LÀ-BAS

Our Creators

VÉRONIKA MAKDISSI-WARREN
Stage Director

Actress and stage director Véronika Makdissi-Warren is a graduate of the Conservatoire d’Art Dramatique de Québec and was trained in violin at the Conservatoire de Musique. A clowning enthusiast, she has created several shows, including Mammouth et Maggie, Moi aussi and King Lear contre-attaque. From 2003 to 2008, the actress travelled the world to act in two Ex Machina creations directed by Robert Lepage: La trilogie des dragons and The Busker’s Opera. She has also directed numerous productions, including Le psychomaton by Anne-Marie Olivier. A member of Théâtre Niveau Parking since 1999, Véronika has participated in a number of its productions, including Lentement la beauté, On achève bien les chevaux, Act of God and Le Dieu du carnage.

Véronika passes on her experience by teaching clowning and theatrical tactics, among other subjects, at the Conservatoire d’Art Dramatique de Québec. Since September 2018, the actress has served as L’Aubergine’s artistic director. A close collaborator of Les P’tits Mélomanes du Dimanche, Véronika Makdissi-Warren created the youth concerts La Mystérieuse Métamorphose de M. et Mme Tacet and Le petit musicien, featuring the Orchestre Symphonique de Québec.
 

MELISSA BOUCHARD
Assistant Set Designer

Writer and director Melissa Bouchard graduated from the Directing and Creation program at the Conservatoire d’art dramatique de Québec. With the completion of a master of arts degree in Performing and Screen Arts in 2014, she presented her creation Les frères Velivolum, a multidisciplinary production inspired by Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton. Focusing her work on multidisciplinarity and gestural theatre, she co-founded the Théâtre de la Bacaisse in 2014 and became its artistic director.
 
In addition to writing the scripts and directing the company’s shows, in 2017 she brought a new concept to life with mobile theatrical shows in the Bas-Saint-Laurent region. In 2019 and 2020, she served as an assistant director to Michel Nadeau, Véronika Makdissi-Warren, and Maryse Lapierre. In 2020, she directed Nom d’une botte!, a gumboot theatre-dance show for young audiences produced by Les Malchaussées, Beethoven à Québec by P’tits mélomanes de Québec, and Sous l’eau by Théâtre du Gros Mécano, in addition to creating Pop-Up Fest, a travelling street performance show in Quebec City.

STÉPHANE CARON
Musical arrangement

Stéphane Caron is a composer, performer and director. He has created original music for both theatre and the stage for Alexandre Fecteau, Fabien Cloutier, Marie-Josée Bastien, Marie Gignac, Claude Poissant and Daniel Danis. His recent creations include Salle de nouvelles (Trident/Duceppe), Singulières (Bordée), La sagouine (Trident), Lentement la beauté (Bordée), Incendies (Trident 8) and La détresse et l'enchantement (Théâtre du Nouveau Monde).
 
He is a four-time recipient of the Prix Bernard-Bonnier, awarded at the Prix d’excellence des arts et de la culture de la région de Québec, for his contributions to Ailleurs que maintenant, Macbeth, Cyrano de Bergerac and Les caprices de Marianne. He was also awarded the Prix du public étudiant in 2003 for Le Revizor (Théâtre Denise-Pelletier).
 
He has been found on stage as a musical performer and/or actor in Ailleurs Nui Nui (Entre’Actes), La sagouine (2021 tour), Notre bibliothèque (Théâtre de Quat'sous), Où tu vas quand tu dors en marchant (Carrefour international de theatre de Québec - Machineries), Détour de chant (Premier Acte) and Cabaret Gainsbourg (Pupulus Mordicus).

CHRISTIAN FONTAINE
Set Design and Lighting

Christian Fontaine completed his studies in set design at the Conservatoire d’art dramatique de Québec in 1987. Since then, he has worked on over a hundred shows with multiple companies as a set and lighting designer, including designing the set and lighting for L’Aubergine’s production Gaspashow in 1993. In recent years, he has designed, among others, the set for Waiting for Godot (Théâtre de La Bordée), for which he won the Prix Jacques-Pelletier, War and Peace (Théâtre du Sous-Marin Jaune), and Les Misérables (Le Capitole). Most recently, he was the assistant set designer for the production Quills (Ex Machina).
 
