Culturing performance: Exploring performance elements in Quebec folk culture

This study explores performance elements in Quebec folk culture events in the context of evaluating the resources needed to construct studies in quebecois theatre history for Anglophone students. Using the metaphor of history as a map that charts the landscape of the past and needs many layers of information to do so effectively, resources dealing with Quebec theatre history in English and in French are surveyed and underdeveloped areas are marked for future research. To deal with the unusual circumstance of a very low incidence of theatre practice in Quebec from 1606 until late in the 1800's, juxtaposed against the vibrant and international developments in the last 50 years, three instances of Quebec folk culture are investigated for their performance elements. That research is structured in accordance with the guidelines and definitions in Living Folklore (Sims & Stevens, 2005). Performance elements revealed through the study include full body synchronized movements, mask and costume, improvisation, role-playing, choral work and monologues. The relationship of these events to present-day quebecois theatre is analyzed.