Jean-Pierre Ronfard (January 14, 1929 - September 23, 2003) was a

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

-born

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

actor, playwright and theatre director from

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

,Gaetan Charlebois
"Ronfard, Jean-Pierre"
''Canadian Theatre Encyclopedia'', November 22, 2020. most noted as the first director of the French-language program at the

National Theatre School of Canada The National Theatre School of Canada (NTS, ) is a private institution of professional theatre studies in Montreal, Quebec. Established in 1960, the NTS receives its principal funding from grants awarded by the Government of Canada and cultural ...

Life and career

Born in Thivencelle,

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France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, he was educated at the

University of Lille The University of Lille (, abbreviated as ULille, UDL or univ-lille) is a French public research university based in Lille, Hauts-de-France. It has its origins in the University of Douai (1559), and resulted from the merger of three universities ...

.Stéphane Baillargeon
"Ronfard, Jean-Pierre"
''

The Canadian Encyclopedia ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' (TCE; ) is the national encyclopedia of Canada, published online by the Toronto-based historical organization Historica Canada, with financial support by the federal Department of Canadian Heritage and Society of Com ...

'', September 17, 2008. He moved to

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

in 1960 to take the job with the National Theatre School. After the end of his job with the National Theatre School in 1964 he returned to France, but moved back to Montreal in 1970 to become artistic director of the

Théâtre du Nouveau Monde The Théâtre du Nouveau Monde (; TNM) is a theatre company and venue located on rue Sainte-Catherine in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in , it launched with the classic play ''L'Avare'' by Molière. Initially located at the Gesù (1951–1958), it ...

, and would remain based in Montreal for the remainder of his life and career.

Kate Taylor Kate Taylor (born August 15, 1949) is an American singer-songwriter, originally from Boston, Massachusetts. She is the younger (and only) sister of singer-songwriter James Taylor. Biography Taylor was born in Boston and grew up with her four ...

, "Director took Monty Python approach to Quebec theatre". ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Newspapers in Canada, Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in Western Canada, western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on week ...

'', October 2, 2003. He also later founded the Nouveau Théâtre expérimental theatre company with

Robert Gravel Robert Gravel (14 September 1944 – 12 August 1996) was an actor, dramatist, theatrical director and teacher. Career Gravel was born in Montreal. He was an influential figure in the modern history of theatre in Quebec. In the middle of the 1970s ...

and

Pol Pelletier Pol Pelletier (born Nicole Pelletier, November 6, 1947) is a Canadian actor, director, and playwright. Pelletier is an influential figure in experimental and feminist theatre in Quebec. Early life and education Nicole Pelletier was born on Nove ...

. As a playwright, his plays included ''Quichotte'' (1969), ''La Vie et mort du roi boiteux'' (1981),Marianne Ackerman, "Innovative theatre a hot ticket in Montreal firehall". ''

'', July 3, 1982. ''Le Mandragore'' (1982), ''Le Titanic'' (1985), ''Les objets parlent'' (1986), ''Mao Tsé Toung ou Soirée de musique au consulat'' (1987), and ''Autour de Phédre'' (1988). Theatre critic Marianne Ackerman once described Ronfard's work as "Imagine

Monty Python Monty Python, also known as the Pythons, were a British comedy troupe formed in 1969 consisting of Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Michael Palin. The group came to prominence for the sketch comedy ser ...

tackling the complete works of

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

with an intimate knowledge of the mafiosi and Quebec cultures to lean on." He acted primarily on stage, but also had occasional film and television roles, and directed productions of plays by writers such as

Aeschylus Aeschylus (, ; ; /524 – /455 BC) was an ancient Greece, ancient Greek Greek tragedy, tragedian often described as the father of tragedy. Academic knowledge of the genre begins with his work, and understanding of earlier Greek tragedy is large ...

Alfred Jarry Alfred Jarry (; ; 8 September 1873 – 1 November 1907) was a French Artistic symbol, symbolist writer who is best known for his play ''Ubu Roi'' (1896)'','' often cited as a forerunner of the Dada, Surrealism, Surrealist, and Futurism, Futurist ...

Eugène Ionesco Eugène Ionesco (; ; born Eugen Ionescu, ; 26 November 1909 – 28 March 1994) was a Romanian-French playwright who wrote mostly in French, and was one of the foremost figures of the French avant-garde theatre#Avant-garde, French avant-garde th ...

