French Productions of 'SIX CHARACTERS' and KINDERTOTENLIEDER to Debut in NYC This Week

The Cultural Services of French Embassy is pleased to announce two major theater productions from France debuting in New York: Six Characters in Search of an Author by Luigi Pirandello, directed by Emmanuel Demarcy-Mota, a production of Théâtre de la Ville in Paris, at the Brooklyn Academy of Music (October 29 to November 2) and Kindertotenlieder by Gisèle Vienne at New York Live Arts (October 29 to November 1).

Six Characters in Search of an Author, Luigi Pirandello's 1921 absurdist masterpiece with blurred dramatic story lines, is cleverly brought to life by director Emmanuel Demarcy-Mota and Théâtre de la Ville, Paris. A publically and critically acclaimed production in France, it is presented at Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) from October 29 to November 2 in French with English subtitles.

The production is part of a larger U.S. tour that includes three cities: Chicago (IL) with Ionesco Suite presented at Chicago Shakespeare Theater (October 15 to 19), Ann Arbor (MI) with Six Characters in Search of an Author at University Musical Society (October 24 & 25), and University of Berkeley (CA) with Six Characters in Search of an Author at Cal Performances (November 7 & 8).

The tour is supported by the Institut français, the Cultural Services of the French Embassy in the United States, FACE Contemporary Theater Fund, and the Mairie de Paris.

Kindertotenlieder, created in 2007 by the French-Austrian artist Gisèle Vienne, is produced in collaboration with musicians Stephen O'Malley & Peter Rehberg and American author Denis Cooper. Inspired by Freud's notion of the "uncanny" and the tradition of the Austrian characters of "the Perchten", Kindertotenlieder takes the audience on an emotionally stirring journey that blurs the lines between reality and fiction. Kindertotenlieder will premier for the first time in the U.S. at New York Live Arts from October 29 to November 1, following a production in Canada on October 24 and 25 at Usine C, Montreal, as part of ActOral Festival.

This outstanding North American tour is supported by the Institut français, Conseil Général de l'Isère and The City de Grenoble. The performances at New York Lives Arts are supported by FACE Contemporary Theater Fund.

BIOGRAPHIES:

Emmanuel Demarcy-Mota, born in 1970, is a playwright and a director. Drawn to the stage at a young age, he founded the Compagnie des Mille fontaines in 1988. From 2001 to 2008, he directed La Comédie de Reims, Centre Dramatique National where he founded a collective of artists with Fabrice Melquiot and David Lescot, among others. Since then he has directed many productions, notably plays by Eugène Ionesco, Ödön von Horvath, Roger Vitrac, and recently, Balzac. In 2008, he became the director of Théâtre de la Ville in Paris, and has served as General Director of the Festival d'Automne in Paris since 2011. As director of the largest theater of the City of Paris, he has developed several partnerships with other institutions while keeping the rich programming initiated by his predecessors alive and accessible. Demarcy-Mota is also involved in initiatives relating to young audiences and art education programs.

Gisèle Vienne, born in 1976, is a Franco-Austrian visual artist, choreographer, and director. After graduating with a degree in Philosophy, she studied at the Puppeteering school (Ecole Supérieure Nationale des Arts de la Marionnette). She works regularly with the writers Dennis Cooper and Catherine Robbe-Grillet, among others; the musicians Peter Rehberg and Stephen O'Malley; the lighting designer Patrick Riou; and the actor Jonathan Capdevielle. Since 2004 she has choreographed and directed dozens of works that have toured internationally. She has frequently exhibited her photographs and installations. Her book 40 PORTRAITS 2003-2008, in collaboration with Cooper and Pierre Dourthe, was published by P.O.L. Her current works in progress are a project in collaboration with the Puppentheater in Halle (Germany), as well as an interpretation of The Rite of Spring & Bluebeard's Castle by Béla Bartók at La Monnaie in Bruxelles in 2017 and Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich in 2018.

ABOUT THE CULTURAL SERVICES OF THE FRENCH EMBASSY - The Cultural Services of the French Embassy provides a platform for exchange and innovation between French and American artists, intellectuals, educators, students, the tech community, and the general public. Based in New York City, Washington D.C., and eight other cities across the US, the Cultural Services develops the cultural economy by focusing on six principal fields of action: the arts, literature, cinema, the digital sphere, French language and higher education. www.frenchculture.org

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