State of writing, state of performance
Participants will be allowed to express themselves and write in either Catalan or Spanish
(translator: Jan Vilanova)
Total hours: 34 h
Contact: obrador@salabeckett.cat
The author of the play which was turned into the successful Oscar-nominee film Monsieur Lazhar is coming at Sala Beckett to teach a workshop on writing and on how words come to life.
The mystery of writing, despite the multiple analyses, methods and theories deployed on the subject, will remain eternally opaque, which strikes me as a cause for celebration.
However, it can prove fruitful for a writer to keenly observe the conditions (within oneself) conducive to the creative impulse, as well as the tools that facilitate access to a state that is challenging to describe and, at times, even more challenging to experience.
Ever since I started in theatre, I am often asked whether I consider myself a writer who acts or an actress who writes.
I have never been able to make a definitive choice. The two roles —writing and acting— resist division or compartmentalization in my perception, for they share the same state of tension: the intersection between resistance and retreat, attachment and detachment, powerlessness and empowerment, solitude and solidarity.
My dual practice has led me to conceive of writing for the body and through the body.
The body not only shapes language but also embodies it. For me, the state of performance and the state of writing are one and the same phenomenon, in which language intertwines with anatomy. Writing, like the performer’s rendition, involves crafting a form, whose experience is being generated at the same time; it requires a carnal, world-sensitive engagement and, paradoxically, in equal measure, a withdrawal (a liberation) from the world in order to activate its codes. Through language —which cannot necessarily be the writer’s own, but another—, our perceptions and conceptions are set in motion by the writer. Similarly, the actor —whose body and voice transform into others— taps into our codified experiences since birth, recreating and reshaping oneself, and thereby reshaping the world. It is the imagination that unites the body, not the other way around. Hence, empathy —the very essence of writing and acting— is not a moral attribute, nor a cultural one, but a corporeal one, rooted in the body’s innate curiosity and capacity for love.
Theatre constantly reminds me that it is through the body that we seek the other, and through the body that we connect with them. An authentic encounter alters the body, it modifies it, modulates it. Not necessarily through grand metamorphoses, but often in small inflections, subtle nuances, delicate shifts —a testament to our irresistible impulse towards the other.
The workshop I propose aims to foster a shared exploration of our diverse writing experiences and reflections on this theme. Through writing exercises, participants will delve into their linguistic realm, exploring its myriad possibilities, and then bring their words to life in a public setting. I hope that together we will inhabit the vibrant, tangible, muscular essence of language.
When what we write becomes what we act, what we act becomes what we write.
Evelyne de la Chenelière
Within the GREC 2024 Festival de Barcelona
Writer and actress, Evelyne de la Chenelière is an essential figure on the Quebec stage and in contemporary playwriting.
Her plays, translated and performed in Quebec and across Canada, but also around the world, question the limits of language and the experience of writing. In 2017, she was a finalist for the Siminovich Award for Excellence and Innovation in Canadian theater and in 2018 she received the distinction of Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres of the French Republic.
Among her plays, La vie utile, created at l’Espace Go and presented at the Festival TransAmériques directed by Marie Brassard, earned her the Marcel Dubé Award from the Académie des Lettres du Québec. Bashir Lazhar was adapted for the cinema by filmmaker Philippe Falardeau under the title Monsieur Lazhar. The film was nominated for an Oscar for best foreign language film. Her most recent text, Le traitement de la nuit, was directed by Denis Marleau in Montreal and by Kornelius Eich in Frankfurt in its German translation.
Often invited to discuss her practice and the themes running through her work, she has lectured at various literature and theater festivals in Mexico, Limoges, Toulouse, Paris, Edinburgh, London, Saarbrücken and Cairo. She has also given master classes and participated in round tables (Conservatoire d’Art Dramatique in Montréal, University of Munich, Conservatoire de Tours, Universitat de València, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Ecole Normale Supérieure de Paris).
As an actress, we have seen her in prominent roles directed, among others, by Marie Brassard, Daniel Brière, Jérémie Niel, Brigitte Haentjens, Florent Siaud, Cédric Delorme-Bouchard and, more recently, filmmaker Denis Côté.
Evelyne de la Chenelière’s career is characterized by a formal exploration and a desire to question the performing arts, both through writing and performance. Her singularity makes her an artist who challenges expectations. She is present in the great institutions of Quebec and abroad, but also in the mystery of its margins.
Admission to the course will be based on order of arrival and CV assessment, which should be sent (with photograph included), filling in the form on the right.
Places on courses are limited. Places will be reserved once the course amount has been paid. Payment must be made within one week of receiving the corresponding acceptance email.
The dates indicated for each course or seminar may be subject to variations in exceptional circumstances. These will be notified when applicable.
For the course to take place, a minimum number of students must be registered. If this number is not reached, the course will be cancelled and the student will have the option of registering for a different course (providing that there are places available) or alternatively will receive a refund of the amount paid (100%). If a student withdraws, a refund of 75% of the registration fee will be applicable, providing that written notice is given at least 10 days before the start of the course.