He has been teaching set design at the Conservatoire d’art dramatique de Québec since 2009.

MIGUEL FONTAINE
Performer

Since leaving the conservatory in 2015, Miguel Fontaine has performed in Doggy in Gravel by Olivier Arteau, FOREMAN by Charles Fournier and Amour-Amour by Gabriel Cloutier-Tremblay. As a lover of the stage, he also enjoys participating in projects that go beyond traditional venues, such as LODHO’s 150 cabanes/homes, Sortie de route by Hubert Bolduc, Où tu vas quand tu dors en marchant and Poulet Ti-potelé by Élisabeth Baril-Lessard, which were all presented outside of Quebec City. Miguel was also a puppeteer for the Théâtre de la Dame de Cœur in their show Folie sur l’épave by Cédric Landry, presented at the Musée maritime de la Pointe-au-Père.
 
Miguel is currently working on a new creation called Bob, which will be presented at the Théâtre Périscope in March 2024. In addition to creating It, he will also perform in the show.
 
You may also have seen him on screen in Survivre à ses enfants, directed by Louise Archambault, and in season 4 of Léo directed by Jean-François Chagnon.
 

AMÉLIE GADBOIS
Performer

After years of alpine skiing and gymnastics competitions, Amélie was introduced to the art of clowning by Francine Coté and trained at the École de cirque de Québec. She also specializes in the aerial hoop and practises Chinese mast, hand-to-hand, vertical dance, stilts and much more! A woman of many interests, she is currently completing a biology degree and a master's degree in international ecology.
 
In recent years, Amélie has reconnected with her inner clown and has been training with Yves Dagenais, James Keylon and Alfonso Barón. She collaborates with different companies such as L’Aubergine (of course), Les Vis Tordus and Labocracboom, in addition to working on her own creations. She recently participated in the show Où tu vas quand tu dors en marchant (Woupelaï).
 
Amélie is also quite involved in her community. She has been an active member of Caravan Coop since its inception and is co-founder of Productions Zmâla, for which she also acts as co-artistic director. She is a social circus instructor for Cirque du Monde and collaborates on several of the Caravan Philanthrope's projects, including the Escouade Solidaire and their efforts to provide circus workshops and shows in Inuit communities in Nunavik.
 

JULIE MOREL
Costume Design

A graduate of the Conservatoire d’art dramatique de Québec, Julie Morel primarily designs and produces costumes for theatre. She has participated in more than thirty productions as a designer, assistant or dresser for various companies such as the Théâtre du Trident, La Bordée, the Théâtre Niveau Parking and Nuages en pantalon.
 
She has designed many creations, including the costumes for the actors and puppets of The Green Bird and Jacques et son maître. In both cases, her work was awarded the Prix du Fonds du Théâtre du Vieux-Québec. She received the award once again this spring for costume design and production for the play Une bête sur la Lune presented at La Bordée in the winter of 2018.
 
Since 2009, Julie has been teaching costume design in the scenography department at the Conservatoire d’art dramatique de Québec.
 

JOCELYN PARÉ
Performer

Jocelyn Paré is an actor and director from the Quebec City area with over ten years experience in theatre. Since graduating from the Conservatoire d’art dramatique de Québec in 2010, he has trod the stages of Théâtre du Trident (The Caucasian Chalk Circle, Romeo and Juliet), Théâtre de la Bordée (The Miser, CHSLD), and Théâtre Premier Acte (Trois nuits avec Madox, Rashomon). He has toured Quebec and Ontario with the production Danse de garçon (Montreal, Ottawa) and the children’s show The Mysterious Metamorphosis of Monsieur and Madame Tacet (Quebec City, Sherbrooke). On screen, you can catch him in various TV shows (Complexe G, Plan B, Une autre histoire, Escouade 99, La dérape), short films (La divine stratégie), and commercials (Tim Hortons, Hyundai). He is also the cofounder of La Trâlée, a company that creates original theatrical productions including object theatre and outdoor shows. The company’s latest production, Rashomon, was named show of the year for the 2018–2019 season by the AQCT (Association québécoise des critiques de théâtre).

In recent years, Jocelyn has taught acting at the École de cirque de Québec, as well as directed Théâtre sur la place and emceed the Cégep en spectacle contest at Cégep de Lévis-Lauzon.