Mathieu Chéhadé

An artist with wide-ranging interests, Mathi is drawn to projects that allow them to do everything, all at once, and everywhere. They are particularly excited by opportunities for connection and discovering others, and enjoy dismantling the barriers of otherness by focusing instead on the threads that run through us all—beginning with their favorite: the life force.

Mathi sees their work as a performer (acting, singing, and cello) as a way of cultivating their presence in the world, and their practice of devising and writing performances as a way of giving shape to the currents that inhabit them. In doing so, they draw upon knowledge from the natural and social sciences to create performances that explore dystopian futures, war, and biodiversity.

Raised between music lessons and theatre classes, it was likely their fascination with difference that first led them away from the stage and toward veterinary medicine and the study of foreign languages. In 2018, they were cast as a singing cat by Théâtre musical Mosaïque de Montréal, a Montreal-based musical theatre company for Russian-speaking children, which neglected to mention that all of its productions were performed in Russian. It was a revelation: Mathi had found a passion where all of their interests converged. They went on to study classical voice with Anaït Khamroian before eventually moving to Toronto to pursue musical theatre studies at Randolph College for the Performing Arts.

Having returned to their native province three years ago, Mathi now divides their time between performing, writing, research, and caring for their feathered and furry patients.