QUIDAM: FULL CIRCLE TRANSCRIPT

Franco Dragone: " Okay, we start from the beginning.... I want this in the show...     I want this in the show. *laugh* "

stage director, Franco: " For me, the Quidam pays a kind of tribute to the joys  and suffering of everyday people. Everyone who does not appear in ads
or  television clips or in the public spotlight - these are ' gawkers,' people who  wander all over the place..."

Franco: " We have done a lot of show with a lot of success that we can think  that now the next one will be a success... What we want to do now is start a new cycle. We have tried - this year - we have tried to change... to evolve a  little bit the process, to really change the show..."

Franco: " What I hope is that we will reach a certain percentage of... the idea that we have in our mind."

artist, Oleg: " Now, I'm here only 3 weeks. Something crazy for me because I don't understand everything but I have time... to understand."

Franco: " You can just sit there on your behind. To do theatre, you have to get  up off your chair, you have to make a decision. So it's a good practice for    life itself, I would say."

choreographer, Debra Brown: " Right now, we're very innocently researching  and it's part of a process to get to know who I am and who they are and how we can create together."

Debra: " Hopefully, we will have a library of research and then we will be well    on our way to decisions on what direction to take."

coach, Samuel: " What they have... They have very good suppleness - this helps a     lot - and what they have as well is the manner to... just to find things... To    build a muscle - that nothing - that's a... just work but, to
have this kind of   thinking... just to try things... that nobody has and I think they have it...   Trained to do with their body... so... that's a circus and I think they have it."

Debra: " You know what would be great? If he had her feet and he could turn and she... Turn... *laugh* "
        : " Uh... First time, uh... easy, okay? *laugh* "
Debra: " *laugh* "
        : " I understand ya, yeah, but... it's too crowded..."
Debra: " Okay. But maybe even to here. Daa... Is that too high? ...Is that too high? "
        : " How are you on the chiffauld? Like this, no? "
Debra: " Yeah. Like - chu - all this 'chu '... She can just step off his hands and -  hide - and... Okay and then after, Constantin Saschus, stay; stay like this.     And then after, Elena got through - olei! "

Debra: " It's art... It's not circus anymore."
        : " *laughs, arms folded with humorous skeptical, sarcastic look*
Debra: " It's art, ya know? Theatre."
        : " *rolls eyes. grinning** "
Debra: " *laughs* "

Franco: " And what we are trained us to do to show not only acrobatic, not only dance, not only...uh...movement. We want to touch the people and tell to the  people something. If we want to do a new show, we have to change our way to work and I swear to you that I will do my possible to change my way to  work."

head coach, Boris: " There is a old saying among the acrobats that if an acrobat     wakes up in the morning and he doesn't hurt, chances are he's dead."

Oleg: " Twenty years I do this work so I know how, I know technique so some  people can do this and halfway and sometimes... I know how and everybody from them knows I want to do this."

artist, Martyne: " You know, they have a muscle op. now? She can give you a  massage, a real good massage..." Zoe performer: " Mm-hm." Martyne: " ...Don't do anything without a warm-up yourself."

physiotherapist, Marie-Claude: " They ask me ' what are you afraid about me? 'and I say that you're afraid that I'm going to tell you stop training." performer: " Yes." Marie-Claude: " They don't like it. They want to train."

Boris: " There's nothing normal about holding 3 guys and having fourth-guy land    on top of the third guy. There's nothing normal...in our human makeup for that. There's nothing normal flyin' through the air and being fully confidant   and allowing the catchers, the porters, to do all the work. There's nothin'  normal for a porter to catch somebody in the arms when they comin' down from the height of a 20 feet. So that element of some - to some extent, pain    is always there. Uh... For example, we were working on the... uh, figure    where the guys said " We can do it 10 times out of 10." So they can handle     it. The question that I have to pose to them: " Can they do it 600 out of 600? "

<Banquine scene>
coach: " Now, posture. Relax your arms... Relax."
Elena: *slowly slips forward and goes into a handstand*
coach: " Look public! Look public! "
Elena: *splits legs and two men spin her*
coach: Now, public Sasha. Public, Ygor."
Elena: *men raise her to stand on their hands. raises arms up. scoop air. lean to right then leap to left in arms of others. men spring her back up on hands.   turns and falls backward into arms of men on right and then back up*

Franco: " It's up to you to preserve your energy. Don't be like this all the day  and the night because you will be tired. Eh? "

Samuel: " And relax. You go every quarter of an hour, just drink a little bit. And especially when you can stretch after, the muscle is stretching better. If you  drink, not a lot, but better to drink a little bit every quarter of an hour than to drink...once after every hour."

artist, Dominique: " I'm here to give it everything I've got. I know I've got a lot   to give... The ropes burn, we've got bruises everywhere. *laugh* On our fingers and hands, we've got blisters."

Martyne: " Franco's got a technique. Uh... He explains something vague and he says " Go for it." When you don't understand, it makes him happy 'cause it  means you're going to show him something he doesn't expect."

