Today's Date:

France/United States

Act French: A Season of New Theater from France honors French-American exchange in the arts : Speech by Renaud Donnedieu de Vabres, Minister for Culture and Communication.

November 2 , 2005

Mesdames et Messieurs,

It is a great honor for me to welcome here at the Cultural Services of the French Embassy all those who have helped to bring, for the first time, an unprecedented selection of contemporary theater from France to this great city.

Act French: A Season of New Theater from France honors French-American exchange in the arts and follows the model of its predecessors - France Moves, a festival of contemporary dance held in New York in 2001, and Sounds French, a festival of contemporary music, in 2003. As partners of Act French, more than 15 theaters in New York City selected French productions, texts, and artists that they felt resonated with the diversity of theatrical activity in the United States. Our kick-off in July was Ariane Mnouchkine’s Le Dernier Caravansérail at the Lincoln Center Festival, and Isabelle Huppert just finished a run at BAM in Claude Régy’s 4.48 Psychoses. Many of the productions in Act French fall within the tradition of théâtre engagé – socially and politically conscious theater, which one might say France is famous for.

The receptivity that characterizes American organizations and the artistic community in New York made this season of French theater possible : I wish above all to express my appreciation for their enthusiasm and curiosity, which propelled this multi-faceted event. For almost two years prior to the festival, American professionals travelled to France to research writing and forms to showcase in New York. I hope that the riches of this special autumn in New York will have a ripple effect throughout the country.

Tonight, in fact, is the premiere of three Act French productions: Superamas at the Kitchen, Compagnie Lagarde at 59E59 Theaters, and José Pliya at Ohio Theater. I took the opportunity earlier to visit 59E59 right before my brief stop at the French Institute Alliance Francaise a block away, and wished them much success in their production. I extend equally hearty wishes to The Kitchen and the Ohio Theater.

I also wish to thank sincerely all of the people and organizations that have made Act French possible through both their financial contributions and their interest in engaging in artistic exchange between France and the United States. Special thanks to: AFAA Association Francaise d’Action Artistique, Playbill, the Berlys Foundation and Pierre Bergé, the May and Samuel Rudin Family Foundation, Mr. Aso Tavitian, BNP Paribas, Calyon, IXIS Capital Markets, Société Générale Corporate & Investment Banking, the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, the Florence Gould Foundation, the Grand Marnier Foundation, the Lepercq Foundation, the Trust for Mutual Understanding, the Laura Pels Foundation, and Bloomberg. Act French has been a true artistic and financial bilateral collaboration.

As New Yorkers are welcoming French productions and artists, I am happy to announce that, next year, French theaters will welcome American artists with outstretched arms during the prestigious Autumn Festival – le festival d’automne - in Paris, which will feature American artists who have been largely unknown in France up until now – and not only theater companies and choreographers, but also visual artists, musicians, and filmmakers. This initiative will echo Act French by bringing to Paris a younger generation of American artists, allowing the French public to discover aspects of American culture which are largely unknown in Europe, in a true spirit of French-American cultural exchange.