Louise Arsenault’s script Burning Tongues will be part of Infinithéâtre’s The Pipeline public reading on December 11 at the Rialto Infinite Studio in Montreal. Photo: Infinithéâtre
The play will be among the four scripts read at Infinithéâtre’s 10th annual public reading, The Pipeline. The free event, taking place at the Rialto Infinite Studio in Montreal from December 10 to 13, showcases the year’s newest discoveries in Quebec theatre.
Yet the script for Burning Tongues is far from new.
“I actually wrote it 18 years ago and workshopped it with Playwrights’ Workshop Montréal,” Arsenault reveals. “But I put it aside because I didn’t want to wound anyone in my family.”
Thinly based on characters and memories from her childhood, Burning Tongues is set in Arsenault’s native Point Claire, Que., around the time of the first Quebec Referendum in 1980.
After losing weight and seeking therapy, protagonist Elise returns home to confront the unresolved grief she has felt since her family’s maid disappeared many years before. By facing her dysfunctional family — including an alcoholic father and escapist mother — Elise learns that some injuries heal slower than others.
“None of my plays are light subjects,” Arsenault says. Her other four productions — Bivouac (1985), Innerspeak (1989), Dating Jesus (2007) and Strange Fire (currently being workshopped) — touch on themes of mental illness, drug addiction, burnout and religious fanaticism.
While her career in theatre has spanned almost four decades, for many years Arsenault flip-flopped between playwriting and her second love, painting. “I was always confused as to whether I should go into fine arts or into theatre,” she says.
It was through experimenting with both at Concordia that Arsenault was able to decide. Playwriting was the outlet she needed to give life to all of the voices and characters in her head.
Being in the middle has been a common theme in Arsenault’s life. The fourth-born of seven children, Arsenault and her siblings have remained close throughout their lives.
Growing up, that meant having to think up clever ways to sneak in some alone time. “I used to hide in the sewing room and write just for some peace and quiet,” she says.
Having recently turned 60, Arsenault is at a crossroads yet again. The long-time English professor at Montreal’s Dawson College is nearing retirement, and her two children recently flew the coop.
Yet rather than slowing down, Arsenault looks forward to jumping on as many opportunities as she can.
“I’m rebooting my career at this point because what do I have to lose?” she says. “There’s not that much time to be dotting around.”
With two plays in her head waiting to be written, Arsenault also wants to pen a novel and publish a book of poetry.
While she’s lived in Toronto, where the English theatre scene is bustling, Arsenault feels at home in her Verdun neighbourhood, describing it as “Montreal’s best kept secret.”
“It’s much easier to be an artist in Montreal,” she says. “I finally have a writing room, a painting room, and my rent isn’t too high.”