Véronique Bossé & Jeremy Segal Tapped as New Co-Artistic Directors of Youtheatre
PHOTO: (Left to Right: Simon A. Abou-Fadel/General Manager, Véronique Bossé/ Co-Artistic Director and Jeremy Segal/Co-Artistic Director)
New Artistic Direction at Youtheatre: Innovative Artistic Collaborations Rooted in the Community
MONTREAL – September 2019 – After 25 years, a new Co-Artistic Director duo take the helm of Youtheatre, Quebec’s oldest theatre for young audiences (TYA) and the only bilingual TYA company in Canada. Youtheatre has become known as a singular hybrid for core activities such as exploring new interdisciplinary forms, telling important cutting-edge stories and investigating technology’s increasingly contentious role in our lives. Veronique Bossé and Jeremy Segal warmly embrace these activities and offer a vision that will take full advantage of the digital shift in the creation process while cultivating an “open-source” culture with the artistic community and with the young people they serve.
THE NEW VISION : YouShare & YouCreate
Youtheatre is throwing wide the doors with new programming in their rehearsal space in Le Plateau Mont-Royal. “Our aim is for the company to be a hub of artistic innovation. The company will be more present in the local and national community, act as a pollinator, highlight the strength and diversity of Canada’s voices, and give young artists the tools needed to engage with new theatrical forms.” says Segal. Two new programs, YouShare and YouCreate, will provide a layered addition to the creative community landscape in Montreal.
YouShare will offer Youtheatre’s space as one of artistic research. This will be an interdisciplinary space where artists can discuss exciting concepts, rehearse, meet new collaborators, play with technology, share knowledge and skills, and experiment with new ideas. YouCreate will welcome young artists into Youtheatre’s space and provide them with the tools to become the world-shakers of tomorrow. Both Bossé and Segal are hard at work curating the community on their needs for the space and envisioning programming for a 2020 launch. They invite all local professional and emerging artists, students and arts educators to experience a 360 view of the unrenovated space and contribute their thoughts at www.youtheatre.ca.
For the first time, Bossé and Segal have launched in-school development workshops for every new creation in development at Youtheatre. “We want to stay in touch with our educators and students and make sure we are providing them with the most relevant and dynamic new works possible” says Segal. Adds Bossé, “We are hiring some of the best local artists to contribute to these workshops and share their skills with students throughout the creative process. With groundbreaking artists from all disciplines, Montreal is fertile ground for these endeavors.”
To learn more about Youtheatre’s upcoming workshops, productions, tours and events visit: www.Youtheatre.ca
THE NEW TEAM
Véronique Bossé and Jeremy Segal are well-known to the company. Véronique worked as the Education Coordinator from 2008-2010, and completed an internship with Michel Lefebvre as Assistant Artistic Director of Youtheatre in 2013. Jeremy undertook a mentorship under Michel Lefebvre in 2017; and participated in the creation of Dreaming Now (2012) and Crossing the Ocean (2019).
Youtheatre also welcomes new General Manager Simon A. Abou-Fadel. Simon served as General Manager for Infinithéâtre from 2016-2019. He worked in non-profit arts management for 9 years in Hollywood with the Screen Actors Guild Foundation and The Actors Fund of America. Simon also offered wealth management services at American Express Financial Advisors and Allied Consulting Group.
After celebrating the company’s 50th anniversary in 2018, Youtheatre’s board of directors is thrilled to welcome this exciting new team to lead the company into its next era.
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Extended Bios:
Since graduating in Theatre Studies from the Sorbonne Paris III in 2012, Véronique Bossé has built a strong, multidisciplinary theatre background that includes: running her own company, assisting the director of the London/Paris-based company C(h)aracteres; co-founding the theatre collective Ce n’était pas du vin; directing Iseult&Evaelle, a show for teens presented in Montreal’s Accès Culture network (2016); and staging La chasse aux billes, a unique blend of theatre and urban dance for kids, at Place des Arts in 2017. She has also acted as creative director for many projects in the fields of dance, music, and cinema. Since 2017 she is the Artistic Director for Neweb Labs, an innovative digital media company.
As a graduate of the Dawson College Theatre Program and with a degree in Computation Arts from Concordia University, Jeremy Segal is positioned at the exciting intersection of performing arts and digital media. He is co-founder of Title 66 Productions and worked on its large-scale experimental plays in many capacities, including: director, designer, and performer. Jeremy’s video installation Molecular Futures was nominated for a 2018 International Lumen Prize, and his work as a director has been presented within the scope of the Fantasia International Film Festival, SQET’s 2019 international theatre conference, and Printemps Numérique. Jeremy looks forward to performing in Robert Wilson’s rendition of Turandot at the Canadian Opera Company in Fall 2019.
Also joining the staff at Youtheatre is Simon A. Abou-Fadel as the company’s new General Manager. He previously served as General Manager for Infinitheatre from 2016-2019. Holding a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Finance from the University of Houston (with honors) as well as a Master of Fine Arts degree from Western Illinois University, Simon gained valuable experience during his 6 years as the director of the Screen Actors Guild Foundation LifeRaft Program in Hollywood. As a once-Registered Representative and Investment Advisor, Simon offered comprehensive wealth management and insurance services at notable firms such as American Express Financial Advisors and Allied Consulting Group. Simon brings his passion for the arts to his discerning work as General Manager.
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