List of theatrical productions in Quebec

This actress you just saw in the theatre, claims you saw her in another play many years ago. But what is the room? You have the name on the tip of your tongue. Can’t you find it? no! You can consult remindera descriptive database intended to list all theatrical performances in Quebec since 1948.

This project was born at the initiative of Pierre Macduff, collaborator at the Center for Inter-University Research on Literature and Culture of Quebec and Research Associate at the Théâtrothèque of the University of Montreal, in partnership with the Library and National Archives of Quebec, the Library of the National School of Theatre, and the Documentation Center of the Graduate School of Theatre, and Associated Theaters Inc. Theatrical Performers Association, United Theaters for Children and Youth, Association of Theater Companies, and The Playwrights Center.

Six students from the University of Montreal, three in literature and three in theater studies, are working this summer to enrich this theater database.

Make a kind of IMDb for the theater!

Pierre Macduff, who worked for more than 50 years in the world of theater and was director of the Playwrights Center and the Quebec Theater Council, realized that there was no database for Quebec theater. Like the Internet Movie Database (IMDb), which provides free online information on films, actors, and screenwriters, it wanted to do the same for Quebec theater.

“The ambition of this database is to document as accurately as possible all professional theater productions that have been produced or co-produced in Quebec since the beginnings of the professionalization of the activity, nearly 100 years ago. For convenience, we have taken 1948 as the starting date, when Rideau Vert was founded,” explains Pierre Macduff.

This portal includes writers, directors, and performers, but also the many people who collaborate on a theatrical performance and who work in terms of props, choreography, costumes, lighting, and make-up, to name a few of these aspects of theatrical work. It also details the distribution of production.

Rich database during the summer at the University of Montreal

For seven years, summer after summer, Rappels has been enriched. Today, it details about 6,000 productions based on information drawn specifically from programs offered to viewers. The function can be complicated in certain situations, eg Blue sparrowAnd Which has more than 70 performers, most of whom have played several roles, or for Dragon trilogyAnd by Robert Lepage, which went through a complex production journey.

This summer, the student group has handled nearly 300 performances staged this year. He is now looking into more difficult cases of ancient coins where not all information is readily available. “When programs don’t show all the information, you have to look for it elsewhere, like in period ads,” says Pierre McDuff. Real detective work!