We are students, actors, writers, designers, directors. We are citizens of Montreal . We are family members, care givers, social activists. We represent the imaginative theatre community. We represent the middle-class. We are artists yearning to create.
Co-Founder / Artistic Director
Mike Payette has been active in the theatre since the age of 8. He terms himself an actor, a writer, a director, a teacher, a student, a son who will not be forced to choose to be only one. He has been in over 60 productions in venues all over the island of Montreal , including Place des Arts, Saidye Bronfman Centre, D.B. Clarke, MAI Centre, and Theatre d'Aujourdhui.
Selected theatre credits include Konstantin in Chekhov's The Seagull directed by Marcel Jeanin (ASM Studio); Friday in Robinson Crusoe directed by Dean Patrick Fleming (Geordie Prod.); Wilder in Ray Bradbury's The Martian Chronicles directed by Elise Menard (ASM Studio / 14 th Annual MTL Fringe Festival); Holloman in Morris Panych's Lawrence and Holloman directed by Olivier Perras (Tableau D'Hôte); Stevie in George F. Walker's Beautiful City directed by Eric Hausknost (ASM Studio); Sam Shepard and Joseph Chaikin's Savage / Love adapted and directed by Liz Valdez (Saidye Bronfman Centre); Endre Farkas' (et al.) Cabaret Vehicule under the direction of Ms. Valdez (Step Dans Fuego).
This notion of story, character, and text, and a will to produce emerging writers and Canadian plays sprung conversations between Mat Perron and Mike that led to the creation of Tableau D'Hôte.
Mike currently lives in Montreal , Canada where he continues his love/hate relationship with this small island. He is presently enrolled in the Specialization in Theatre and Development program at Concordia University .
Co-Founder / General Manager
Mat Perron began his theatrical adventures over nineteen years ago when he played baby Jesus in a local nativity play - a role some say he has grown into over the years. He is an honours graduate of Champlain College 's International Baccalaureate Theatre Arts & Psychology program where he was awarded the Theatre Arts Award of Excellence and The United Irish Society's Scholarship for Leadership.
Selected theatre credits include Lawrence in Morris Panych's Lawrence and Holloman directed by Olivier Perras (Tableau D'Hôte); Akono Achebe in Owen Belgrave's FIGHT THE POWER! POWER TO THE PEOPLE! directed by Frances Balenzano (Underdog Prod.); Maurice in Michel Tremblay's Saint-Carmen of the Main directed by Andrea Boyd (IB Theatre Art Collective); Brother Alan in Spin written and directed by Mike Payette (A Maybe Prod.); Phil Masterakis in David French's Jitters directed by Liz Valdez (ASM Studio); Tom in George F. Walker's Escape From Happiness directed by Liz Valdez (Champlain Theatre Collective); and Mick in Mick's Opus directed by Liz Valdez (Saidye Bronfman).
His Directorial credits include Adam Pettle's Zadie's Shoes (Champlain Theatre Collective); Owen Belgrave's Malik Went and Got Himself a White Girl (Underdog Prod.); George F. Walker's Tough! (Tableau D'Hôte); Eugene Ionesco's La Cantatrice Chauve (Champlain Theatre Collective), and all of his own work.
In 2001, Mat co-wrote/directed Rocky Road with friend and classmate Stefani Sacco for the end-of-year play at his high school LaurenHill Academy. With this first attempt at playwriting, Mat explored the timeless tale of geeks versus jocks clashing over the right to chill at the local ice cream parlour. The endeavour called for a cast of over twenty young actors, and together they told the story of the friendships that come and go, and the differences which bring people together along the rocky road of adolescence. Two years later, as an effort to raise funds for a Nicaragua Service and Learning trip, Mat wrote, directed, and produced Journey To Exodus. He led a cast primarily composed of first time actors into the world of a Louisiana Mental Asylum filled with cruelty, disparity, and a veritable lack of communication - a world which is turned upside down when a patient claiming to be Elvis Presley enters the picture and asks them all to listen and believe in one and other. Six months later, he wrote and directed Return To Sender which was produced in conjunction with Rose Colored Glasses by NoVeto Productions. Here, Mat threw a hapless chauvinistic poet and his mail order bride together and examined their struggles with gender roles, consumerism, diverging world views, and the notion of free will. His last piece, the post-apocalyptic psychological thriller PrAgression, premiered in September 2005 at Geordie.
