Gabriel Robichaud was born in Moncton and grew up in Dieppe. An actor first and foremost, he writes (poetry/theatre/screenplays/prose), sings and directs. For more than fifteen years, he has been performing on the stages of French-language theatres across the country. In terms of publications, he has five books to his credit (three poetry collections, two plays), in addition to participating in a number of magazine projects, both collective and/or unpublished. His work has received numerous awards, both nationally and internationally. Since 2019, he has been working with Bianca Richard on the multiplatform project Parler mal. In December 2024, he joined Théâtre Gauche, where he serves as both artistic and general director. He also directs the Théâtre collection of Éditions Perce-Neige.

What led you to become an artist? Was there a moment, an encounter or a trigger that made you want to become an artist?

I remember that when I was 13 years old, in response to a school assignment that asked me about "what do you want to do when you grow up", I replied "actor, author and computer programmer". The third option has long since disappeared from the radar, but already, at that time, the idea of practicing both professions was present. I decided that I would do a bachelor's degree in drama at the Festival de théâtre jeunesse en Acadie in Caraquet in 2006. At the time, I was thinking of doing a bachelor's degree in drama with the possibility of continuing with a bachelor's degree in law. That said, when I realized that all I was interested in about being a lawyer was the theatrical and performative side that I saw in cinema rather than the law, I knew I was on the wrong track. As for professional writing, this became clear following a public reading at the Libéré(e) sur parole event organized by Ancrages magazine on March 18, 2009. After that, I believe that these two aspects of my practice remain complementary and feed into each other.

Can you share a life-changing experience or a defining moment in your artistic journey?

There are several. I would probably say that the event that has had the greatest impact in the longest term, so far, remains the publication of Acadie Road by Éditions Perce-Neige and everything that has resulted from it (Champlain Prize, publication of an audiobook, adaptation as a backdrop for the National Acadian Day show in 2020, translation into English). It is also the book that I hear about most often, and that is most useful in the school and university context.

Otherwise, the silver medal at the 2017 Jeux de la Francophonie in literature, as well as being the flag bearer during the opening ceremony, remains a significant event whose influence continues to have an impact.

That said, and probably because the project is not finished, I also see Parler mal as a pivotal moment and a new milestone in my career. After that, I rarely take the time to look back. I try to stay in the present and dream about the future.

What stimulates you the most in your artistic practice?

Both writing and acting are spaces of immense freedom. After all, freedom is not the permission to do everything inconsistently, but rather the duty to choose what to do with this immense power. I like to vary on Uncle Ben's famous quote in Spiderman "With great power comes great responsibility". I believe that the spaces of freedom that writing and the stage allow are of the same order. Otherwise, although I have the impression that the author is better known by the general public, I consider myself above all an actor who writes rather than an author who acts, especially because of my academic background which was more focused on acting than writing.

How has living and working in New Brunswick helped and/or inspired your journey?

I owe everything I am to the fact that I was born and raised here. Everything I do and most of the opportunities I have had, including outside the province, I owe primarily to contacts that I have generally made through opportunities that my New Brunswick background has afforded me, either through national organizations targeting Francophone minority communities or through partnerships between organizations here and elsewhere.

The proximity and accessibility that comes with being in a smaller community has also made it easier to access opportunities that are less available in more crowded areas. Similarly, the fact that many trainers from outside the community have a much less demanding daily life when they leave their community to go elsewhere has fostered the development of relationships that have flourished over the long term, which is generally less likely in a more metropolitan environment. Finally, my attachment to my roots also makes presenting my work here more meaningful than elsewhere. Because if it doesn't work here, I feel like I'm missing the essence of what I do.

You have worked in the literary arts, theatre, cinema... Is there an invisible thread that connects all your artistic practices?

The need for a space of freedom, where everything is possible, and then the pleasure of playing. Even when I'm writing, I'm playing (with words, language, form, the way I tell a story). I really see my practices as something complementary. They respond to each other, feed and influence each other.

Through your work, what have you learned about yourself and the New Brunswick arts community?

