A couple weeks ago, Fabulations was happy to perform "Séraphine" for children and families of "Atlas Immersion Academy" and "La petite école/Le Monde" School.
A little more than 100 people attended and the show was followed by some delicious refreshments offered by the schools and Saint Cupcake.
The performance went well but to us it was quite different from our last performance back in March. Here are some insights / behind the scene information.
THE PREPARATIONS
We spent less time rehearsing in our basement than in March because the whole show was relatively fresh in our mind and body. We felt more confident with the text, the play, the timing.
However, it all changed as soon as we realized that we could not set-up our set as usual. On Friday morning, less than a week before the show, we came to Atlas to assess how much different it was going to be and talked about options and what it was going to take. Some purchases were made over the weekend to allow some changes to the set.
Part of me was actually excited about the challenge because that is part of what we do, we come to schools and do whatever it takes to make it work. So Monday morning was spent setting up the new adapted set. We then realized that we needed another few hours on Wednesday to finish a few things that were not working and also have a rehearsal, at least "une allemande" (when you go through the whole show but not in real time necessarily, just doing movements and text to know where you have to go, when, etc...) because we had to adapt the way we were performing too!
I was pretty happy with the set, it was different but quite "sleek," and after some more rehearsing we felt pretty good and were ready for the show the day after.
THE BIG DAY
Because all props and the set were already on location, set up was quick, we had time to relax and warm up.
With children in the audience, you never know what the reactions are going to be like. When performing for children, especially young children, you have to expect interactions, and we are actually looking for them, instigating them sometimes.
Our last two performances of the same show were very different in that matter. The March one for example was pretty quiet, children and parents did not interact too much, maybe because it was a smaller audience and it was more intimate. The most reactions we had was during the lion scene because it gets a little scary and funny at the same time.
During our last performance, we had all sorts of reactions. That often made us have to adapt the text or deal with mistakes we were more likely to make. One of the main thing that happens is that you can't ignore for too long that a child is showing you where a puppet went or appeared. If they also scream the name of what's appearing behind you, it's hard to pretend you are not seeing it or that you did not hear. It's not TV! The best is that kids do it in French, because why would they warn in English the main character who speaks French?!
That's what I love about live performance and why I was never interested in working in movies or television: to experience first hand the reactions of the audience and feed from it.
Jane
Dear Friends of the Fabulations French Language Theater, First, we would like to express our sincere appreciation for all of you who joined us during the French Theater Festival of Portland festivities. It was our pleasure to be able to put a smile on your face. We were delighted to see so many of you together, spending time and sharing laughter with your family and friends. You have heavily contributed to the success of our event! While contributing to make this year festival an incredible event, you are also helping us accomplish our goal, to introduce a new form of theater in the Portland Metro Area, to create a new type of French Language educational tool. We would like to thank all of the Donors which generous donations go a long way in helping the Fabulations development, more particularly our season’s donor Saint Honoré Bakery. Our thanks also go to the Petite Provence Bakery, La Brasserie Montmartre, the Alliance Française de Portland, and to the Northwest Children’s Theater and School for letting us using their spaces for the various performances. We thank our Local Media Organizations as well, for helping us advertise and promote the festival. Your coverage of Fabulations events helped bring folks to the Festival from all over Oregon. Please forward our appreciations to your family and friends not on this mailing list who also spent the First French Theater Festival of Portland with us. We hope to see you again! Please write to us should you have any inquiries. We are always delighted to meet new friends! If you are interested in our organization, please visit our website www.fabulations.org . All of this would not be possible without you - thank you. Best, Jane Fabulet-Roberts & Carine Zimber Co-directors of Fabulations
Yuko Hardy, one of our great Fabulations' supporter gave the writing contest "le concours international des 10 mots de la francophonie" a try. Thank you Yuko for your participation.
Enjoy her lovely story!
