Du texte, au théâtre, au film / From Text to Theatre to Film

Theater, said Molière, is made to be played. But it is an ephemeral art and until recently only traces of texts and written eye witness accounts survived. However the way that societies have interpreted and staged these texts reveals the essence of those societies. More recently cinema allowed the capture on film of some of these interpretations and stagings, but in the absence of a live audience. The personal point of view of each spectator is replaced by the mechanical eyes of two or three fixed cameras. This is not theater, this is filmed theater, and it ages quickly. However it seems that a new "genre" has emerged in recent decades, of which the last movie directed in 1994 by the French film maker Louis Malle, Vania 42ème rue, and based on the text of the early 20th Century Russian author Chekhov, might be emblematic. Interpreted by contemporary New York actors, we cross languages, cultures and media. More precisely it is the television, extended by the DVD, that is the main media of this new genre. Going from the movie to the text, it is an easy access to a new language and culture. This is what we will do by viewing several filmed French plays of Molière, Corneille, Marivaux, H. Cixous, J.-M. Koltès, N.Sarraute, V. Novarina... Extracts will be studied in class to reflect on how different media can change meanings. Students will be invited to compare their interpretations, to develop analysis grids and to write reviews for the Gazette.

Required texts: Molière: Dom Juan; Jean-Marie Koltès: Dans la solitude des
champs de coton, Les Éditions de Minuit