Ready or not, here we go! In the arts, perfection is an ideal that always accompanies us, but the real magic only appears when we meet the audience. This connection, this vulnerability, and this personal demand transform every hour of work into something greater.

Concretely, where are we at?

Good news: most of the elements of the show are already firmly in place. After the theatrical and musical reading on September 19, presented by Aurore Liang (Pingshu storyteller) and Ran Wang (guzheng musician), the audience showed more interest than ever. They were able to discover and better understand the different artistic practices that will be brought together on stage.

Text: Aurore has memorized her 24 pages (nearly 5,000 words!) and is refining her diction with Noémie Godin-Vigneau while polishing her performance with Robert Reid.

Choreography: Michelle Jiang is preparing a mischievous and funny monkey for us, and has designed the Beijing opera and shadow theater scenes, including the fights and moments of teasing with Nathan Chagoya and Enora Wang.

Music: Ran Wang knows every melody by heart and infuses the show with poetic inspiration.

Lighting: Eric Mongerson and Gill Hurd are working to create luminous passages that accompany and intensify each emotion.

The subsets between teams have also been finalized. The next step will be Thanksgiving week during the creative residency: an intensive rehearsal period when everything will finally come together. Like Saint Joseph's Oratory under construction, each part of our show is prepared with care and passion: it is only when everything is finally assembled that the full grandeur and harmony of the work will be revealed.

The result? You will be able to discover it very soon: November 14 and 15 at the Porte Rouge. We look forward to sharing the fruit of this collective work with you!

A nice review of the public reading on September 19 by critic Robert St-Amour for his blog Sur les pas du spectateur!