Congratulations to Les Blettes collective and Flavia Hevia, the recipients of the 2021-2022 Creative research residencies for professional puppeteers from Montréal. Furthermore, Flavia Hevia is the recipient of the residency reserved for a project by an artist from a minority group.
With the goal of developing puppetry arts and in the context of COVID-19, these residencies offered in partnerships between Casteliers and the Conseil des arts de Montréal, in collaboration with the Maison Internationale des arts de la marionnette (MIAM) and Le Schatz will give the artists the opportunity to work on their respective projects and to take advantage of specialized equipment. The residencies will each last for 19 days. They will take place in two stages: two weeks at the Maison internationale des arts de la marionnette (MIAM) in Montréal, and five days at the Le Schatz House in Sutton.
Les Blettes
The collective Les Blettes consists of Julie Malenfant and Isabelle Bartkowiak, both graduates of UQAM’S DESS program in contemporary puppet theatre. The collective’s foundation was prompted by a desire to offer puppet shows for young audiences that focus on community inclusion. The collective will use its residency to work on its upcoming show: Le Voyage, their first full-length production. Le Voyage is a show about grief that will be staged in a documentary theatre format. Surrounded by a strong team of collaborators, the artists hope to combine citizen testimonials and the poetry of the object in a show created especially for young teens aged 10 to 14.
Flavia Hevia
Flavia Hevia is also a DESS graduate and has considerable experience as a set and lighting designer in Mexico and Canada. Her residency project, Ceux qui vivent dans la forêt, is inspired by the rich folklore of elves, fairies and miniature creatures that is part of almost every culture’s mythology. Flavia Hevia will work on the project in collaboration with Clea Minaker. The artists will combine various techniques to create a metaphorical and supernatural world: shadow theatre, video, stop-motion animation, live manipulation, and interactive spatial installations.
