The Problem with Pink Audience age range : 6 and older / In Theater

The Problem with Pink is that it’s everywhere! So if pink is just for girls, things might get complicated. That’s the topic that divides a group of four happily rambunctious friends who previously had never known a moment of worry in their cozy and pink play space!

Playing happily on their private pink carpet, each day is full of fun and stories for friends Alix, Sasha, Lou and Noa. From afar, the outside world seeps into their games. A plane flies overhead? They grow long, long wings. It starts raining? No problem: they splash in the puddles, instantly waterproof. But everything changes when they get terrible news from the outside: the colour pink is for girls. Suddenly, the perception of others becomes a major preoccupation, muddling their imaginations in the process. The group is divided while fear of judgment and mistrust take hold. If the color pink is only for girls, how will this change the world in which they live and play?

Four performers use dance, theatre, and striking visuals to explore friendship, identity, and inclusion/self-affirmation. This exhilarating dance drama gives children a space to reflect on gender stereotypes and imagine the future with boldness, brightness and freedom.

A Quebec-France co-production : Le Petit Théâtre de Sherbrooke and La [parenthèse] – Christophe Garcia

Recipient of the Louise-Lahaye Prize 2020 / Érika Tremblay-Roy – Playwright

Published by Lansman Editeur

• Watch Video Excerpt
• Credits
• Companies
• Creators
• Themes explored in the play
• Educational Outreach
• Press Review
• Public comments
• Technical Rider
• Contacts
• Calendar

Watch Video Excerpt

Credits

Companies

Le Petit Théâtre de Sherbrooke

The mission of Le Petit Théâtre de Sherbrooke is to develop the practice and attendance of theatre in children and youth by placing words and dramatic art at the heart of research and by offering multidisciplinary teams the creative environment that allows them to experiment with the musical, visual and physical languages.

A theatre that defies convention, always looking for new ways to tell a story and make it blossom and to grab young audiences attention by playing with the codes of performance, inviting them to visit a universe that ignites imagination. A theatre that allows for greater freedom of interpretation, giving young audiences’ sensibilities and intelligence a different perspective and trusting their ability to discover new versions of a story. A theatre that cares about showcasing the talent of local artists while establishing new collaborations with companies from abroad, thus multiplying exchange opportunities between creators from different artistic scopes and disciplines.

In 50 years of artistic activity, Le Petit Théâtre has created more than 90 plays presented in Québec, Canada, United States, France, Scotland, Belgium, Switzerland and South America.

La [parenthèse] / Christophe Garcia

The dance company La [parenthèse] / Christophe Garcia was founded in 2000 with the desire to tell stories about the human experience through dance, music and text. From the very beginning, its founder was driven by the desire to build bridges between the arts, generations and continents. Each show offers a unique universe: small intimate shapes alongside ambitious shows. The poetry and dynamism of the artists impart a common tone to all productions.

Since its inception, La [parenthèse] has presented more than 25 creations in France, Canada, United States, Germany, Scotland, Croatia, Italy, South America, Switzerland and Netherland. The company continues to project itself in creations on different scales, which always remain unifying, joyful and human.

Creators

Erika Tremblay-Roy

Artistic director – Le Petit Théâtre de Sherbrooke

Author and director – The Problem with Pink

Trained as an actor at l’École de théâtre du Cégep de Saint-Hyacinthe, Erika Tremblay-Roy is an author, director and actress, and is particularly inspired by children and youth theatre. Among other plays, she wrote Tante T and Autopsie d’une napkin, a text for which she received the Louise-LaHaye Award in 2012. For her play Petite vérité inventée, created by Théâtre Bouches Décousues in 2013, she is nominated as a finalist for the Governor General’s Literary Awards, given by the Canada Council for the Arts. For A Letter for Elena, a co-production from Le Petit Théâtre de Sherbrooke and French dance company La [parenthèse] / Christophe Garcia, she is awarded the following prizes : Prix LOJIQ : Francophonie and CALQ : Creation of the year for the Eastern Townships. For her play The Problem with Pink, a second co-production by Le Petit Théâtre and La [parenthèse], she was once again a finalist in 2019 at the Prix du CALQ: Creation of the year for the Eastern Townships, and won in 2020 for a second time the Louise-LaHaye Prize, which rewards the best text for young audiences brought to the stage during the 2018-19 and 2019-20 seasons. She has been artistic director of the Petit Théâtre de Sherbrooke since 2012.

