EN SOMME! CONCEPT & CHOREOGRAPHY MARION LÉVY TEXT BY MELQUIOT LA COMPAGNIE DIDASCALIE PRESENTS. «Am I sleeping?»

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1 LA COMPAGNIE DIDASCALIE PRESENTS EN SOMME! «Am I sleeping?» Contact diffusion : Bertrand Guerry et Alix Prud Homoz (0) I contact@mitiki.com CONCEPT & CHOREOGRAPHY MARION LÉVY TEXT BY FABRICE MELQUIOT

2 EN SOMME! DANCE, THEATRE Lenght : 1h CONCEPTI and CHOREOGRAPHY : Marion Lévy TEXT : Fabrice Melquiot CAST: Dancers : Aline Braz da Silva, Jung-Ae Kim and David Lerat Actors : Marion Lévy and Cyril Casmèze or Denis Lavant General manager and sound and video manager : Joachim Olaya or Clément Marie Light manager : Pauline Falourd Scenography and lighting design - Julien Peissel Technical coordination and sound design - Joachim Olaya Vidéo- Vincent Boudier Costumes - Hanna Sjödin Artistic assistants - Johanna Silberstein, Matthieu Roy, Aude Léger SYNOPSIS : Dreams, nightmares, insomnia, fear of the dark and of loneliness, well-being... En Somme! explores the line between the conscious and the unconscious, the visible and the invisible in our life. The choreography translates the small movements that accompany our sleep and reveals the animality that comes out as our consciousness is at rest. Beginning with the scientific in order to achieve the poetic, En Somme! is conceived as a sort of private laboratory, as a journey through the different states and disorders of sleep. ÉQUIPE EN TOURNÉE - 8 people 3 dancers 2 actors 1 sound manager 1 light manager 1 tour manager PRODUCTION Théâtre National de Chaillot / Compagnie Didascalie / Théâtre National de Bretagne / Théâtre Anne de Bretagne / Le Carré Scène Nationale de Château-Gontier / Le Rayon Vert, scène conventionnée Saint- Valéry-en-Caux / Centre Chorégraphique National de Créteil et du Val-de-Marne / La Ménagerie de verre. WITH THE SUPPORT OF La Comédie de Reims, Centre Dramatique National / la Fondation ECArt Pomaret / l association Beaumarchais-SACD / La Chartreuse - Centre national des écritures du spectacle / résidence de création à La Ferme du Buisson Scène Nationale de Marne-la-Vallée / Le Groupe LaSer. LE CENTRE NATIONAL DU THÉÂTRE L ADAMI

3 CONTENTS EN SOMME! MARION LÉVY S INTENTIONS PAGE 4 THE CHOREOGRAPHY PAGE 4 SCENOGRAPHY / SOUND & LIGHT PAGE 5 EXTRACTS FROM FABRICE MELQUIOT S TEXT PAGE 6-7 LA COMPAGNIE DIDASCALIE COMPANY - PRESENTATION PAGE 8 NOTES BIOGRAPHIQUES THE ARTISTIC TEAM OF EN SOMME! PAGE 9-12 PRESS / CONTACTS PRESS REVIEWS PAGE 13 CONTACTS PAGE 14 3

