is not the history of women, but the story of one woman through history. It is the story of a heroine who never chooses but lives with the consequences of all the lives she creates. Ana’s world is tragic, dangerous, chaotic, funny, tender and joyful. She is a mother and a murderer, a dancer and a prostitute, a woman and a goddess.

the production

Under the leadership of theatre luminary Serge Denoncourt, writers, artistic directors, actors and designers from Quebec and Scotland have engaged in a 3-year-long collaborative effort to push the limits of language and performance and delve into the elusive subjects of female identity, depression, and creativity. Tracing the journey of women through history and myth-making, this daring, distinctive production truly illustrates Imago’s unique artistic vision.

**COLLABORATORS :**
	CLARE SCHAPIRO Artistic Director (Imago Theatre, Montreal) (see Artistic Direction)

	MURIEL ROMANES Artistic Director Stellar Quines Theatre Scotland
Muriel Romanes has had over 30 years experience in theatre both as an actress and director. She has been with Stellar Quines since 1993 and since 1996 has been its Artistic Director. Stellar Quines focuses on the creative work of women in Scottish Theatre. Some of the many plays she has directed for Stellar Quines have been part of the Edinburgh International Festival, toured throughout Scotland and the UK and won the Best New Play from the Critics Award for Theatre in Scotland (Torben Betts' The Unconquered). Before working with Stellar Quines, Muriel was an Associate Director at the Royal Lyceum Theatre in Edinburgh where she directed several acclaimed productions.

	SERGE DENONCOURT Director (Quebec)
Serge Denoncourt is known as a true man of the theatre with more than 80 productions to his credit. Co-founder of Théâtre de l'Opsis in 1984, he has explored the great classics: Molière, Corneille, Gorky and the modern repertoire – Botho Strauss, Bertolt Brecht, Howard Barker – with equal interest. He breathed new life into the Théâtre du Trident in Quebec City as the company’s Artistic Director from 1994 to 1997. He is steeped in theatre tradition and known for the visual beauty of his shows, which are typically marked by heightened imagery, vivid use of colour and a deep examination of subtext. A versatile artist, Serge also stages operas and most recently co-wrote and directed the Cirque du Soleil's Criss Angel spectacle BELIEVE in Las Vegas.

	PIERRE-YVES LEMIEUX Playwright (Québec)
A literature and theatre graduate, Pierre-Yves Lemieux has been a member of Théâtre de l’Opsis since its inception in 1984. Adept at both comedy and drama, and both experimental and popular theatre, Pierre-Yves has always refused to be pigeon-holed into any particular genre. Many wonderful adaptations and re-writes are attributed to his credit: Oreste’s La Sirène et le harpoon, Tchekhov’s Comédie russe and Monsieur Smytchkov, as well as Tristan et Yseult, À propos de Roméo et Juliette, Les Trois Mousquetaires and Scaramouche. Among other noteworthy projects in tow is a play about the life and work of British scientist Charles Darwin (1809-1882).

	CLARE DUFFY Playwright (Scotland)
Co-founder of UK's Unlimited Theatre, Clare Duffy’s first full length play, Crossings, was commissioned by Sgript Cymru and won her a Pearson Award as well as a year long residency at the West Yorkshire Playhouse where she wrote A Good Man. Crossings was published in March 2005 and toured the UK extensively that year. Unlimited Theatre tour nationally and internationally as representatives of the British Council, performing Neutrino in Los Angeles, the Ukraine, Cologne and Belfast, and Static in Los Angeles, the Philippines, Papua New Guinea and Berlin. Clare moved to Edinburgh in January 2004 and is currently working towards her PhD by practice in playwriting at the University of Glasgow’s Theatre, Film and Television department.

Set Designer Louise Campeau
Louise Campeau is a widely recognized set designer and graduate of the National Theatre School (1984) who has designed more than fifty productions with 14 theatre companies – from the largest and most established, to the smallest and most experimental: Théâtre de l’Opsis, Théâtre de l'Ile à Hull, Théâtre du Nouveau Monde, Théâtre Denise-Pelletier, Compagnie Jean Duceppe, Théâtre de Quat'Sous, Espace Go et Théâtre du Rideau Vert. Louise Campeau has collaborated with numerous theatre directors, including: Luce Pelletier, Daniel Roussel, Daniel Brière, Brigitte Haentjens et Denise Guilbault. Devoted colleague of Serge Denoncourt, she has designed sets for the majority of his productions, including Les Feluettes, for which she won the Masque prize for Best Set Design. She was awarded the Siminovitch prize that same year for the quality of her work; “Ms Campeau is an extraordinary theatre artist whose work gives set design a whole new meaning and whose dedication towards the craft is unequaled”.

Lighting Designer Martin Labrecque
Martin Labrecque is, beyond a doubt, one of the most gifted and acclaimed lighting designers of his generation. Innovative and flexible, he works in theatre, circus, dance and film with equal ease, grace and boundless enthusiasm. Winner of four Masques Awards, Martin Labrecque boasts nearly a hundred lighting designs to his name. Since he launched his career in 1994, he has been a dependable collaborator with some of Quebec’s most distinguished directors: Alexis Martin, Claude Poissant, Martine Beaulne, René Richard Cyr, Michel Monty, Luce Pelletier and Carl Béchard and he has designed nearly thirty productions for Serge Denoncourt. His most stunning lighting designs to date are those for the Cirque du Soleil’s Québec 2008 for Quebec City’s 400th anniversary, The Cirque Éloize, and Pierre Lapointe’s daring Mutantès.

Composer/Sound Designer Philip Pinsky
Philip Pinsky is Associate Artist at the Royal Lyceum Theatre, for whom he has acted as composer and sound designer for Everyone, Peter Pan, Confessions of a Justified Sinner, Copenhagen, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Mary Rose, Macbeth, Trumpets and Raspberries, The Glass Menagerie, Living Quarters, The Winter’s Tale, The Merchant of Venice, Faust 1 and 2 and DeoxyriboNucleic Acid. He has designed for such companies as: Stellar Quines, National Theatre of Scotland, Traverse, Almeida, Grid Iron, Dundee Rep, Lung Ha’s and Red Shift. TV credits include Art & Soul, Ninewells, Harley Street, Seaside Rescue, What Not To Wear (BBC). He has worked on educational projects for NTS Learn, is the winner of the 2005 Critics Award for Theatre in Scotland for best use of music in theatre and was nominated for a Sony Music Award for Extraneous Noises Off (BBC Radio 3).