La Chapelle Launches SKIN'S WEBCASTS with ASL Interpretation and French Subtitles

La Chapelle scènes contemporaines is eager to be launching two Skin's webcasts, one with ASL (American Sign Language) interpretation and the other with French subtitles. This marks La Chapelle's first ASL interpreted show since its very opening, thirty-one years ago!

This show is Leslie Baker's most recent creation. She is one of the artists behind The Bakery company and is known mainly for exploring performance in theatrical contexts, while simultaneously working with interventionist experiences. Her artistic approach based on a divised physical / visual theatre, is fuelled by her training, international work and ongoing interests within both theatre and performance art.

This project has been developed through workshops and works-in-progress presentations during the Playwrights' Workshop Montreal Interdisciplinary Writers' Lab (2016) and Aluna Theatre as part of the CAMINOS Festival (Toronto, 2017). In 2020, she further explored her project with two creative digital residencies at Maison de la Culture Notre-Dame-de-Grâce and Centaur Theatre.

Co-presented by La Chapelle Scènes Contemporaines and Centaur Theatre, Skin was created specifically for video and featured as part of the Wildside Festival. The webcast will be launched Wednesday, April 21 - 7 p.m. Free tickets will give you unlimited access until Friday, April 23 - midnight. This unique project has been made possible thanks to the Conseil des arts de Montréal's support for the ASL interpretation, and the Cole Foundation for the French subtitles version, as part of our accessibility program La Chapelle more bilingual than ever.

Inspired by a photograph of a partially illuminated door and Seneca's famous essay On the Shortness of Life (49 AD), Skin is a dreamlike reflection on the value and duration of human existence. The play explores the theme of the satisfaction of living, through formally distinct segments, each one proposing a singular scenographic universe.

The Bakery, a theatrical laboratory, was founded in 2016, marking the culmination of 15 years of collaboration and continued efforts to create works in a spirit of interdisciplinarity. Forceful bodily expressions are paired with images, sounds and text to present performances that emphasize the sheer joy of the living arts. The Bakery is dedicated to exploring performance through theatrical and interventionist experiences. The structure of its work is organized around physical, visual and sonic musicalities that consciously stray from traditional theatrical structures. The company appeals to 21st century audiences by addressing contemporary issues. Each performance is constructed over the course of an extended research period. The aesthetic form and creative process are focused on the performance. The Bakery's artistic approach is experimental and interdisciplinary, with ongoing collaborations at the heart of its process. Works by The Bakery have been presented in Baltimore, Montreal, New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, San Francisco, Sofia, Varna and Bourgas.

CREDITS

Produced by The Bakery; Co-presented by Theatre La Chapelle Scènes Contemporaines and Centaur Theatre; Director, Creator, Collaborator Performer: Leslie Baker; Co-Creator, Collaborator Performer: Emma Tibaldo; Co-creator: Joseph Shragge; Production Designer: Peter Bottazzi; Composer: Michael Leon; Video and Technology Design: Emily Soussana & Andrew Scriver : potatoCakes_digital; Lighting Designer: Howard Mendelsohn; Lighting Designer for Rock Section Episode 4: Luc Prairie; Sound Designer and Technical Director: Peter Cerone; Prop Designer: Michel Richard; Collaborator Performers: Burcu Emeç, Carina Rose, Dean Makarenko; Strata text performed by Jennie Herbin; Dramaturgical Support: Sarah Elkashef; Band: Paule Girardin, Kevin Komoda, Michael Leon; Production and stage management: Merissa Tordjman; Prop painter: François Tougas; Assistant Technical Director: Elly Tomasson; Camera Operators: Matilda Cerone, Shin Ling Low; Sartorial services: Colomba & Giuseppe Cerone; Green Screen Set Construction: Shopdogs; With support from: CALQ (Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec); CAM (Conseil des arts de Montréal); PWM (Playwrights' Workshop Montréal); MCNDG (Maison de la culture Notre-Dame-de-Grâce); IIC (Instituto italiano di Cultura).

Additional credits for the ASL interpretation release

ASL developed in consultation with: Patricia Viens, Jordan Goldman & Jo-Anne Bryan; ASL Interpretation: Patricia Viens; Video embedding: Andrew Scriver.

Additional credits for the French subtitles release

Translation: Elaine Normandeau; Subtitle and video embedding: Andrew Scriver.

La Chapelle MORE BILINGUAL THAN EVER

La Chapelle Scènes Contemporaines continues its mandate as a bilingual presenter by offering more than just francophone and anglophone performances. In fact, in addition to presenting bodies of work in several languages, La Chapelle offers French and/or English subtitles for specific performances. For the past three years, thanks to our partnership with the Cole Foundation, La Chapelle has been working to extend its accessibility and thus further democratize Montreal's local art scene. The initiative La Chapelle, More Bilingual Than Ever allows us to enrich our cultural offer with performances that are aimed at all audiences: Anglophones, Francophones, Allophones, school groups, the curious ones, and people living with hearing disabilities.

Both an experimental and interdisciplinary theatre, La Chapelle Scènes Contemporaines is a key institution for Montreal's performing arts. For the past 30 years, its programming has taken us down the less travelled paths that have made it its signature. Each season constantly reinvents itself by showcasing fresh practices and new creative talents. La Chapelle also means 12 weeks of technical residencies for the season's artists; Récréations, an introductory educational program in contemporary performing arts for elementary school students; and finally La Chapelle More Bilingual Than Ever, which offers a bilingual sur- or subtitle translation program, projects that combine both French and English (for certain performances), and much more.

Learn more at lachapelle.org.

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