Some forty years separate the participants, but a unique artistic project brings them together. Since last December, 24 students from the Arts-Studies in Theatre program at the Cité-des-Jeunes secondary school are working on a unique mission: to bring the stories of seniors to life through a play.

Guided by their drama teacher, Sophie Daoust, and the author, director and actress Annie Ranger, these young people aged 12 to 17 gathered nearly 50 testimonies from seniors in Vaudreuil-Soulanges. These testimonies will serve as a common thread for the writing of the play, which will be presented next May at the Echos secondary school.

Striking encounters

”The elders and adolescents often live in parallel, without really crossing each other, explains Sophie Daoust. These are two great solitudes that do not have much of a voice in the public place. This project aims to break the shared loneliness by fostering a dialogue between these two generations.”

During the holiday season, students conducted their first interviews with elders from their families. The teacher then launched a call to all on social media, followed by a similar initiative from the Conseil des arts et de la culture de Vaudreuil-Soulanges. More than 20 people aged 62 to 80 expressed interest in the project.

On January 16, a first meeting between students and seniors took place in the classroom. Through play and improvisation, barriers quickly fell, leaving room for deep discussions. The following week, 21 seniors participated in an average of 1.5 hours of interviews, where they shared their youth, struggles and memorable memories. 

“What struck me was how engaged, curious and respectful the students were,” says Daoust. Some people have realized that they are taking too little time to listen to their own grandparents.”

According to the teacher, the exercise also helped deconstruct several prejudices on both sides. ”Our elders said that, ultimately, it is not true that young people are disrespectful and have no interest in each other. The young people told us that it is not true that the elderly have nothing to do, nothing to say or are not interesting. There was a really deep exchange on both sides. It was a very enriching exercise in human terms.”

Universal and intimate themes

The evolution of the condition of women, love through time, yesterday’s and today’s school as well as the world of work are among the major themes that have emerged from the testimonies.

“The youth were touched by stories of injustice, but they also discovered the joy of living among the elders,” says Daoust. They realized that things were not better before, but some values got lost along the way, like the pleasure of being together as a family without it being a chore.”

A living and committed theatre

The play will take place in the form of dystopia, therefore very contemporary, and the body and the word will respond to give life to the testimonies. Through more than twenty paintings, students will embody these stories, sometimes with direct words, sometimes through gestures.

”This is not just a narrative exercise, says Daoust. We want viewers to feel the essence of the stories, to be immersed in the raw emotion of these life stories. With the consent of the seniors who participated, we will also use their recordings to add more life to our scenes.”

An essential transmission

Beyond the stage, this project demonstrates the willingness of young people to learn from the past in order to better understand their present. “They consume a lot of information, but they lacked a human connection, a real transmission,” says the teacher. This project has helped them rediscover the value of intergenerational dialogue.”

The seniors, meanwhile, left with a light heart, delighted to see that the current youth is far from being disinterested. ”We are currently experiencing great changes in our society. Just look at what is happening in our neighbours to the south. Unfortunately, some rights are being eroded and our young people, especially our girls, are worried about this. In interviewing the elders, they understood that some battles once waged by these same elders are not over. Several young people have told me they want to take over the torch and make these seniors' voices heard. It’s really touching,” concludes Sophie Daoust.

The play will be unveiled in May, and a performance is planned for the general public.