I consider play, in particular, to be a constant endeavour to deepen one's self-knowledge. Sometimes it's even indigestible hahaha. In the New Brunswick arts community, I would say that where I saw limits the day I left, I see a series of possibilities since I came back. I would also say that I am more and more convinced that there are things/opportunities that can only be done here, in part because the collegiality between the various art forms allows for links and accessibility to interdisciplinarity that cannot be found in other settings.

How did you feel about presenting your play Parler mal in front of an international audience at the Francophonie Summit in Paris? Was there a reaction or exchange that stood out to you?

First and foremost, it was a great privilege to be able to be there, both in such a context and also a place with as much history as the Centquatre. I would say that the most striking exchange was with a spectator from the neighbourhood who had come to see the performance without knowing anything about the subject or the reality that is exposed in the show. Her enthusiasm and her way of talking about the issues at the heart of the project convinced me that Bianca and I had made the right choice to leave the personal to join the universal, since, without knowing our reality, this spectator managed to project her echoes on her experience. Having also been marked on a personal level by the Moncton Summit in 1999 (I was 9 years old and the village was a 5-minute walk from my home), it seemed to me, 25 years later, a beautiful loop between the child whose imagination is marked and the adult who is called upon to unfold his imagination in Paris. It also confirmed to me that we don't always measure the export potential, attractiveness and influence of local realities and stories for outside audiences. I am more and more convinced that we would benefit from seeing ourselves as bigger than we are, rather than insisting on listening to or encouraging all those who tell us that we are small. Because by dreaming of being bigger and seeing yourself bigger (without falling into megalomania, of course), you end up becoming one.

Is there an Acadian word or phrase that you think should definitely be in the dictionary?

When I was in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, we were delighted to see the arrival of the expression "S'enjailler" in the dictionary. Here, many would rather say S’enjoyer to talk about the same feeling. It seems to me that it would be a nice liberation from the often depreciating and unhealthy doctrine associated with a subjective norm to see this variation written on the same theme find an equal footing in a dictionary, despite the displeasure of many allergic to anglicisms. However, I believe that above all, we need to review our relationship with dictionaries in general, which are only a tool to represent various uses of the language, rather than tools to police what is correct and what is not.

Describe what you are most proud of in your career?

Since 2007, all of my professional practice and income have come from the arts community, in French, mostly in New Brunswick, much of it elsewhere in Canada, but also somewhat (and increasingly) internationally. All things that I didn't imagine were necessarily possible when I was young.

What would your dream project look like?

I was quickly told that three factors should motivate the choice of whether or not to embark on a project:

• The project's ability to elevate our practice to another level

• The pleasure of collaborating with the people at the heart of the project

• The income from it

Any project that meets all three criteria usually succeeds in being an ideal experience. Any project that meets two of the three criteria succeeds in compensating for the one that is not ideal. Otherwise, we often end up unhappy.

I don't know if I really have "a" dream project. That said, I believe that any project that offers ideal circumstances (financial, temporal, artistic, creative, educational, human) is a formidable cog in the wheel of emancipation and fulfillment. The more you can free yourself from logistical constraints to create a space conducive to creation, the better.

Otherwise, I find that very often the new project I'm working on or the one I'm dreaming about are the ones I like best, which is usually a good sign.

What advice would you give to people who want to be artists?

I think it's important to be curious. Of their profession, of their work, of that of others, of the act of creating in general. I also think we need to look at the rules so that we can better circumvent them, if necessary. Forcing yourself to allow yourself to fail and find new opportunities to learn. Never forget that failure is never an end in itself, unless you decide to do so. I also believe that the act of creating is most rich when it is nourished by an act of love for humanity and the world, whether this act is done in accordance with or in opposition to the current state of one or the other. To learn to say yes and then learn to say no to the opportunities that are presented to us. Finally, and probably most importantly, I have the impression that the challenge we are often presented with is to "break through" the environment. It's a red herring. The most important challenge, in my opinion, is to make your approach sustainable, and to persevere beyond the pitfalls that can dot a journey. Ah. And never forget to enjoy it. Otherwise, it's not worth it.