4 INTENTION My desire to focus on the subject of sleep comes mostly from my own difficulty in falling asleep. Meeting with the doctors at the Centre for Sleep at the Hôtel Dieu (Paris, France) and consulting the archives of the hospitals in Paris made me realise the evocative and artistic potential of this topic. Choreographically and theatrically translating sleep disorders became the starting point of En Somme! Fabrice Melquiot turns the scientific into poetry. From how to fall asleep? to crazy dreams, the dancers and actors travel through the different states of sleep. In a white space, the choreography explores the line between the visible and the invisible and the conscious and the unconscious. It transcribes the small movements that accompany our sleep and reveals the animality that comes out in our dreams and nightmares. It s a way of talking both superficially and profoundly about the universal nature of sleep, but also about the very peculiar and personal bond that each of us has with sleep. Marion Lévy LA CHORÉGRAPHIE The choreographic work explores the line between the visible and the invisible by transcribing, on the one hand the small movements that accompany our sleep jerks, starts, the slackening and heaviness of the body and on the other hand the strong cerebral activity visible on polysomnographic recordings. We take the scientific terminology and translate it into movements (falling into a deep sleep, highfrequency waves, restless legs syndrome, narcolepsy...) The choreographic research is also inspired by the work of the relaxation therapist Caroline Rome (from the Centre for Sleep at the Hôtel Dieu, Paris - France) which focuses on deep breathing to help insomniacs to fall asleep. Additionally we look at the animality that comes out in our sleep, in our dreams and nightmares, through. Dance solos emerge from group impulses. It s a way of presenting both the universality of sleep and also the very peculiar and personal bond that each of us has with sleep. 4

5 SCENOGRAPHY The performance area takes the audience into a white space where everything is present, just waiting to be revealed and put into play. There is no set design as such but rather a matrix of matter that changes and transforms movements, images and sounds. This organic sphere, in continuous movement, provides the choreographic and dramatic space and supports the video projections. Video, a perfect scenographic tool, illustrates our split personality in sleep. The scenes are revealed as a mental maze, in which dancers and actors evolve, playing with the ideas of appearance and disappearance. Somewhere between dream and nightmare, fantastical scenes follow scientific facts and concrete and rational spaces give way to the fragility of sleep. SOUND & LIGHT With a system of eight sound sources arranged around the auditorium, the sound is intended to immerse both the audience and the performers in a hemispherical universe of sound. Together with the stage set, the use of surround sound extends the playground of dreams and/or reality into a three dimensional universe that envelops the audience. As with the sound, the medium of light is intended to create an environment. The use of trichromic light is based on the scientific principle of light therapy and bathes the space in a wash of colour which is always evolving. 5

6 EXTRACTS FROM FABRICE MELQUIOT S TEXT I hope Every night Every night I hope To go to the land of Nod I hope to go to the land of Nod Every time gaining ground over the night A bit of time Dead Offer myself the luxury of forgetting every night The open spaces Where I walked - I know how to close the door I know which door to close, you think To keep out the living I know I - Go to sleep There Go to sleep I tell you Forget the open spaces The shopping list The rent The sour smell of love s antiques The spice box The usual drinking sessions Leave all that aside Go to sleep Make love for the sake of making love to make love to make love Catch Your breath Lull her to sleep This girl who repents every night after giving Sleep It s good Go to sleep I tell you Life lasts five minutes Night, a third of life I think it s that which I think it s that Calm down I can t seem to I don t want to be absent I can t Here is what you Here It s me 6

7 ADVICES ON SLEEPING BETTER Avoid stimulation in the evening: coffee, tea, vitamin C, prostitutes. Do not exercise after 8pm. Make love before the eight o clock news. Favour relaxing activities in the evening: warm bath, reading, herbal tea, masseuse. Or rather a masseur. My sister? No, not my sister, my sister is not a masseuse and anyway, he s a brother. A masseur. Not my brother, my brother is unemployed. You need a masseur. Certified. Avoid hearty meals and alcohol in the evening. Unless it brings on an alcohol-induced coma, because then you ll sleep tight. Find your own sleep routine and stick to it. Avoid dance routines when you sleep, otherwise your partner might feel left out. When in bed, avoid television, work and food. In any case, avoid television. Avoid work. But do eat though. Watch out for sleep signals (yawning, heavy eyes). Slap yourself when you open your mouth. Tear your eyes out. It s drastic. Do not take any drugs to aid sleep unless advised to by your doctor. Unless you want to kill yourself, or if your doctor is suicidal. Try to find the best solution with your doctor (if he is still alive) and be the agent of your own treatment. It s not as exciting as being an agent for the theatre or the cinema but still, being an agent of your own treatment isn t bad. Fabrice Melquiot 7

