—Fernand Rainville

 

Actor and director Fernand Rainville graduated from the National Theatre School in 1985. His first excursion as a director was with the Théâtre Il Va Sans Dire production of Two Gentlemen of Verona in 1985. Since then he has directed many important plays including French-language productions of Glengarry Glen Ross, the French premiere of Tomson Highway's The Rez Sisters in 1993 for the Théâtre Populaire du Québec, and the French premiere of Brad Fraser's Poor Super Man.

 

He was co-director of the bilingual Montreal production of Les Misérables in 1990-1991 and more recently he directed Cat on a Hot Tin Roof for Compagnie Jean-Duceppe, and Macbeth for the Théâtre du Nouveau Monde. In 2007, he directed the equestrian show Saka, which ran all summer long in Bromont, Quebec. Fernand has received several award nominations from the Académie Québécoise du Théâtre, notably for Howie le Rookie, Trick or Treat, Talk Radio and Poor Superman).

 

"I would describe myself as a humanist with a social conscience," he says. "I like to trigger reflections on human nature through my work, reflections on the values that define us as a society. The entire body of my work comes from a search for meaning, from a spiritual quest in the widest sense of the word."

 

In addition to his long list of theatre credits, Fernand has worked on public service television publicity campaigns, including a special on tobacco and health presented on the cable music channel Musique Plus and he directed a broadcast gala for the Just For Laughs comedy festival.

 

In 2005, Fernand Rainville was the co-director of the Cirque du Soleil-produced opening ceremonies of the Montreal 2005 - XI FINA World Championships. He went on to become the artistic director of the opening ceremonies of the Montreal Outgames and created and directed the Cirque-produced pre-game show at the 2007 Super Bowl—and he still finds time to teach.

 

"Fundamentally, Wintuk is a show that evokes a great many emotions," says Fernand Rainville. "Perhaps paradoxically, there's actually a great deal of warmth in the show. The colder it gets in our story, the more the characters come together for comfort and warmth. The show is a quest, based on the questions: 'Where is the snow? What's gone wrong, and how can we fix it'? While the show is not political or polemical in any way whatsoever, that is a preoccupation that resonates with audiences because people are increasingly worried about these questions."

 

Fernand Rainville was born in Sudbury, Ontario in 1960.