Contemporary French Scripts

Below is a list of plays that piqued my interested, gleaned from the pages of research materials.

• Liaison Transatlantique
• Merci pour le chocolat
• Misterioso 119
• La dame du café d'en face
• P'tite souillure
• Une famille ordinaire
• Nous étions assis sur le rivage du monde
• Soeurs et Frere
• Qui dit le tres jeune homme
• Fair Queen
• A.W.O.L.
• Les fables de Fontaine
• Moin 2
• Le visiteur
• Oscar et la dame rose
• RER
• Cet Enfant

French-Speaking Theatre Artists

Over the course of my research, several names have repeatedly come up as current theatre practitioners in the French language. Two books I have found particularly fruitful have been Contemporary French Theatre and Performance and French Theatre Today. Below is a list of playwrights and directors whose names have appeared many times and/or who I find intriguing and admirable.

• Ariane Mnouchkine
• Valère Novarina
• Olivier Py
• Philippe Minyana
• Yazmina Reza
• Souria Adèle
• Joël Pommerat
• Koffi Kwahulé
• Olivier Cadiot
• Jean-Marie Besset
• Bernard-Marie Koltès
• Marie NDiaye
• José Pliya

These artists come from France or other French-speaking areas. In terms of their influences, many of them have found inspiration in past theatre artists such as...

• Antonin Artaud
• Alfred Jarry
• Samuel Beckett
• Eugène Ionesco
• Jean Genet

Study Abroad: Narrowing Down

The time has come, the Walrus said, to talk of many things. Like narrowing down where I might study abroad so that I can get a move on things.
(I may or may not have just rhymed "things" with "things".)

Top 3 Study Abroad Locations:

• CEA Aix-en-Provence (Aix-en-Provence, France)
• CIEE Rennes (Rennes, France)
• Université Laval (Quebec City, Quebec, Canada)

I have begun applications for both the Aix-en-Provence and the Rennes programs, and will be meeting with my French advisor tomorrow to discuss how to approach Quebec. As Pitt does not recognize any programs in North America, I will have to make a case for transferring to Laval for a semester in order for credits to count at my home institution.

I have done some research into theatre companies in these three cities abroad, and have come up with a focused list of group that are of interest to me:

• Aix-en-Provence
• Les Théâtres
• Starting this year, three theatre companies begane join project to create a 3-company, 3-city season.
• Three companies
• Jeu de paume (Aix-en-Provence)
• Grand théâtre de provence (Aix-en-Provence)
• Gymnase (Marseille)
• Their performances span the realm of plays, theatre for young audiences, operas, jazz concerts, orchestral concerts, etc...
• Contact info: see website
• Rennes
• La Malle-Théâtre
• La Mall-Théâtre is a puppetry company dedicated to young audiences and familiar audiences. Located in Rennes since 1984, the group stays on top of new techniques in presentation and puppetry, and their works incorporate many visual and musical elements. They perform primarily for programs at cultural centers, theatre, médiathèques, and festivals.
• Contact info: contact@malle-theatre.com
• Théâtre Lillico
• Théâtre Lillico is the youth theatre of Rennes. They dedicate themselves to the importance of making theatre for a youth that has a unique psychology and sociology, yet recognize that the artistic process is near identical to that of adult theatre. It is a specific genre, yet has no less merit nor takes less effort, emotion, and energy.
• Email: theatrelillico@wanadoo.fr
• Théâtre National de Bretagne (TNB)
• The TNB, which became the European Centre for Theatrical Production and Choreography in 2002, holds to three pilliars in its artistic process:
• International Workshop of Artists
• Unity of production and resources for young writing and news writing
• L'École Superieur d'Art Dramatique
• TNB has several areas within the greater theatre.
• School of Drama
• Cinema
• Festival of directors
• "Prospero" : a project across Europe where 6 different theatre companies in 6 different countries each perform 1 act of a full-length play
• Quebec
• Théâtre Périscope
• Mission:
• To fervently support the development of Quebecois theatre
• To spread the theatre of creation; to raise artists, craftsmen, and the public around each project; to draw out the talents of each person; accompany and facilitate these art-makers interactions; become familiar with their proposals; create scripts
• To create a collaborative atmosphere between Quebecois theatre companies
• To become a major intervener in all matters concerning the development of theatre in Quebec. 
• All forms of art (performing, visual...) are explored.
• Contact
• General director: direction@theatreperiscope.qc.ca
• Artistic coordinator: artistique@theatreperiscope.qc.ca
• Le Théâtre du Trident
• Mission: Le Théâtre du Trident creates and spreads, for the public of Quebec and the region, theatrical works of grandeur and of privileged quality, many of which are repertory, but not excluding new works. The Théâtre plays a role in the culture and public life, to stimulate and inspire.
• Théâtre de la Bordée
• The Théâtre de la Bordée is the only institutional company in Quebec to be the proprietor of its space of creation and production. For 35 years, it has permitted more than a hundred artists and crafters to practice their art in suitable condition to thrive.
• Mission: To produce and reach out, for the public of the Quebec region, good-quality theatre at an accessible and thought-provoking level for a large component of the populace; and furthermore to serve as parter and as a home space for the production and the spread of theatre from Quebec and elsewhere.
• Contact: info@bordee.qc.ca

On my CEA application, they requested a short blurb about how studying abroad plays into my goals and academic plan. This is what I wrote:
"My time abroad will strengthen my ability to communicate and conduct business in the French language, allowing me to make further headway into my undergraduate thesis on the role of theatre arts in language, youth, and identity. I will be able to make first-hand connections with French theatre companies while reading French resources and immersing myself in the language and culture."