TRANSCRIPT

In 1994, I helped prepare the stage setting for a musical comedy. Working on the scenery for a play is a unique experience. I began by finding students at the Séminaire who were interested and teaming them up with the girls at CMI. Then, the team had to be motivated to produce results. It was pretty demanding. We even put in time during Christmas vacation. There was a large hall with a backdrop of about 25 by 40 feet on the floor. The first thing to do was create perspective. In the beginning, the students 'speckled.' I say 'speckled' because they were using little brushes with about five bristles that I called 'specklers' as a joke. These are the kind of brushes artists use for small surfaces of say, 12 by 12 inches. But big broad strokes are what you need for a backdrop… When the work was done, we put up the screen. Thanks to the team effort, the effect was sensational. Then, after the last performance of the musical and the ringing sounds of applause, everyone in the support teams - stage hands, technicians and set designers - got high on adrenaline - and stayed that way for days afterwards.

Liette Dumont
Retired teacher of CMI