Les mots secrets

The inner life of words

“We’ll meet again someday—it will be a little like Christmas.”
Louise Dupré, Les mots secrets​​ (translation)

For She and He, words are games. They use them as bouncing balls or modelling clay. Then, one sad day, He has to go far away, too far to hear She’s voice in his ear. And so, they turn words into smoke signals. Sometimes they even send them by paper plane.

In this rhythmic, sometimes boisterous show, director André Perrier has fun giving Louise Dupré’s poetry a solid presence—you can almost touch it.

By the way...

Theater can be read too! Immerse yourself without restraint in the collection of poems by Louise Dupré from which the show is inspired.

Credits
Written by Louise Dupré / Directed by André Perrier / With Michel F. Côté, Simon Fournier and Marilyn Perreault / Production: Théâtre Triangle Vital

Word games

Activity #1 – Exquisite corpse | Collaborative writing game 

Materials: Paper and pencils

1. The first player writes a short sentence or phrase on the first line of a sheet of paper (e.g., I woke up this morning in a very bad mood...), folds the paper to conceal what they’ve written, and passes the sheet to the next person. 

2. The second player continues the story by writing another sentence or phrase on the next line, folds the paper to conceal their contribution, and passes it to the third person. 

3. The third person repeats the process. 

P.S. Play as many rounds as you like, and at the end you’ll have a completely wacky story to read aloud.  

Activity # 2 – Invented words | Spontaneous imagination game

Materials: Hat, scraps of paper, pencils

1. Each player makes up two words, writes each one on a scrap of paper and puts the papers into the hat. (Sample imaginary word: elemount)

2. Taking turns, players pick a word from the hat and make up a definition for it. (E.g.: An elemount is a special ramp that helps elephants climb mountains.)  

Send us your best crazy stories and invented words, together with a drawing of them!

“My friend is gone now, far from here. But he left me precious memories... and all of our poems. Like this one. My friend told me he wrote it just before bed, in the notebook I gave him for his birthday. A fine notebook with a red cover, his favourite colour.”
Elle, Les mots secrets (translation)

Words bridging distances

Activity # 3 – e-Pen pal

These days, connecting by email can be a good way to keep in touch with a friend, a grandparent. Here are some ideas for topics to help you get your message started:

How do you spend your days?
What do you miss the most?
What new things have you learned lately?

P.S. Remember to include a drawing, poem or photo with your email. 

Activity # 4  – Words on wings | Aeronautical engineering game

Material: A sheet of paper 

1. On a sheet of paper, write down your hopes and dreams (for someone you love, for the planet…).

2. Using one of these plans, fold the sheet into a paper airplane.

3. Launch your airplane and send your words soaring into the air.

Still curious?

Here are some suggestions to continue your exploration:

Additional resources

• En orbite dans la Philosphère: philosophical workshop with Stéphanie Boyer to approach poetry and its place in our lives. (In French)
• Transcript of an interview with André Perrier about Les mots secrets. (In French)

Reading list

• La grande fabrique de mots, Agnès de Lestrade, Éditions Alice, 2009 (picture book, ages 5-10)
• Si j’étais ministre de la culture, Carole Fréchette, Éditions Deux (ages 9+)
• Branchez-vous! et autres poèmes biscornus, François Gravel and Laurent Pinabel, Les 400 Coups (humorous poetry collection, ages 9+)