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Interview with Dave Deveau
This season, the prolific and eclectic writer Dave Deveau has written Extra-Céleste, a play for young audiences produced by Théâtre la Seizième. He has graciously agreed to meet us between performances of his most recent play, Lowest Common Denominator, rehearsals of Extra-Céleste and his weekly performance at the Apocalypstick Drag Show.
Dave Mackenzie Deveau
What brought you to dramatic writing? What is attractive to you about writing for the theatre?
During my childhood I was an actor in television and films. I would also write short plays for myself, just for the pleasure of it. So I was very immersed in the theatre and film worlds. Later, I studied literature at Ottawa’s Canterbury School, a high school that specializes in teaching the arts. That is where I wrote my first play and where I discovered my passion for this kind of writing. I naturally pursued post-secondary studies in playwriting, first at York University in Toronto, where I received a Bachelor’s degree, then at the University of British-Columbia, where I received a Master’s degree.
I like the world of possibilities that theatre affords. When you write for television or for film, you have to be concrete, literal. In theatre, it’s a little bit the opposite. There is more room for the imagination, to suggest things and to explore fantasy. We can perform a play on a completely empty stage and if the actors and the story are good, it will still have an impact. The audience plays an important role in the process. They are a different dimension of the play, because much of the story takes place in their heads. I really love this dialogue and this give and take with the audience. I have a conversation with hundreds of people through the pieces that I write!
What are the principal challenges for contemporary playwrights in your opinion?
Contemporary playwrights are in competition with Shakespeare in English and Molière in French. It’s obvious that it is riskier for a producer when it comes to choosing a play. We simply don’t sell as well! The playwrights must also deal with the financial realities of theatre companies. I can’t really write a play with 22 characters, because nobody in Canada would be able to produce it! Despite the constraints, I really like the limits placed on me. It gives me a framework in which to create. For example, with Extra-Céleste, I knew that I was writing a play for children, with a maximum of three actors that was going to tour in schools. These limitations became a source of inspiration over the course of the process and helped guide my choices.
Extra-Céleste is a co-commission between Théâtre la Seizième and Green Thumb Theatre. How was the creative process with these two companies?
I’ve worked for several years with Green Thumb Theatre, and I had a chance to write a short piece for la Seizième in 2009. In 2012, Craig Holzschuh offered me a commission for a play and I proposed the story of Céleste. A few months later, Patrick McDonald (the Artistic Director of Green Thumb Theatre) joined the project. I received advice from the two artistic directors and from Anita Rochon (the stage director) during the process, so I was well supported! The two companies also worked together on certain production elements, like the set.
I wrote the play in English and Lyne Barnabé translated it into French. Lyne is fantastic; she is very patient and gives it her all. We had some good back and forth and it was a very nice collaboration. I have to say it feels strange that the play will first be produced in French by la Seizième before it is produced in English by Green Thumb: I feel like the process has been reversed! One thing is certain; the two productions will be very different because the languages are so different!
Extra-Céleste is your first play for children. Did you need to go about the writing in a different way?
When Craig offered me this commission, I had just completed two plays for teenage audiences, and I wanted to do something new. So I decided to write a play for children. I learned a lot of things during the writing process, thanks to the comments by Patrick, Craig and Anita. The writing process for children’s theatre is somewhat different than writing for general audiences. I have a tendency to write a lot of dialogue and that is not necessarily the best way to communicate a story to children. They are looking for action! They also have incredible imaginations, so you can really transport them to fantastic places.
What inspired you to write Extra-Céleste?
I saw the film Bully in 2011, an excellent documentary about young people who are bullied. It profoundly touched me. One of the kids in the documentary said that there was no way he was from Earth, that he was from another planet where people there were like him and could understand him. He felt so different from all the other kids, that he came to that horrible conclusion. That scene affected me and stayed with me. I told that story to Craig, and from there, we started to see how we could use this as the inspiration to create a new play.
You are one of the founders of Zee Zee Theatre. Why did you choose to create your own theatre company?
Like many young artists, Cameron Mackenzie (artistic director of Zee Zee Theatre) and I completed our studies and found ourselves in a very competitive world where very few theatres hired young directors or playwrights. It was important to us to give ourselves the means to continue to create and to show people what we were able to do. Today, I am lucky because companies like Green Thumb or Théâtre la Seizième offer me contracts, but I know many very talented artists for whom that is not the case. They have to create their own work. This is probably why we’re seeing the creation of so many young companies.
Extra-Céleste will be presented in French at Studio 16 on March 28th and 29th at 7 :00 PM. Green Thumb Theatre will then produce the play in English in April and May. To get more information about Dave’s many projects, read our article in Le saviez-vous on our blog or visit the Zee Zee theatre website.
