By Hélène Beauchamp
We have all noticed that a new neighbour to the Champagne Bath has finally emerged and stands proud at 333 King Edward Avenue. The long-awaited theatre building – La Nouvelle Scène – has opened its doors to visitors, spectators, artists of theatre, music, dance, cinema, the visual arts. This is really a cause for joy.
The building that stood on the site before was torn down in March of 2013. If things had gone as planned, the new theatre would have opened its doors in September 2015; but things didn’t go as planned, and the official opening was postponed a few times. Many city permits later, and after two more years of patience and a $1 million gift from Gilles Desjardins, president of Brigil construction, the theatre announced a « clandestine season » starting this January 2016. The building was still missing the last finishing touches, but the theatre spaces were ready.
Credit: Patrick Potvin
I took the opportunity to see a show in the 170-seat main hall and another one in the 60-seat experimental studio: both beautiful, fully operational spaces. A third hall for rehearsals can accommodate 40 persons. At last, the francophone community has its own theatre and the artists – all 250 of them in a given year – could come home to great performance spaces. The official opening is scheduled for May 2016.
Like the phoenix, La Nouvelle Scène has now risen from its ashes. http://nouvellescene.com/
A long history of French theatre
Theatre has been performed in French in Ottawa since the 1880s, and the most popular venue then was right here in Lowertown East – the St.Anne hall, built in 1874 next to St.Anne church on St.Patrick Street. Back then without television or internet, people loved to meet for theatre, concerts, conferences and banquets in the three story parish hall (demolished in 1982). All performances were by excellent amateur groups. Melodrama was the favorite fare.
In the 1930s, francophone artists of the Ottawa region started training – some of them even went to Paris – to professionalize their art. The most interesting theatre venues in Lowertown were then the auditorium of Académie De La Salle at Sussex and Guigues, and the Monument National at George and Dalhousie (demolished in 1961).
By the 1960s, a new brand of artists had appeared: the young and creative. They formed their own companies, performed their own scripts in new and free acting styles and founded Théâtre Action in 1972. This very active association works today from its offices on Montreal Road.
Feeling very strongly about the artistic experiences they could offer to spectators of all ages, those companies went on tour throughout Ontario, organised festivals and training workshops. They grew so well, became so knowledgeable in the techniques of the stage, wrote such strong plays, attracted such an interested public that they soon realised they were missing a theatre building, a place where their spectators, young and old, would know where to find them.
The search for a home
The desire for a building to perform theatre in was at its strongest during the 1970s, when Lowertown Ottawa was experiencing major transformations. The companies, along with interested artists, started looking around and set their eyes on a few buildings that could meet their requirements: 18 York Street – but the NCC bought it from under their feet; the synagogue at the corner of Murray and King Edward – but the zoning was changed and the building demolished; the dream of a space on the second floor of the new ByWard market building did not take flight. Their final bid was on the Guigues school, but the school board chose another use for the building. By that time, the National Arts Centre had opened in 1969, and the Théâtre français section hired mainly actors and artists from Montréal, much like the English theatre section who brought in artists from Stratford and Toronto. Local talents were not to be considered.
Also, unlike all major Canadian cities who built their « centennial theatre » in the 1960s and 1970s, the city of Ottawa never had a municipal theatre because…it had the National Arts Center. Ann Loretto Beninger denounced this situation in her thesis on The politics of culture in Ottawa (2005).
National capital cultural institutions, funded by the federal government, received pride of place in funding, facilities, promotion and infrastructure support, and provided the capital city with “culture” at no cost to the municipality In other cities, cultural interests pressed their municipal governments successfully for local theatres, music halls and civic art galleries In Ottawa, there was less incentive to develop a local cultural infrastructure
And then came André Brassard
Strong shows continued to be produced, including plays for children and youth; gradually, professionally-trained artists from the University of Ottawa’s theatre department joined in. But the event that would change history was the arrival of theatre director André Brassard as head of Théâtre français at the NAC. Brassard was aware of the amazing talent of franco-ontarian theatre artists, and chose to work alongside them.
He convinced the NAC that it needed an experimental space for new works to be developed, and that it should buy this garage at 333 King Edward and transform it into a multifunctional space. This fabulous adventure in discovery lasted from 1982 to 1990. The NAC then sold the building to the corporation of the Centre du théâtre francophone d’Ottawa-Carleton, which transformed into a bona fide theatre. La Nouvelle Scène was inaugurated in 1999.
The building itself was not particularly appealing. A one-storey rectangle, with a stage tower on the roof, bordered on both sides by public parking. The doors opened directly on the street and a big, rolling 40-square-foot garage door opened onto the foyer for the delivery of sets and technical material – the foyer was also an unloading dock! The theatre could seat 152 and there was a small rehearsal hall and administrative offices. Built in the 1930s, the building started showing its age, had structural problems, ventilation and water infiltration problems, was not up to code, was definitely too small and not technically up to date. And it certainly could not be repaired any more. The only thing to do was to demolish and build anew.
A new home for artists and art lovers
Credit: Marianne Duval
The new Nouvelle Scène, a 23,000-square-foot building, was designed by internationally known Montreal architects Saucier and Perrotte. There are multiple inside spaces for the artists of theatre, music, dance, the visual arts to perform in, which is the first mission of such a building. The other mission, equal in importance, is to welcome spectators and friends of the arts and so the foyer is expansive and opens onto an interior garden – a sight which is more than welcome on King Edward, where greenery is rather scarce. The façade of glass is meant for passers-by to look in, to see inside, to be attracted by the artistic offerings. Moreover, in a mirror-like effect, it reflects both the Champagne Bath to the North and the former synagogue to the South so that, with its very contemporary outside envelope, it blends in with the traditional buildings on either side.
The budget for the new building came from federal and provincial governments – $2,73 million dollars each; City of Ottawa – $2 million; Brigil Construction: $1 million. A fundraising campaign for the first phase raised $2.5 million; a second phase of the development is planned to house the offices of the four founding companies.
The founding and resident companies of La Nouvelle Scène were then, and still are: Compagnie Vox Théâtre (1979), Théâtre de la Vieille 17 (1979), Théâtre du Trillium (1975), Théâtre La Catapulte (1992). They each have their own administrative and artistic structures, as well as specific mandates. In the next issue, we will talk about the theatre companies, explain the functioning of La Nouvelle Scène, and comment on the 2016-2017 season.
Born, raised and schooled in Lowertown East, Hélène Beauchamp taught at the University of Ottawa (1966-1975) and at UQAM (1975-2003) She has published widely in French on the history of St. Anne church and parish, StAnne hall, Ruling 17 and on francophone theatre in the Ottawa/Gatineau region