The 2011-2012 season has seen the arrival of three new players within the French Theatre team: Sylvain Lavoie, Communications Officer, has now been with the NAC for a little more than two months, where a few weeks ago it is Brigitte Haentjens, Appointed Artistic Director for the 2011-2012 season, as well as Mélanie Dumont, Associate Artistic Director artistic (Youth Programming), who joined the small team.

Brigitte Haentjens studied theatre in Paris with Jacques Lecoq, before settling down in Ontario in 1977. She quickly became one of the Ontarian French artistic creation leaders, in Ottawa then in Sudbury. She was director of the Théâtre du Nouvel-Ontario for eight years and gave to this company an artistic dynamism which made it known throughout Canada, Québec and France. In 1991 she moved to Montréal where she became known for her powerful, original and personal style. She was, until December 1994, the Artistic Director of the Nouvelle Compagnie Théâtrale and founded Sibyllines in 1997 to deepen her artistic vision in a context of larger freedom. Among Brigitte's striking directions, let’s mention Quartett (Heiner Müller) – production which deserved several “Masques” among which the best production for the 1995-1996 season and, as for Tout comme elle (Louise Dupré), the Prix de l'Association québécoise des critiques de théâtre –, Combat de nègre et de chiens (Bernard-Marie Koltès), La cloche de verre (Sylvia Plath) and Woyzeck (Georg Büchner). In 2007, she received for her work of director, the Siminovitch Prize which is the highest theatrical distinction in Canada.

Mélanie Dumont holds a Master's degree in Theater from the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQÀM) where she also taught. Her thesis concerned the Flemish director Jan Lauwers, was worth to her the Prix d’excellence de l’École supérieure de théâtre. She contributed, among other things, as a Dramaturg, in the following Brigitte Haenjtens' directions at Sibyllines: Le 20 novembre (Lars Norén) and Woyzeck (Georg Büchner). She has also been collaborating for a few years now within the same company as the publishing and interviews director.

Sylvain Lavoie holds a Master's degree in French Literature (with specialization in Theatre) from the Université de Montréal. His thesis concerned the influences and the filiations between the European and Quebecois theatrical institutions. He has also been a board member of the Société québécoise d’études théâtrales (SQET) for several years and regularly contributes to the cultural magazines Spirale and Jeu.

For the 2011-2012 season, the French Theatre team will consist of the following persons:
Wajdi Mouawad: Artistic Director
Brigitte Haentjens: Appointed Artistic Director
Fernand Déry: Administrative Director
Guy Warin: Assistant to the Artistic Director
Benoît Vermeulen: Associate Artist (Youth Programming)
Mélanie Dumont: Associate Artistic Director (Youth Programming)
Marie Claude Dicaire: Coordinator, Youth Programming and Special Projects
Sylvain Lavoie: Communications Officer
Annick Huard: Marketing Officer
Caroline Ferland: Technical Director

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Sylvain Lavoie
Communications Officer
French Theatre
National Arts Centre
tel.: 613-947-7000 ext 396
tool free: 1-866-850-2787 ext 396
cell.: 613-979-2636
sylvain.lavoie@nac-cna.ca
www.facebook.com/TheatreFrancaisCNA