Depuis décembre 2011, nous avons deux chats, dont les noms sont Milk et Kuro, une poule et un hamster. Nous avons accueilli un chaton de S.P.A. (Société Protectrice des Animaux), comme cadeau d’anniversaire pour notre fils. Il fallut attendre plus de douze mois pour l’adopter, par conséquence, son visage s’est épanoui quand Kuro, qui était tout à fait calme pendant les transports, est arrivé chez nous. En fait, toute ma famille a un penchant pour les chats, donc c’est vraiment naturel pour lui de demander un chat. J’ai songé que notre vieille chatte Milk aurait pris soin de Kuro, mais ce fȗt le cas contraire. Autrement dit, je n’ai pas bien cerné son caractère, bien que nous l’ayons eu pendant trois ans. Nous ne pouvons pas confier le chaton à Milk. L’ouistiti, comme nous l’appelons de temps en temps, et Milk, ils ne sont, malheureusement, pas des amis de palier. Kuro a l’âme en peine parce qu’il n’est pas l’ami de Milk. Cette situation est unsupportable. Si la méfiante changeait d’attitude pour lui, l’ouistiti écouterait une histoire stupéfiant, épanouie ou à la noix de Milk.
Next week, our family minus dad will be embarking aboard an Air France plane, destination Montpellier, France. That means that for the 15-hour trip, I will be managing and entertaining a thankfully rather mellow 4 year-old and a chatty 20-month-old “lap” toddler.
I’ve rehearsed the scenario many times in my head and pray that things will go according to plan. Here’s my vision:
-Portland-Atlanta, 4 ½ hour flight: After a last diaper change and forced bathroom break despite my son’s vehement “I don’t need to, my body tells me so,” we embark during what normally would be our naptime. After takeoff when Oliver gets to chew on a piece of gum and Clarisse nurses contently, they both manage to fall asleep and I too, squeeze-in a catnap. When they wake up, happy and rested, I have delicious, nutritious and out of the ordinary snacks for them. Oliver keeps himself busy with a simple game on my computer while I read to Clarisse. We land.
-Atlanta-Paris, 8 ½ hour flight: We have time to run around, get our blood flowing and grab some dinner during our short layover. A last diaper change/pee-pee break (again with great protest) we embark on the second plane. We settle down, chew gum/nurse for takeoff. I pull out new games (a brand new travel puzzle for Ollie, a doodle pad for Clarisse) and keep happily busy until dinner is served. After a non-stressful, perfectly non-messy and delicious meal, we make ourselves comfortable for a short night sleep. The kids fall asleep immediately sharing a seat, and I even get to watch a newly released, barely edited rom-com before catching a snooze myself. Soon it is breakfast time and we’re almost ready to land in Paris.
-Paris-Montpellier, 1 ½ hour flight: We’re on French land. The airport signs are in French, I read kilometers and kilograms, home sweet home! We go through customs “rien à déclarer.” The children get to run around under the disapproving glance of some old French man. We buy a pain au chocolat and an espresso, make another round to the bathroom (for which I have to pay half a euro,) and it’s time to embark on the last leg of our trip. The kids are a little sluggish and the novelties I brought along are not so new and interesting anymore, but my wonderful little ones still manage to behave nicely and the hour trip flies by (no pun intended.) We land in Montpellier on a beautiful, warm sunny spring day in the South of France and grandma Mamita welcomes us with a teary happy smile and open arms. We made it!
Now, as I mentioned earlier, this is my well-rehearsed vision. Stay tuned for the reality of what will unfold, next week.
Carine
Two weeks ago, Carine mentioned a writing contest in celebration of the International Francophone Week. She first put pen to paper to produce a fantastic text about her childhood. The next week, Jane gave it a try too and transported us to the cosy romantic city of Venice. This week, my turn to give it a shot! Remember the rules? Narrate in less than 2000 characters a vacation memory, imperatively using these 10 words: autrement – âme – songe – transports – histoire – chez – confier – naturel – penchant – caractère. So here we go.
Tous les enfants n’ont pas la chance d’avoir grandi à deux pas de l’océan. Profiter de la plage et des embruns sans pour autant quitter le confort de son chez-soi. La beauté de la côte en été, le phare à la nuit tombée et le soleil rouge, penchant dangereusement au-dessus de la mer à chaque crépuscule.