8 TEXT & MOUVEMENT : THE CREED OF DIDASCALIE The relation between text and movement is at the heart of the company s artistic approach. Marion Lévy s collaboration with playwrights such as Fabrice Melquiot and Marion Aubert led her to look further into this connection between word and movement. With the creation of shows, teaching and the organisation of events, the company is moving forward with the same focus: initiating encounters between artists from the different fields of theatre, dance, video, music, fine arts and science... The Didascalie Company was founded in 1997 by Marion Lévy. 1997: creation of Solo (co-production: Octobre en Normandie, Ménagerie de Verre). Performed in Mont-Saint-Aignan and at the Ménagerie de Verre in Paris. 2000: creation of Bakerfix, a performance for three dancers in collaboration with the musician Arthur H (co-production: Limoges Danse-émoi/Centre Cultural Municipal). 2003: creation of La Langue des Cygnes with the actor Denis Lavant and the cellist Fréderic Desfossez. The Théâtre Georges Leygues in Villeneuve-sur-Lot gave them free rein to create this performance. 2003: Solo, film produced by Films d Ici, co-directed by Marion Lévy and Emmanuel Salinger. Special Mention from the Dance on Camera Festival in New York. 2005: first version of En Somme! at the Comédie de Reims for the festival A Scène Ouverte (co-production: Comédie de Reims, with the support of the Fondation Beaumarchais). 2007: second version of En Somme! at the Centre for Sleep at the Hôtel Dieu on the national day of sleep. The third version was performed at the Hôtel Lutétia for the Soirées Nomades of the Fondation Cartier (with the support of the Fondation Beaumarchais, the Fondation Ecart Pomaret and Groupe LaSer). 2009: performance of En Somme! at the Théâtre National de Chaillot. 2012: performance of In the Belly of the Wolf at the Théâtre National de Chaillot. Text by Marion Aubert, musical collaboration with Piers Faccini. Performance for three dancers and one actress, for an audience aged 6 years and above. Two of the company s shows are currently touring: EN SOMME! and IN THE BELLY OF THE WOLF. Marion Lévy is currently working on a duet with Piers Faccini, BLACK ROSE. (opens autumn 2013) 8

9 BIOGRAPHIES Marion Lévy, choreographer After her training at the Centre National de Danse Contemporaine (National Centre for Contemporary Dance) in Angers (France) from 1987 to 1989, Marion Lévy took part in the choreographic works of Claude Brumachon and Michelle-Anne de Mey and met Philippe Découflé when working on the parade for the two-hundredth anniversary celebration of the French Revolution. From 1989 to 1996, she travelled around the world with the Rosas Company, run by Anne Teresa de Keersmaeker: Japan, New Zealand, Australia, Germany, the United States, Russia, Spain and Portugal. In 1997, Marion started the Didascalie Company. She created L Amusette for the Bal Moderne at the Théâtre National de Chaillot, Solo at Mont Saint- Aignan for the October festival in Normandy and Bakerfix, based on the memoirs of Josephine Baker, with the musician Arthur H, which was performed in France and in Belgium. She also created La Langue des Cygnes with Denis Lavant at the festival of Villeneuve-sur-Lot and Duophonie with Michaël Lévinas on the occasion of the opening of the Cité de la Musique in Strasbourg. She directed the short film I, together with Emmanuel Salinger. She has worked in theatre and cinema alongside Victor Gautier-Martin, Bérengère Bonvoisin, Jean-Paul Salomé, Pascal Rambert, Cécile Backès, Christian Schiaretti, Yolande Zauberman, Philippe Calvario, Yves Beaunesne, Thierry de Peretti and Emmanuel Demarcy-Mota. At the same time, she taught at the Ménagerie de Verre and at the Conservatoire of Dramatic Arts in Paris. She also danced for Laurent Pelly in Platée by Rameau at the Opera Garnier. In 2005 she introduced her project about sleep with the first version of En Somme! at the Comédie de Reims. She presented the second version in 2006 at the Centre for Sleep at the Hôtel Dieu in Paris, the third version at the Hotel Lutétia and in May 2007 she presented a draft at the Carré Scène Nationale de Château-Gontier. The show was premiered at the Théâtre National de Chaillot in January After touring in 2009 and 2010, it was performed again in November 2010 at the Théâtre Silvia Montfort in Paris and in January 2012 in Fukuoka and Tokyo in Japan. In September 2009, she created Miss Electricity with Fabrice Melquiot for The Sleepless Night, at the French Institute in Madrid. In January 2012, she presented In the Belly of the Wolf at the Théâtre National de Chaillot, a performance based on the tale of The Three Little Pigs, aimed at children aged 6 and over, with text by Marion Aubert. In July 2012, she created and performed the choreography of L Histoire du Soldat for the theatre of Matsumoto in Japan. Marion Lévy is currently working on a duet with the musician Piers Faccini, Black Rose (opens autumn 2013). 9