Claude Gauvreau Claude Gauvreau (August 19, 1925 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada – July 7, 1971 in Montreal) was a playwright, poet, sound poet, and polemicist. He was a member of the radical Automatist movement and a contributor to the revolutionary Refus Glob ...

Réjean Ducharme Réjean Ducharme (August 12, 1941 – August 21, 2017) was a Canadian writer, novelist and playwright who resided in Montreal. He was known for his reclusive personality and did not appear at any public functions since his first successful bo ...

, Jean Barbeau, and Robert Claing. He was married to writer

Marie Cardinal Marie Cardinal (born Simone Odette Marie-Thérèse Cardinal; 9 March 1929 – 9 May 2001) was a French novelist and occasional actress. Life and career Cardinal was born in French Algeria and was the sister of the film director Pierre Cardinal ...

. They had three children, including theatre director Alice Ronfard. He died in 2003 during the stage run of his final play, ''Oedipe à Colone''.

Awards

He was a four-time nominee for the

Governor General's Award for French-language drama This is a list of recipients of the Governor General's Award for French-language drama. The award was created in 1981 when the Governor General's Award for French language poetry or drama was divided. Because the award is presented for plays publ ...

, receiving nods at the

1981 Governor General's Awards Each winner of the 1981 Governor General's Awards for Literary Merit was selected by a panel of judges administered by the Canada Council, Canada Council for the Arts. The 1981 awards were the first time that separate awards were presented for poe ...

for ''Vie et mort du Roi Boiteux'', the

1986 Governor General's Awards Each winner of the 1986 Governor General's Awards for Literary Merit was selected by a panel of judges administered by the Canada Council for the Arts. The four Canada Council Children's Literature Prizes, two each for children's book writers and ...

for ''Le Titanic'', the

1994 Governor General's Awards Each winner of the 1994 Governor General's Awards for Literary Merit received $10 000 and a medal from the Governor General of Canada. The winners were selected by a panel of judges set up by the Canada Council for the Arts The Canada Council fo ...

for ''Cinq études'', and the

2003 Governor General's Awards The 2003 Governor General's Awards for Literary Merit: Finalists in 14 categories (70 books) were announced October 20, the four children's literature winners announced and presented November 10, other winners announced and presented November 12. E ...

for ''Écriture pour le théâtre, tome III''. In 1997, he was a recipient of the

Governor General's Performing Arts Award The Governor General's Performing Arts Awards are an annual Canadian award, presented to honour distinguished achievements in Canadian performing arts and culture. Administered by the Governor General’s Performing Arts Awards Foundation in associ ...

for his career in theatre. In 1999, he was the recipient of the

Prix Denise-Pelletier The Prix Denise-Pelletier is an award by the Government of Quebec that is part of the Prix du Québec, given to individuals for an outstanding career in the performing arts The performing arts are arts such as music, dance, and drama which a ...

for outstanding contributions to the performing arts in Quebec. In 2000 he received the National Theatre School's

Gascon-Thomas Award The Gascon-Thomas Award is a Canadian theatre award created in 1990. It is awarded by the National Theatre School of Canada to two artists, one English-speaking and one French-speaking, and is named after two of the school's founders, Jean Gascon ...

."Gascon-Thomas award winners". ''

Montreal Gazette ''The Gazette'', also known as the ''Montreal Gazette'', is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper which is owned by Postmedia Network. It is published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is the only English-language daily newspape ...

'', November 13, 2000.

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ronfard, Jean-Pierre 1929 births 2003 deaths 20th-century Canadian dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Canadian male writers 20th-century Canadian male actors 21st-century Canadian dramatists and playwrights 21st-century Canadian male writers 21st-century Canadian male actors 20th-century French dramatists and playwrights 20th-century French male writers 20th-century French male actors 21st-century French dramatists and playwrights 21st-century French male writers 21st-century French male actors Canadian male dramatists and playwrights Canadian male film actors Canadian male stage actors Canadian male television actors Canadian theatre directors French male dramatists and playwrights French male film actors French male stage actors French male television actors French theatre directors French emigrants to Canada Prix Denise-Pelletier winners People from Nord (French department) Male actors from Hauts-de-France Writers from Montreal Male actors from Montreal University of Lille Nord de France alumni Governor General's Award winners