Malgré ces satisfactions qui font l’âme de notre région, c’est toujours à cette saison que nous pliions bagages et partions pour nos vacances annuelles. Quitter la Vendée, le quotidien et la foule de parisiens descendus piquer une tête, histoire de s’oxygéner.
Bien sûr, avant d’arriver en terre promise, généralement un petit coin de France sélectionné selon le naturel de son environnement, de longues heures de route attendaient notre fratrie. Assis sur nos sièges inconfortables, cherchant tant bien que mal des occupations, ces temps de confinement dans l’habitacle du véhicule produisirent au final des souvenirs indélébiles.
Je donnais généralement le ton : mon imagination débordante requérait l’attention des autres. Commençaient alors des jeux où chaque situation ou question veillait à tromper l’ennui. Parfois, des chants appris à l’école envahissaient la voiture, plongeant mon père dans les songes profonds de son enfance. Par temps gris, les courses de gouttes sur les vitres trempées par la pluie avaient beaucoup de succès. Et quelques fois, en bravant avec patience les files interminables des transports coincés dans les embouteillages, des secrets venaient à être échangés: partager nos idées, confier nos rêves, nos projets.
Il était par instant difficile de supporter le caractère des autres. Des chamailleries éclataient tel l'orage, pouvant entraîner jusqu’à un arrêt soudain sur le bas-côté. « On se calme maintenant. Autrement… on rentre à la maison ! ». Des menaces en l’air qui savaient pourtant nous remettre à notre place.
Et bien que de retour au calme, nous bouillions intérieurement d'impatience. Conscients que nous nous apprêtions à vivre des instants de vies inoubliables.
Carole
In Carine's last posts she mentioned a writing contest in celebration of the International Francophone Week: narrate in less than 2000 characters a vacation memory, imperatively using these 10 words: autrement – âme – songe – transports – histoire – chez – confier – naturel – penchant – caractère.
As Carine, I don't fit the age requirement either to enter the contest but we decided that it would be fun if all our team was pretending entering the contest.
Je me sens comme un auteur devant sa page blanche à la différence seule que j'ai 10 mots devant moi. Je repense à l'histoire de Carine et j'ai beau chercher, aucun souvenir de mon enfance ne vient m'inspirer. Je relis cette première ligne et surprise, j'ai déjà utilisé un mot. Je relis les 10 mots à utiliser et il n'y a rien à faire aucun souvenir personnel ne vient à mon aide. En revanche, mon naturel penchant pour la Commedia dell'arte et certains de ces 10 mots me font alors voyager vers des personnages aux caractères stéréotypés mais si humains. Je me vois déjà chez Pantalone à écouter entre deux portes, j'aperçois Colombine confier à Arlequin le dernier songe de sa jeune maîtresse et Arlequin raconter les transports amoureux de Léandre pour Isabelle. Je me ballade dans le jardin de la maison du Dottore, et je vois Polichinelle, l'âme en peine, lire la lettre de refus que Colombine lui a écrite. Un bruit me fait sursauter, je sors de mes rêveries italiennes et je relis mon paragraphe. Je compte les mots: neuf! Encore un à utiliser mais autrement, j'ai fini! HA! Ca y est! J'ai fini! Finalement, en relisant encore une fois, je me rends compte que tout ce paragraphe me rappelle les deux voyages que j'ai eu la chance de faire en Italie. Je me souviens de me perdre délicieusement un matin très tôt dans les ruelles désertes de Venise à la recherche de la maison d'enfance de Carlo Goldoni.
Ecrit par Jane
March 17 to March 25, millions of French speaking people around the globe will come together to celebrate the French language and francophone cultures for the 15th annual “Fête de la Francophonie.” For the occasion, the French organization AFAL (Association Francophone d'Amitié et de Liaison) launched a writing contest: le concours international des 10 mots de la francophonie. Librarians and young adults (18-25) from around the world are encouraged to share a vacation memory in French incorporating this year's 10 words: autrement – âme – songe – transports – histoire – chez – confier – naturel – penchant – caractère. A panel of writers, journalists and linguists among others will be judging the entries. The best texts will be published in an anthology. You have until March 20th to submit your entries, so get to your pens (or keyboard) and pass the word around! Visit www.concoursdes10mots.fr to enter the contest or for more information.
