Canada History Week 2022 Learning Tool Activity 4.1 Rose Ouellette (La Poune) At its core, burlesque theatre is about laughter. It is historically a literary, dramatic, or musical style intended to make people laugh, often by sending up a serious genre, mocking its subject or treating it ironically. In Quebec, burlesque comedy has a long and rich history with performances involving comedy sketches, musical numbers in different styles, dances, and more. It was the dominant stage form within French-language theatre from the 1920s to the 1950s, which exploded in Montreal as a result of prohibition in the United States. 1. In small groups, discuss what you know about performing art forms such as burlesque and cabaret, and the history of the performing arts in Quebec and in your own province. What types of performing arts are most common today? Have you seen any stage performances yourself? What actors do you know of today who do both stage and screen work? 2. Watch the Rose Ouellette video and read her biography on TCE then read the TCE article on French-language Theatre. 3. As a class, have a discussion: a) W hy was theatre important to La Poune? What made her a pioneer in her field? What obstacles did she face in her life and career? b) La Poune created performances that showed to sold-out crowds daily during the late 1930s and through the 1940s. Think about why this is a remarkable achievement: what was happening in the world at this time? Why was it so important to her that she brought joy to her audiences? Think about the historical context of the times in which she performed. 14. Rose Video La Poune at the Théâtre National, 1944 (BAnQ VieuxMontréal/Fonds Conrad Poirier).
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