Father’s more than a big baby in ‘Mystere’

Friday, June 18, 2004 | 8:09 a.m.

"I always thought it was something really cool," Dube-Dupuis said of her father's acting career.

Her dad is Francois Dupuis, who has played the role of The Baby in "Mystere" since the production debuted in Vegas at Treasure Island in December 1993. His costume includes an oversized diaper that does little to hide his girth.

As a special Father's Day observance Sunday, Cirque du Soleil is giving away popcorn to children and clown noses to fathers prior to a 4:30 p.m. performance.

Doors to the theater will open at 3 p.m. for the festivities and for a question-and-answer session with another parent-child duo employed by "Mystere" -- Brian Dewhurst (who plays the clown in the production) and his son, Nicholas Dewhurst (who plays one of the characters in the cast).

Dupuis has two children employed by Cirque du Soleil -- his daughter and a son, Gabriel Dupuis, 27.

Gabriel is head of the company's videography department in Las Vegas. The department has only two employees -- Gabriel and Naoemie, who has a degree in theatre design and technology from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

"He's a great boss," Naoemie said of her brother. "He is great at what he does. I look up to him. I have a lot of respect for what he does."

The siblings have another brother, Jacob Dupuis, 22, and a sister, Fannie Laurence, 19, both of whom live in Montreal. Jacob is a finance major in college, and Fannie is studying languages.

Naoemie adores her father, who will be working on Father's Day.

"He's great," she said. "He always has a positive look on things. He always has great advice, and he's a great listener. He is open-minded about everything."

Naoemie said her father always has been supportive of her and looked out for her best interests.

"He has always kept his eyes and ears open for me," she said.

Thanks to her father, Naoemie served two internships with Cirque du Soleil before being hired as an assistant to her brother, who created the video department.

Gabriel also owes his career to his father.

After graduating from high school in Montreal, Gabriel joined Dupuis in Las Vegas and turned an amateur's passion for film and video into a career.

"He just slipped in and started working here on his own for fun, filming bits and pieces of the show," Dupuis said.

Before long, the company realized how valuable the film could be in helping train new cast members in Montreal before they came to Vegas.

"He created his own department," Dupuis said.

Today, Gabriel is responsible for filming not only "Mystere," but "O" at the Bellagio and "Zumanity" at New York-New York. He also is filming a documentary on the upcoming production at MGM Grand, scheduled to debut before the end of the year.

"Working with the children is such a surprise," Dupuis said. "I never pushed in any direction for my kids. Two of them, they saw what was happening here and got interested."

Dupuis has as much pride in his children as they have in him.

"I am a lucky father to have such great kids," he said.

Dupuis is modest about his accomplishments in raising children.

"I think the only thing I provided was the moving around," he said.

Moving around is in his blood. Even though he is locked into the production at the Treasure Island almost nine months of the year, when he's on vacation he travels.

Perhaps the traveling urge developed from his career as a performer, a career he has pursued all his adult life -- on street corners, onstage, under tents.

"Moving around was always a goal," he said. "We (as a family) had no real security. The children always had to adapt to new environments, new situations. Sylvie (the children's mother) was an artist, I was in show business."

Having to adapt constantly to new places gave his children the willingness to try different things, he said.

"They learned not to be scared to leave things behind and try something new," Dupuis said.

The Dupuis household has almost always been a happy one.

Being vagabonds growing up, he said, helped in his children's development.

"Moving around made the kids creative and humble and appreciative when things were good," Dupuis said. "It gave them the vision that they can try new stuff, even if the goal seems a bit far -- it begins with one little step."

Playing the part of a baby was a little new for Dupuis, who sees his as a pivotal character in the show.

The baby, Dupuis said, helps lighten up the show, deflating some of its operatic enormity.

"After a huge opening, with elaborate sets and visuals, they wanted a baby to break the ice to show the fans that the show is not so formal, but is meant to be fun, too," Dupuis said. "It's nice to bring it down to something really simple, to appreciate the contrast.

"Simplicity is the key -- simplicity of character and simplicity of the relationship with the audience."

And the simplicity of a relationship between a parent and a child.