Franco: " There is something wrong if all I see while the music plays is a trapeze act.... On the other hand, when I have two ropes, an iron bar, and someone on  the trapeze with music and lighting, that all of a sudden gives me something  else, not just a performance but an image. If I have images that think, then it  works. The music has to help me construct and write down images that think."

artist, Karl Baumann: " Franco was talking to us about a transformation so we meet this... this people just on the border between life and uh... that's the optimate foolishness and uh... John and I; we are the two characters that are already on both sides. We already step across the border so we are already... beyond... My character answers to everything with a smile."

Karl: " I don't know what my character is... *laughs* "

Karl: " He gave me basically all the freedom I'm needing in this show. In terms   of " Okay, whenever you have an idea, just come in." Before, I was like, " Okay, may I show this or any I not show this? " but, at this point, I'd say,  " Okay, if I don't show him, we will never know."

Karl: * trying to use 5 skateboards at once in the handbalancing scene*
Franco: " *laugh* It could be too much for you to do all... all those."

Karl: " He always tell me ' Don't be a dancer. Don't be an actor. Be real.' "

Franco: " Okay, Olga... I want something strong, now. Okay? Improvisation.
Not  always the same. Okay, we try... Beautiful."

Franco: " John Gilkey, I want to see who you are. Okay, no actors, performers."

artist, John Gilkey: " Franco is more a provocateur than a director. He provokes... things from me."

John: " Often, my relationship...uh... or what I hear from Franco is, " John. On  stage - now! " *laugh* Uh.... *laugh* And there's no time to think... I just have   to go and... do things and be entertaining."

John: *helps Audrey Brisson-Jutras up from her crouch*
assistant stage director, René: " It would be nice if you could jump on him. Ya  know, like this? " *demonstrates by putting arm around John* Audrey: *starts running towards John, ready for quantum leap* John: * backs away, holding arm out* " You don't have to get so far away!  *laughs* "
Audrey: *stops, laughing*
René: * demonstrates by jumping into John's arms in huddled position*
Audrey: " Okay."
John: * trying to keep a hold on René* " Oh, crikey."
Audrey: *laughs*

Audrey: *jumps into John's arms, huddled against him. flounders for a grip for a   minute*
John: "...Okay...here we go..." * walks forward, Audrey's arms around him*

John: *lets go of Audrey's shoulder to motion with hand to camera* " Kids..."
Audrey: *lets go of his neck with arm and falls back, catched by John just in time. giggles at his expression*

René: " It's a mix, it's again a big mix of people and uh... the people come from acrosport. They come from uhm.... the circus acrobats uh... from different   uhm... cultural backgrounds... They from Russia - a lot of people are from    Russia, uh... Ukraine, uhm... America, Canada, Tibet..."

artist, Chris Lashua: " I kept hearing that uhm... when I... when I was training, that it's a really, a really good group, a tight group and that everybody's working really well together and it wasn't til I came that I really got a    feeling for it the way everybody's working together."

coach, Jacqueline: " They are really expressive and creative and they really have fun even if they make mistake and I think they uh... the result of all the group, even if we are different language, the body can speak real easily and  I'm really happy with this group."

Franco: " It's the best of Andre, the best of Sasha, the best of Ross, the best that you could give to us."

Boris: " Everybody was upfront and nobody was holding back. That is very much appreciated and willing to open up and experiment, not afraid to... to look  foolish for a moment."

Martyne: " *laugh* Where do you live? In the Big Top. But where in the Big Top?    Uh... Dunno where we are now but we are in the Big Top."

Franco: " One thing that is sure, and it can be scary sometimes, is that the show must open when we said that it would and there is a magic moment when everything falls into place just like that when, despite all the trouble we had  and moving the foot from left to right, in making the turn table go around  and doing the lights, all of a sudden: Bingo! It all comes together."

Karl: " I got up this morning and I was already nervous one week before the  premiere. *laugh* "

René: " You need to have a feeling of the whole, each act and each tableau and of the whole show. They need run-throughs where they can go ' Oh my God!    Of course! This is what it is. ' "

Karl: " Who knew? "
John: " Nobody knew about that."
Karl: " Oh, great. *laugh* " *turn to camera* " We just found out. We went on stage. We just found out that there were certain things we have to take off.    But we just realized when we were on stage that we have to do that. So...   That's how it is in a dress rehearsal."

René: " Like a micro-universe where at 8:00 everybody's pulling the same string  to make a 2 hour and a 1/2 happening. And it has to be in the consciousness of everybody."

John: " Oh, it's great. Yeah, it's totally great. I mean, I guess we got like 200 people out there tonight and they're really enjoying themselves....Uh... At the  beginning of the show when the audience was reacting so wonderfully and s   o loudly, people were just backstage dancing around and stuff, couldn't  wait to get onstage. Ya know? Everybody's just really into it."

Diabolo girl performers: *talk in their language*
John: *grinning* " I taught her all the English she knows."

Franco: " We all meet together under the Big Top, on the Big Top stage, coming  from different backgrounds... as many nationalities as production, choreographer, music, lights, acrobats, performers, dancers. We all share a  moment together and the result is a show that is enjoyed by the spectators.  The sublime moment comes when all these people speak to each other."   

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