Lina Chartrand (1948-1994) was a Canadian writer and theatre creator. She was a co-founder of the feminist theatre company,

Company of Sirens Company of Sirens is a Canadian feminist theatre company formed in 1986. Company of Sirens developed the feminist play ''The Working People's Picture Show''. History Company of Sirens was officially founded in 1986 by Lina Chartrand, Aida Jord ...

. Her most famous work was the bilingual and partly autobiographical play, ''La P'tite Miss Easter Seals''.

Early life

Chartrand was born in 1948 in

Timmins Timmins ( ) is a city in northeastern Ontario, Canada, located on the Mattagami River. The city is the fourth-largest city in the Northeastern Ontario region with a population of 41,145 (2021). The city's economy is based on natural resource ex ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

, one of four children of Leo and Leocadie Chartland. At sixteen months old, she contracted

polio Poliomyelitis, commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 70% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe sym ...

which resulted in her requiring spinal surgery at age 10, following which Chartrand spent time in a full body cast. In 1960, Chartrand was selected as Little Miss Easter Seals. Chartrand attended Queen's University in

Kingston, Ontario Kingston is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is located on the north-eastern end of Lake Ontario, at the beginning of the St. Lawrence River and at the mouth of the Cataraqui River (south end of the Rideau Canal). The city is midway between Toront ...

, where she received a

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four ye ...

in drama.

Career

In 1986, Chartrand formed the

feminist theatre Feminist theater grew out of the wider Political theater of the 1970s, and continues to the present. It can take on a variety of meanings, but the constant thread is the lived experience of women. History Various women's theaters started up in the ...

collective

, with

Aida Jordão Aida Jordão is a Portuguese-Canadian playwright, theatre director, and academic. She is a co-founder of the feminist theatre group, Company of Sirens, and she co-created '' This is For You, Anna'', a germinal Canadian feminist theatre play. E ...

, Catherine Glen,

Lib Spry Lib Spry is a Canadian director, playwright, and academic. She is a co-founder of Company of Sirens and Straight Stitching Productions and served as the artistic director of Passionate Balance. Career In 1986, Spry co-founded the feminist the ...

Shawna Dempsey Shawna Dempsey and Lorri Millan are a Canadian performance art duo who, since 1989, have collaborated on performances, films, videos, publications and public art projects. Both out lesbians, Dempsey and Millan collaborate most commonly on humo ...

, and

Cynthia Grant Cynthia Grant is a former Canadian federal scientist who is an expert in soil fertility and crop nutrition. She was a researcher with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) (1986–2015). Her research provided the scientific foundation for the ...

. With ''Company of Sirens'', Chartrand co-created the play, ''The Working People's Picture Show''. Chartrand's first play, ''La P'tite Miss Easter Seals'', premiered in 1988 with Theatre Francais at the

Harbourfront Centre Harbourfront Centre is a key cultural organization on the waterfront of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated at 235 Queens Quay West. Established as a crown corporation in 1972 by the Government of Canada to create a waterfront park, it became ...

's du Maurier Theatre. She worked on the play for three years with consultation from John Van Burek. ''La P'tite Miss Easer Seals'', partly inspired by Chartrand's childhood, is set on a train from Timmins to Toronto and centres on fifteen-year-old Little Miss Easter Seals, Monique Latremouille, who is travelling with her mother and cousin. Monique has spent six months in a full body cast after a spinal surgery to correct effects of childhood polio. The play's characters switch frequently between speaking French and English. ''La P'tite Miss Easter Seals'' was re-staged in 1993 by Company of Sirens at Tarragon Theatre's Extra Space. Chartrand directed Helen Porter's ''My Father Taught Me To Swim'' in 1991 at the Annex Theatre. In 1993, Chartrand was named a screenwriter in residence at the

Canadian Film Centre The Canadian Film Centre (CFC) is a charitable organization founded by filmmaker Norman Jewison in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, in 1988. Originally launched as film school, today it provides training, development and advancement opportunities for pr ...

. The half-hour film she worked on during this residency, "In Limbo", was in

post-production Post-production is part of the process of filmmaking, video production, audio production, and photography. Post-production includes all stages of production occurring after principal photography or recording individual program segments. Th ...

when she died. Chartrand's collected poetry was published posthumously in the 1998 book, ''We Make the Air: the Poetry of Lina Chartrand.''

Death and legacy

Chartrand died on April 2, 1994, due to complications with

liver disease Liver disease, or hepatic disease, is any of many diseases of the liver. If long-lasting it is termed chronic liver disease. Although the diseases differ in detail, liver diseases often have features in common. Signs and symptoms Some of the s ...

, pre-deceasing partner Kye Marshall. The Lina Chartrand Poetry Award was established in her memory.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chartrand, Lina 1948 births 1994 deaths Writers from Timmins Queen's University at Kingston alumni Canadian dramatists and playwrights in French Canadian women dramatists and playwrights Canadian women poets People with polio Deaths from liver disease 20th-century Canadian dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Canadian poets