Christophe Garcia

Artistic director – La [parenthèse] / Christophe Garcia

Choreographer and director – The Problem with Pink

Trained as a dancer and initiated to theatre, singing and music, Christophe very quickly gravitated towards choreography. First admitted at l’École-Atelier Rudra-Béjart in Switzerland, he joins Béjart Ballet Lausanne. Between France and Canada, he collaborates with several artistic figures and international organizations, like Robert Lepage and Ex Machina, Robert Wilson and Les Grands Ballets Canadiens. Winner of several international choreography awards, he is noticed by his work during European and North-American events. Christophe is invited to work and create for repertory companies: Scapino Ballet Rotterdam, Opéra-théâtre d’Avignon, Ballet d’Europe, Dantzaz Compania, Jeune Ballet du Québec and Jeune Ballet de France. Founder and artistic director for the La [parenthèse] / Christophe Garcia company, based in Angers, France, this is his third collaboration with Le Petit Théâtre de Sherbrooke.

Themes explored in the play

Friendship

The Problem with Pink features a group of four friends who are strongly connected through play and the pleasure of imagining stories. When fear of the judgment of others creeps into their world and hinders their candor, division and mistrust take hold within the group. For young audiences, it is an opportunity to reflect on FRIENDSHIP.

• How do we know we are friends with someone ?

• Can we be friends with someone who is very different from us ?

• What is the most important element in a friendship ?

• Can a friendship last a long time ?

Boy and girl

The question of gender identity is at the heart of societal issues. This exhilarating play gives children a living matter to reflect on what they will do with the clichés associated with boys or girls in their future. It invites them to enter life with their little bundle of unique experiences and to conceive the future with boldness, brightness and freedom. The play allows us to exchange with the children on what makes A BOY OR A GIRL.

• Can we make a distinction between games for boys and games for girls ?

• Can we make a distinction between careers for boys and careers for girls ?

• Who decides what it means to be a boy or a girl ?

• What can you do if you disagree with the differences made between boys and girls ?

Imagination

In the play, there comes a time when, to escape from the gaze of others, the characters venture underground, without suspecting that this escape will rob them of their imagination and ability to dream. Each in their own way, they will find the way back to the surface and quench this vital thirst to see further, to think freely and to invent a world that meets their expectations. This quest allows us to bounce back with the audience on the importance of IMAGINATION.

• What is the purpose of imagination ?

• Can we imagine everything ?

• Is what we are imagining real ?

• Is imagination a right ?

Identity

Alix seeks to fit a manly, intrepid, unshakeable model… Sasha is trying to hide what might make him seem outside the norm… Noa no longer finds his place in the established social scheme… Lou navigates by instinct and gets confused by the narrowness of the path to use. More broadly, this play can be used to discuss the issue of IDENTITY.

• How do we know who we are ?

• Can we decide who we are ?

• Is it easy to be different from others ?

• Is it easy not to act like everyone else ?

Educational Outreach

Pre-show Movement Workshop
Preparatory workshop related to the themes and form of the show. Led by a professional dancer, this 60 minutes workshop before the show will allow young people to discover and experiment with different ways of putting their bodies into play and creating bridges between words and movement.

Study Guide with educational tracks
Document that explores the creative process of the show’s creative team ; introduces philosophy as a tool to help children to question and exchange extensively with their classmates ; explores the concepts of identity, diversity, fear, adaptation and acclimatization, all the while reminding teachers that children see concepts differently than adults : Download the Study Guide

Post-show discussion
15 minutes exchange with the performers of the production can be organized at the end of the performance.

Complementary workshop after show
Offered on request, this 60 minutes workshop will open up a space for discovery, exchange and discussion around the themes of identity and self-affirmation.

Press Review

Public comments

Technical Rider

Contacts

EUROPE :

MICKAËL SPINNHIRNY AGENCY

mika@spinnhirny.com / 1 514 833‑9005 / spinnhirny.com

NORTH AMERICA :

HOLDEN & ARTS ASSOCIATES

ss@holdenarts.org / 1 413 214-5323 / holdenarts.org