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Who's who in Quidam
Artists of Quidam, interviewed in Cleveland, where the show was in October.
By Times staff
© St. Petersburg Times
published November 7, 2002
ISABELLE CHASSE
[Photo: Cirque du Soleil]
Isabelle Chasse performs her aerial contortion act high up in the big top.
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Born: July 17, 1976, Canada.
Act: As an aerial contortionist, Chasse performs on red silk banners high above the floor of the big top. She doesn't use a safety line.
Background: Joined Cirque at 13 as part of a four-girl contortion act, appearing in Nouvelle Experience, Fascination, Saltimbanco. She has been in Quidam five years.
What scares her: "It's not scary to me. I've always been comfortable with heights. It's actually almost a liberating feeling. But once in a blue moon, I'll get scared before I go on, and I have no idea why. It's very random. I try to find the pattern -- some people get nervous for a premiere; or for girls, they get nervous relating to their menstrual cycle -- but for me I have no idea what happens. One day I'll just be up there and think, 'Oh, my God, this is really high. What am I doing up here?' But it's a mind game, in a way. You just have to focus. Your body, after doing it so many times, tells you it's all right. If I just stop listening to those voices in my head and listen to my body, it's going to be smooth and natural."
Why she is sometimes restless with Cirque: "It's difficult to do the same show for a very long time and feel your performance is genuine. As a person you change and evolve and have different desires. Having to do the same show every night doesn't allow you to evolve. There's so much structure around the product, the show, that it's difficult to express those changes in yourself. As a performer, it's a desire that I have to express myself. It's hard to do it when the act doesn't change."
Her new venture: Chasse and other Cirque members recently formed a small circus troupe in Montreal called Les 7 Doigts de la Main ("Seven Fingers of the Hand"). To allow her to pursue other projects, she appears in Quidam just six months a year.
Why she likes Cirque: "It's rare as a performer that you have 2,500 people watching you every night, so you have a great platform. But it presents you with certain restrictions, so for me it's important to have the freedom to go off and experience other things. At the same time, it's important to have stability, and I really enjoy the way they treat us here."
MARK WARD
[AP photo]
Mark Ward, who plays MC John, puts on his makeup before the Cleveland show.
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Born: Dec. 11, 1965, United States.
Background: Former member of Chicago City Ballet and Ballet Chicago. Joined Cirque in 1993 and was in Mystere in Las Vegas for five years before going on tour with Quidam.
Character: Ward plays the surrealistic MC John, who guides a girl named Zoe on a magical journey of discovery.
Book read recently: House of Sand and Fog, a novel by Andres Dubus III.
What he likes about playing John: "The important thing about this role is that I have the opportunity to reach out and touch the audience. I like to think of myself as the element of intimacy. I'm the one who can reach out and shake you, or sit down beside you. There's the fourth wall kind of thing happening, and I'm allowed to break that."
What he likes about Cirque: "The job stability is great. It's also great to know that we have eight different productions and that if I'm not happy in this one, I know I can audition for another show. The door is always open."
What his social life on the road is like: "As far as meeting people, when you see me onstage, you'll see I'm totally different from my real self. John is a very crazy character; I think of him as a kid trapped inside a man's body. In front of 2,000 people, I can be a total ham. But one on one, it's a little different; that's when I get scared. I'm pretty much a loner."
YVES DECOSTE and MARIE-LAURE MESNAGE
[AP photo]
Marie-Laure Mesnage and Yves Decoste, partners in Vis Versa Statue, train before a Cirque du Soleil performance in Cleveland last month.
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Born: Nov. 24, 1961, Canada (Decoste); Oct. 12, 1965, France (Mesnage).
Act: Vis Versa Statue, a slow-motion body sculpture that requires strength and teamwork.
Background: Decoste originally performed the act with a male partner in Mystere. Before joining Cirque, Mesnage was a gymnast and dancer. They have worked together eight years.
Relationship: Decoste and Mesnage were a couple in the 1990s, but they broke up and now are friends. Neither is married.
What it was like to perform together after the relationship ended: "We had some fights when we split, but I always had the peaceful moment with Yves onstage," Mesnage says. "We're very good friends. We've passed though a lot of good and hard times. We've learned a lot together."
How the act has changed: "In the beginning we were using more strength," Decoste says. "We were not as fluid as we are now. In time you realize that you don't have to use so much of your personal strength, but you use the coordination with the other person."
What the act means: "We're about the same size, and we try to play even," Decoste says. "We like to show equilibrium between the two sexes. We're trying to be very human onstage. It's more spiritual than sexual; it's all about peace in the world, balance."
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