By now, you've probably read the article published in the Wall Street Journal a few days ago with the sensational title Why French Parents are Superior. We discussed it at length with friends over hot chicken wings during Super Bowl Sunday: it was a debate as juicy as the wings and it brought up endless anecdotes and even more parenting stereotypes.
When Pamela Druckerman in her article opposed the “French patience” vs the “American instant gratification,” I immediately thought of Françoise Dolto, the renown (at least in France) baby and early childhood psychoanalyst, and of something I had read a while back in a collection of articles and conference transcripts titled Tout est langage.
Dolto was bringing up the concept of need versus desire, and how it is our role as parents to satisfy our children's needs but not necessarily their desires. Her argument is that desires are important to children, but rather than indulging these desires with instant gratification, there is much more benefit in delaying their fulfillment, if at all. Instead, Dolto argues, valorizing the desire by talking about it, discussing it, sharing in the daydream is what brings the true and lasting gratification to the child. It is not so much the fulfillment of their desires that children seek, but rather the opportunity to connect. Furthermore, she says, it is the unfulfilled desire that helps the child grow, and it is the same unfulfilled desire that shapes itself into creativity and invention.
Could it be, then, that learning patience, rather than being a French thing, is nothing more than accepting no for an answer and making the best of it?
Carine
I had a set of Russian dolls as a child and loved them. I would pull out a doll out of each hollow body, sort them, nest them back together, only to start all over again. Today I can see with my own children the fascination this nesting system brings to them. There is something puzzling and magical about creating multiplicity out of a single object.
This is this magical and fascinating effect that we are trying to recreate for our set: with as few props as possible, we want the Child (Polycolor's main character) to literally build the world he is acting out.
On a table, the Child progressively builds up the background in which he is evolving with materials at hand. From a variety of blocks, cylinders, cones and pyramids, and with different systems of nesting, rotation and stacking, he slowly builds a multidimensional world that we hope will surprise, fascinate and capture our audience's imagination.
When creating Polycolor, we unknowingly pushed the nesting concept even further since it turns out that Polycolor is in fact a play within a play: it is the story of a child, who is acting out a make-believe, transforming as he plays along familiar and nondescript elements into a grandiose backdrop for the story he has become part of.
Carine
When I was teaching adult beginner and intermediate levels, students always came to me to seek advice on how they could extend the classroom experience and practice on their own. Here are six easy tips to practice reading, writing, oral and listening skills at home, whether you've started taking French lessons, picked-up French again or just want to keep up your skills. The best part: you might actually enjoy it! - Read in French: start with children books, move on to blogs, magazines, comics, non-fictions, novels, poetry, etc. Whatever sparks your interest! Look up some key words in a dictionary but if you understand the general meaning, keep on reading. You can always go back later and check for a definition.
- Watch a movie in French – without the distracting English subtitles. Instead, some DVDs offer French captions for the hearing impaired, try it, it will dramatically improve your French movie experience. Beware though, the captions aren't usually a true transcript of what is being said on screen, but it definitely helps keeping track of what's going on.
- Watch the news in French. The website www.euronews.net lets you watch the news and read the transcripts at the same time, in the language of your choice. www.tv5.org is another great resource to watch the news and other programs in French.
- Listen to French music and podcasts. Check www.listenlive.eu for a list of French radios streaming online.
- Go to a French meet-up group. Speaking with others who are also learning the language can help you shed that fear of making mistakes. Once you realize you can communicate, your confidence will take a boost, and so will your progress. Check out http://portland.sudre.fr/portland-french-groups for a list of French meet-ups in the Portland metro area.
- Find a French or French-speaking pen-pal. It is a great way to practice your French written skills and meet new people. Check out www.polyglot-learn-language.com
Carine
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