Denise Filiatro is still 20 years old!

Denise Filiatro was director of the Théâtre du Rideau Vert for twenty years. It is the age of his heart…and the age of his head!

On Monday evening in the Le Parquet room of the Caisse de dépôt du Québec, we celebrated this anniversary with pomp. The anniversary also marks the beginning of the Green Curtain's new life. Madame Filiatro accepted her leadership at an age when most people have been retired for several years. Without her and without Quebecor, which took Rideau Verte under its wing at the same time, the theater founded in 1948 by theater nerds Yvette Brind'Amour and Mercedes Palomino would be little more than a forgotten chapter in young history. .

“Big Yellow” Beautiful stories from the above mentioned countries, Rose Ouimet from “Belles-sœurs” by Michel Tremblay, Cecil at the Bluff by Gilles Carles and Roger Lemlan Or Dennis Letourneau me and the other, Madame Filiatro has a thousand faces, but for 20 years the face of the theater director has taken precedence over all others. Her role as director was not immediately accepted by theatergoers. What was a fantasia artist, former singer of Le Pheasant Dorée, doing at the head of a stage as serious as Rideau Vert?

We are canceling the season

And it was probably too dangerous, because the green curtain didn't lead us far. Rotten in debt, starving from a state that was stingy in its support, we were forced to cancel the 2004-2005 season. However, it began under good patronage with the Denis-produced “Cabaret” revival. Did the play catch the attention of management? Probably, since Dennis was immediately appointed as technical director. She vowed to “stay there for two, three, maybe five years!” It's still there and still working wonders.

Denise talks loudly, gets angry, screams, curses, and two of her facial expressions are: “What time is punch?” and “Chain, chain!” It will remain engraved for centuries in the history of our theatre. Contrary to the old saying, Dennis has velvet hands in an iron glove! But make no mistake. And I, who have known her for a long time, know that – as the novelist Robert Lalonde and Denis's son-in-law, Alexandre Durand Brault, know that – “It is her heart that will die last.”

First meeting

If Denis's path to Rideau Vert's artistic direction is not always easy to follow, it is because it is of no persuasion and is not at all doctrinal. For her, theater is primarily an encounter with the audience and should bring together as many people as possible.

With Céline Marcotte, the formidable president of Rideau Vert, and Pierre-Carl Péladeau, who unconditionally supports Madame Filiatro, she rallies a group of philanthropists from all walks of life to support the theater's cause. They were the ones who paid him tribute last night, making him cry. once again…