Vincent de Tourdonnet
Encyclopedia
De Tourdonnet’s epic musical Pélagie, co-written with Allen Cole, premiered in 2004 by CanStage in Toronto and The National Arts Centre
National Arts Centre
The National Arts Centre is a centre for the performing arts located in Ottawa, Ontario, between Elgin Street and the Rideau Canal...
in Ottawa. In 2005, de Tourdonnet directed an Eastern Canada touring production of Pélagie, produced by Two Planks and a Passion with a bilingual cast alternating performances in French and English. Starring Québec chanteuse Marie Denise Pelletier
Marie Denise Pelletier
-External links:* *...
, and Canadian actor Rejean Cournoyer
Rejean Cournoyer
Réjean Cournoyer is a Canadian actor and singer, and was raised in a bilingual, Mormon home. After graduating from Mount Saint Vincent University with a degree in public relations, and leaving Mormonism, he began working at the Charlottetown Festival, then made his way to Toronto in 1995 to...
, it was translated by Antonine Maillet
Antonine Maillet
Antonine Maillet, is an Acadian novelist, playwright, and scholar. She was born in Bouctouche, New Brunswick and lives in Montreal, Quebec....
, author of the Prix Goncourt
Prix Goncourt
The Prix Goncourt is a prize in French literature, given by the académie Goncourt to the author of "the best and most imaginative prose work of the year"...
-winning novel Pélagie-la-charrette, on which the musical is based.
His first production of Snappy Tales, Short Satirical Musicals, (book, lyrics & direction) at the Factory Theatre
Factory Theatre
Factory Theatre is a theatre in Toronto, Ontario, founded as Factory Theatre Lab in 1970 by Ken Gass and Frank Trotz.Factory was the first theatre to announce that it would exclusively produce Canadian plays, but it soon became a widely emulated policy by other theatre companies...
in Toronto, was nominated in 2003 for 7 Dora Mavor Moore Award
Dora Mavor Moore Award
The Dora Mavor Moore Award is an award presented annually by the Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts which honours theatre, dance, and opera productions in Toronto. Named after Dora Mavor Moore, who helped establish Canadian professional theatre, the award was established on December 13, 1978...
s.
De Tourdonnet’s largest musical to date was the Joan of Arc musical, Jeanne. Initially, he and composer Peter Sipos developed the work at the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theater Workshop
BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theater Workshop
The BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop is a workshop in New York for musical theatre composers, lyricists and librettists.-History:The BMI Workshop was founded in 1961 by Lehman Engel and the performing rights organization BMI ....
in New York. It premiered to strong critical acclaim in 1995 in Montreal at the Saidye Bronfman Theatre, (co-directed by de Tourdonnet) and then went on to large-scale, $4.5 million production at the Place des Arts
Place des Arts
right|frame|View of the Place des Arts esplanade. The Musée d'art contemporain is on the left; behind it is the Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier, with the Théâtre Maisonneuve on the rightPlace des Arts is a major performing arts centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada....
and La Capitole in Quebec City in 1997, and was seen by over 100,000 people. It was directed by Martin Charnin
Martin Charnin
Martin Charnin is an American lyricist, writer, and theatre director. Charnin's best-known work is as conceiver, director and lyricist of the hit musical Annie....
, and the French translation was created by Antonine Maillet
Antonine Maillet
Antonine Maillet, is an Acadian novelist, playwright, and scholar. She was born in Bouctouche, New Brunswick and lives in Montreal, Quebec....
.
Book & lyrics for other shows go back to 1985, including Strange Medicine and The Good Person for the Caravan Farm Theatre
Caravan Farm Theatre
Caravan Farm Theatre is a professional outdoor theatre company operated by the Bill Miner Society for Cultural Advancement. The theatre is based on an farm, 11 kilometres northwest of Armstrong, British Columbia. Caravan Farm Theatre productions are always mounted outdoors in site-specific...
in B.C., and adaptations of The Threepenny Opera with APA in Montreal and for Touchstone Theatre
Touchstone Theatre
Touchstone Theatre is a professional theatre company in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, founded in 1976 by a group of University of British Columbia theatre graduates. Touchstone's focus is on the development and production of Canadian works. The current Artistic Director is Katrina Dunn, who...
in Vancouver.
While living in New York City, de Tourdonnet taught musical theatre writing at Long Island University
Long Island University
Long Island University is a private, coeducational, nonsectarian institution of higher education in the U.S. state of New York.-History:...
. Currently he resides in Toronto, and is collaborating on new projects including "The Musical McCoy", adapted from Andrew Moodie's hit play The Real McCoy, based on the life of Elijah McCoy
Elijah McCoy
Elijah J. McCoy was a Canadian-American inventor and engineer, who was notable for his 57 U.S. patents, most to do with lubrication of steam engines. His family returned to the United States in 1847, where he lived for the rest of his life and became a US citizen.- Early life and education:Elijah J...
.
An environmentalist, de Tourdonnet also advocates for cycling as transportation. He contributes to Momentum Magazine and has written a chapter on the recumbent bicycle
Recumbent bicycle
A recumbent bicycle is a bicycle that places the rider in a laid-back reclining position. Most recumbent riders choose this type of design for ergonomic reasons; the rider's weight is distributed comfortably over a larger area, supported by back and buttocks...
for the book On Bicycles: 50 Ways the New Bike Culture Can Change Your Life. Vincent sits on the board of directors of Transportation Options, and is active the Toronto Cyclists Union
Toronto Cyclists Union
Started in 2008, the Toronto Cyclists Union is Toronto's largest cycling advocacy organization with over 500 members as of 2008. -History:...
.
Links
The Vincent de Tourdonnet Website
Vincent de Tourdonnet on MYSPACE
The Pélagie Study Guide- National Arts Centre of Canada