A dissatisfaction with many facets of the Montreal Theatre Scene and a disappointment with the amount of opportunities available to students artists propelled Mat to approach long-time friend Mike Payette to found Tableau D'Hôte in late 2004.
Atop his duties at Tableau D'Hôte , Mat is unhealthily involved in Concordia Politics. He is presently enrolled in the Specialization in Theatre Performance program at Concordia University ; and although many speculate that he lives at Concordia, he actually spends a limited amount of time at his homes in Saint-Laurent and Oka to eat, sleep, and enjoy the company of his loving family's.
Director of New Play Development
Larry began his theatre career in 1997 while living in Japan with THUD Productions, a company dedicated to bringing new English language
theatre to an international community. As a member of THUD he served
for two years as the assistant producer with the Tsukuba International
Drama Festival, a community oriented festival that brought 13 new plays to the stage in it's first two years. Larry's contribution to the
festival as a writer included the short plays "Hammer of the Gods",
"The Road Home", and the full length Arthurian drama, "When there were
Kings". He was also honoured to be the only English language submission
accepted to the 1999 Tsukuba Cultural Festival, where "When There Were
Kings" was first mounted. "The Road Home" was remounted that same year
at Bowling Green State University under the direction of Dr. Jerry
Jaffe.
From Japan, Larry moved to Montreal and enrolled in the playwriting
program at Concordia University for the 2002/2003 academic year. His
first effort in Montreal was a remounting of "Hammer of the Gods" at
the Art Matters Festival 2003. Since starting at Concordia Larry has
been working on a variety of pieces, including "Crossroads" (Kit
Brennan Playwriting Award Winner 2006) a one-act solo show; a
full-length play based on the life of a tenth century Viking; and"Gallows Pole", a fringe-style one act. Larry 's most recently staged
work was his critically acclaimed two-hander, "The Chamber", produced under the Dark Horse banner in December 2005. In addition to these
projects Larry
has been involved as dramaturge with the work of other
aspiring playwrights. Notable projects include Peter Boychuk's
"Fortunate Son" (Stanley Mills Purchase Prize winner) and "Afterglow"
(produced by Dark Horse Theatre 2005 and selected for the forthcoming
Two Hands Clapping ed. Kit Brennan), and Renée Biancolin's "Angie",
which was developed under the auspices of The Canada Council for the Arts during the summer of 2006.
Since 2004 Larry has served, first as Artistic Director, and later as
co-Artistic Director with Renée Biancolin, at Dark Horse Theatre
(co-founded with Peter Boychuk). The mandate at Dark Horse has been to
put new work by new playwrights on the stage. Larry and Dark Horse
Theatre are thrilled to be working with Tableau D'Hôte to continue to
realize this goal.
Larry has acted from time to time, though he takes great pains to avoid
doing so. He also directs occasionally, though others take great pains
to keep him from doing so, and he as a penchant for design, which
neither he nor others seem apprehensive about.
Associate Producer
Jessica discovered her love of theatre at the age of 12 when she strapped on a tail and a mane to play the Cowardly Lion in a school play. Since then her love of theatre has only grown as she has continued to completely immerse herself in the world of the performing arts. Jessica graduated from John Abbott College's professional theatre program in 2001. For three years, she studied at various training grounds in and around Montreal until she discovered the Theatre and Development program at Concordia University. Since starting the program in 2003, Jessica has grown not only as a practitioner of the arts but also as a person, challenging herself all the time to learn more and go even farther. She is currently in her last year of studies at Concordia and is excited (and scared) to be graduating this summer. When it comes to theatre Jessica refuses to choose just one role but identifies herself primarily as an actor, teacher, and director. As an actor (her first love), some of her favorite credits include The Laramie Project (Concordia University), Amigo's Blue Guitar (Tableau D'Hôte), The Most Massive Woman Wins (6th Avenue Players), Temptations (Dynamic Theatre Factory), and The Shadow Box (John Abbott College). As a teacher, Jessica has taught the Creative Kids level at Dynamic Theatre Factory, a weekly theatre program at Dans'atout, the TPER 201: Introduction to Acting class at Concordia, and at various day cares and day camps around Montreal. As a director, Jessica is most proud of her work on Twenty Dollar Drinks (6th Avenue Players) and Bird Bath (Concordia University). Jessica is also very proud to have been on the executive committee and a founding member of 6th Avenue Players, a company that she helped run between 2003 and 2006. Her time with 6th Avenue Players and their three successes (8 X 10, The Most Massive Woman Wins and The Zoo Story, and Brazen), helped Jessica stretch her limits as a theatre practitioner and realize her potential in other areas of theatre, such as producer, production manager, and fundraiser.
