Death of Jean-Guy Pichette, a pillar of theater in Quebec

Jean-Guy Pichette died on December 26 at the age of 84 at his home in Stoneham. Known simply as Jean Guy, the actor and teacher was an important man for Quebec theater.

Graduating from the Quebec Conservatory of Dramatic Art in 1964, he subsequently taught acting there, in addition to directing the establishment twice, from 1972 to 1978, then from 1989 to 1996.

He did 50 years of professional theater in Quebecrecalls his daughter, Élizabeth Dubois. He did everything except set design.

Man of the theater

As an actor, he appeared in a few films and television series, but it was mainly in the theater that he left his mark.

He played in Waiting for Godot (1980), The three Chekovs (1993) et The man, Chopin and the little pile of wood who hit the road in Europe for 300 performances.

He won the Masque for Interpretation in 1994 for the role of Mayor Petit in The guy from Quebec at the Théâtre du Bois de Coulonge. He also won the Paul-Hébert acting prize in 1998 for the role of Willy Loman in The death of a traveling salesman which was presented at the Trident Theatre.

Michel Nadeau, actor, director and artistic director of the La Bordée theater, who knew him at the conservatory and who directed him in The death of a traveling salesmanevokes a passionate man and an ardent defender of theater in Quebec.

He founded a company called the Théâtre du Vieux-Québec and which was on rue Saint-Stanislashe recalls. This is where Rémy Girard, Marie Laberge and Normand Chouinard made their debut.

Testimonies are pouring in on social networks and many are paying tribute to him. This is the case of the Trident theater which recalls that Jean Guy was one of its founders in 1970.

Beloved teacher

He taught a number of actors who subsequently made careers, notably Josée Deschênes, Guylaine Tremblay and Jack Robitaille, who says they owe him a lot. It was the teacher who really made me discover myself as a performerremembers the actor who had him as a teacher in the 1970s.

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It was he, according to Robitaille, who introduced the idea of ​​the creation of a play by the graduates of the conservatory. He was really someone who saw the game as something stimulating, joyfulhe said. He asked us to work. If we didn’t work, there was no forgiveness for that, but for him, it was joyful.

He was an excellent teacher and I am not the only one who appreciated him as a teacher. I think there are a lot of people who found it extraordinary.

Jacques Leblanc, who was also his student, remembers a man who imposed himself and who was different because of his stature, his personality and his humor.

Jean Guy, for me, was extremely important in learning the game. In his lessons, the way to approach the characters, sensory memory, where to look for emotion, he guided me well in that.

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The actor emphasizes, for his part, that Jean Guy defended Quebec theater as a whole. With Marc Doré [dramaturge, professeur et directeur du conservatoire d’art dramatique de Québec de 1979-1988]they instilled [la création] in the middle of the theater in Quebec.

No funeral ceremony is planned, but relatives and friends who wish are invited to pay tribute in their own way.