The Upstage Interview: Julia Ainsworth and Catherine Lemieux

Catherine Lemieux, Rosaruby Kagan, Emilia Alvarez, Vanessa Schmit-Craan

The federal penitentiary for women; unfit for bears let alone women.

Upstage Contributor Alison Louder spoke with Writer/Director Julia Ainsworth about Zeitgeist Theatre Collective’s presentation of Unfit For Bears. Cast member Catherine Lemieux joined the conversation towards the end of the interview.

Below is an abridged version of the interview edited by Estelle Rosen, CharPo Editor-in-chief.

UPSTAGE

Remounting a play isn’t easy, especially with such a vital subject. What’s it like re-visiting this subject after so much time?

AINSWORTH

It was very useful for us to have the time to reflect. We were able to  meet with women who saw the workshop last year. They could then give us feedback which we incorporated into the script. 

It was shocking to read about what was going on when the prison was built and not much had been changed in over 70 years.

UPSTAGE

Were these the same women who had originally been interviewed?

AINSWORTH

No.  This was a special group invited to see the show so their perspective and stories were different from some of the earlier interviewees.

UPSTAGE

How did you discover the Archambault Commission. This is the Commission who described P4W, the federal penitentiary for women, as unfit for bears let alone women.

AINSWORTH

This came from a part of the research I had done when I was at Queens University doing an outreach project on women inmates14 to 18 years old. It was shocking to read about what was going on when the prison was built and not much had been changed in over 70 years. 

UPSTAGE

Were these young inmates  in prison with women who were of age?

AINSWORTH

These were girls who were in a  youth detention centre in Brampton. The experience led me to start research on  the subject.

I think having a workshop is important to test ideas. You can  throw stuff  out without necessarily worrying about product so much.

UPSTAGE

The play was originally billed as a workshop.Tell me more about how having a workshop run was able to inform what you needed to do to take it to the next level.

AINSWORTH

I think having a workshop is important to test ideas. You can  throw stuff  out without necessarily worrying about product so much. Script changed a lot by having the opportunity to test different ideas about staging. Script that had been episodic became much more linear. Now we have a handle on what worked and what didn’t work.

As an actor, this version is a bit more descriptive in terms of the stories of these women in terms of being more in depth about where they’re coming from;  why they’ve been incarcerated.

UPSTAGE

What kind of throughline did you find? The play invites us to find hope and dignity in a brutal and degrading prison culture. 

AINSWORTH

Generally themes have stayed the same but have been able to delve deeper into these characters’ struggle for hope. It hasn’t changed. It’s gotten deeper. Characters have been fleshed out.

UPSTAGE

Same cast?

AINSWORTH

A few were in original cast plus we’re lucky to have new blood. Catherine Lemieux is one of the additions; she’s here with me now.

The stories of the characters in the play are inspired by real stories Their struggle is very real.

UPSTAGE

Cat what’s it like for you to revisit characters in this intense and troubling subject  a year later. Were you able to go in and out of it or has it never left you since the first production?

LEMIEUX

My character is a  very difficult one that’s hard to shed at the end of the show. I think that for me  it’s a way to go more in depth although  instinctively I have been able to build a back story with her in order to make her more three-dimensional; a more real person. Her story is quite harsh.  

UPSTAGE

Were you able to speak with her at any point?

AINSWORTH

Just to clarify, the characters are not real. The stories of the characters in the play are inspired by real stories Their struggle is very real.

LEMIEUX

As actors, we build a back story not necessarily mentioned in the show. This extension of time helped me build more of a back story for my character and discover where she comes from.

AINSWORTH

It’s wonderful to see them making new discoveries about their characters.

We don’t argue these women shouldn’t be incarcerated. It’s about how people are treated when incarcerated Everybody has a story why they ended up where they are.

 UPSTAGE

From a writing point of view how involved did  you get Catherine and Carolyn in the revisitation of the text since they had already collaborated on the workshop run with you – did they get involved earlier on towards final draft?

AINSWORTH

Yes we were generously hosted by Playwrights Workshop Montreal where we revisited the text with some of the actors. That was very helpful

UPSTAGE

Is there anything that has directly inspired you from what’s going on in our country right now to present the play at this time?

AINSWORTH

Certainly. The  Federal  Government making changes to our prison system, expanding it,  harsher sentencing and human rights violations anger us.  

UPSTAGE

How do you respond to people saying - well they took someone else’s life - they deserve it. How do you hope this production will help  people break out of that perception.

AINSWORTH

We don’t argue these women shouldn’t be incarcerated. It’s about how people are treated when incarcerated Everybody has a story why they ended up where they are. Some people get terrible cards dealt to them. The play is able to give a voice to reasons leading up to people being in prison.

It’s particularly important to remember people who are incarcerated are human beings so if you lose compassion for fellow  human beings you’re not on the right course yourself.

Sept. 14-24

Les Atelliers Jean-Brillant