Pocket theather, 2nd edition
Théâtre de Poche, Edition 2
Créations In Vivo and the Vanier Muséoparc invite you to the sugar shack on Avenue des Pères-Blancs for a dramaturgy workshop of “Patenteuses”, a new Franco-Ontarian musical.
For the occasion, Créations In Vivo is opening its rehearsal space to the public: a full reading of the script, followed by an open discussion about a work still in progress.
Patenteuses will premiere in October 2026 at MIFO in Orléans, before touring across Canada, almost exactly on the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Patente in Vanier. The show delves into this heritage to explore what it still has to say to us, and what a new generation of Francophones wants to make of it.
Description: Marielle, Lucile, Dorothée, and Rita live in Saint-Cibole in the year 1900-something. As they try to figure out where their husbands are disappearing to, they discover the existence of a powerful French-Canadian secret society reserved for men: La Patente. Founded in 1926 in Vanier, Ontario, this order has worked behind the scenes for nearly forty years to organize and protect French Canadian heritage.
They disguise themselves as priests and infiltrate the order. That’s when they discover that the heritage is in danger! Rather than staying home while everything is decided in secret and exclusion, they decide that heritage must be saved through loud voices, and set out on tour to sing about it wherever La Patente reigns.
Patenteuses, or a story of the French-Canadian mafia, is a creation by Chloé Thériault (text and lyrics), Brian St-Pierre (music), Dillon Orr (direction), Jocelyn Todd (choreography), and Kiki Coe (costumes). A musical of joyful revolution, true to the energy of Créations In Vivo, carried as much by the body as by the ears, blending satire with Franco-Ontarian glitter. The work draws inspiration from the centennial of the Order of Jacques-Cartier (1926–1965), better known as La Patente, born in our own backyard, to offer a slightly different kind of commemoration.
Cast: Darquise Lauzon, Ariane Lemay, Emma-Rose Smith, Chloé Thériault.
- Date: May 27
- Time: 1:15 PM to 3:30 PM
- Location: Vanier Sugar Shack (230 Pères-Blancs Ave.)
Program:
- Performance: 1:15 PM to 3:00 PM
- Discussion with the artists: 3:00 PM to 3:30 PM
Free event – registration required
Register HERE