Artist in Residence - Inaugural Season
Born in Montreal, Canada, Paul Brian Imperial was exposed to various cultures, which include English, French, Filipino, and other nationalities found within the province. At a young age, an aptitude of high achievement and hard work was instilled into him. Although aspirations for a career in the arts were not prominent during high school, Mr. Imperial was involved in many theatre projects, both independently and professionally. After years of study in the areas of science and commerce, he decided to focus on his passion: the theatre and communications field.
In February, 1995, after various theatre and acting workshops, Mr. Imperial embarked upon his professional acting career, with the knowledge that he was both mentally and physically ready. In November, 1995, he gained a stunt-actor role in Hawk's Vengeance, a feature film packed with stunts and special effects. In September, 1996, he played a role in Gothos, which was a product within the ever-increasing and popular realm of the CD-ROM games. Immediately after completion of that project, which was just over a year and a half when he began his career, he achieved full member ACTRA status by getting a role in a Shostak-Rossner Productions' film, entitled Strip Search.
During the summer of 1997, he was a recurring principal on Student Bodies, the first Canadian-produced sitcom that gained wide distribution on the Fox Network, YTV, and the Global Network in Canada and the United States. In the winter of 1998, he was a supporting lead with Steve Guttenberg and Ryan Slater on a feature film about a soccer team, entitled Home Team. In 1999, Mr. Imperial was involved in two independent films, The Fifteen Minute Decision and Tony! Tony! Tony!, both of which he co-wrote and co-directed. He is currently marketing his next screenplay, which is a fantasy film, entitled Master of the Orbs.
In the fall of 1999, after attaining UDA status with a French film titled Maëlstrom, Mr. Imperial acquired a principal role in a Cinar production, entitled Both Sides of the Law (aka Pete: The Buttercream Gang III).
From 2000 to the present, Mr. Imperial has primarily been involved in productions that could be considered as collective creations, pieces of work that are developed through a workshop process with a good ensemble of cast and director into a product, a story that will entertain the audience. The idea of original works on stage and film has become a personal interest. With film, he has been involved in productions such as Mizuo (Miz Prod. in 2000), Dame in the Red Dress (Pixie Dust Prod. in 2001), and Cradle of Silence (Mama Munchkin Prod. in 2002). In theatre, he has been involved in some capacity, whether in co-writing, developing, or design, in projects such as Just a Moment (ASM Studio, MAI Centre - Montreal, arts interculturels), A Good Night's Sleep (ASM Studio) , and Write to Me (Saidye Bronfman Youth Institute) . He has also enjoyed working as a performer or designer with companies, such as Step Dans Fuego, L'Academie Sona Vartanian, Gravy Bath Prod., Paratus Prod., and now Tableau D'Hôte.
Mr. Imperial is currently involved in several projects in both the independent and professional markets of the theatre, film, television, and video games.
Philip Malizia
Graphic Artist
Ever since he could pick up a pencil crayon Philip has been expressing himself through the visual arts. In high school he discovered the possibility of merging his love of art with his knowledge of computers and in 2003 he began his studies as a Graphic Designer at Dawson College.
Philip has been along for the ride ever since the beginnings of Tableau D'Hôte; he designed their logo and identity, and worked on every production of their inaugural season. In February 2006, Philip became Tableau D'Hôte's official graphic artist.
Kathryn Errington
Webmaster
Kathryn's love for technology sprouted at an early age with her family's purchase of their first computer, an Apple 2E, in the late 1980's. The actual thought of pursuing an education or career in the field of technology/computation came much later.
After graduating high school, she began her post-secondary studies in Creative Arts at Dawson College, where she dreamed of one day directing/producing films. It wasn't long before she realized that this program just wasn't for her. She switched into Micropublishing and Hypermedia, a program that integrates graphic design, desktop publishing, and web design. She had found her calling.
Kathryn is currently a student at Concordia University, specializing in Computation Arts while minoring in Education. She works part-time at Lakeshore General Hospital and has started her own mini-business (designing websites). Her plans for the future remain undecided.