10 Fabrice Melquiot, writer In 1998, Fabrice Melquiot wrote his first children s stories Les Petits Mélancoliques and Le Jardin de Beamon, published by l Ecole des Loisirs and broadcast on France Culture radio. He received the Grand Prix Paul Gilson from the Communauté des Radios Publiques de Langue Française and, in Bratislava, the European Award for the best radio work for teenagers. For the past few years, he has devoted himself solely to writing. His texts are published by Arche Editeur In 2001 his text Perlino Comment inaugurated the collection Théâtre Jeunesse by Arche Editeur and in 2003 Bouli Miro was staged by Christian Gonon at the Studio-Théâtre of the Comédie-Française. It was the first performance to be staged at the Comédie-Française for a young audience Between 2002 and 2004 Emmanuel Demarcy-Mota asked Fabrice Melquiot to join him as a playwright for the Comédie de Reims. L Inattendu, Le Diable en Partage, Candle, and Marcia Hesse were performed at the Théâtre de la Bastille (Paris), at the Théâtre de la Ville (Paris) and at the Comédie de Reims. In 2003 Fabrice Melquiot received the SACD Award for Best Radio Work, the Jean-Jacques Gautier Award from the Figaro Newspaper and two awards from the Syndicat National de la Critique for Le Diable en Partage: best French play and revelation of the year. His work has been translated into German, Spanish, Italian and Russian. Julien Peissel, scenographer and lighting designer Julien Peissel graduated in scenography from the École Nationale Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs. He created the scenography for Requiem and L Idiot, directed by Vincent Macaigne, Rabelais by Claude Buchvald and Ce Qui Demeure by Maurice Benichou. He often collaborates on projects at the cultural centre Mains d Oeuvre in Saint-Ouen as technical scenographer and project manager of the auditorium. He also works as a set designer for films, a light engineer for operas and a museologist Joachim Olaya, création son Joachim Olaya received a broad training in music, sound engineering and artistic and audiovisual direction, notably at the CNR in Boulogne and at the CNAM (Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers). After completing his studies, he was in charge of the Verrière, a recording and rehearsal space, from 1999 to He worked as a sound engineer specialising in live broadcasting for concerts and record production at the IRCAM (Institut de Recherche et Coordination Acoustique/ Musique) between 2003 and In France and abroad he has worked with Pierre Boulez, Philippe Manoury, the Ensemble Intercontemporain, the Klangforum, Claude Delangle, Accentus, Michel Portal, BojanZ and the label Warp. 10

11 Jung-Ae Kim, dancer Aline Braz da Silva, dancer Aline Braz Da Silva was trained in contemporary dance by Claude Béatrix at the Centre Chorégraphique in Bayeux (France). She received many medals and jury awards in national and international competitions (Biarritz, Nyon-Geneva, FNID Paris). After going to the EPSE-Danse in Montpellier, she joined the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse (Conservatoire for Music and Dance) in Lyon and continues her personal education by going to workshops and attending choreographic conventions in Paris, New York, London, Toulouse, Montpellier and Geneva. David Lerat, dancer After attending the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Danse in Paris from 1993 to 1995, David Lerat joined the Junior Ballet of the Conservatoire National Supérieur in Paris. From 1995 to 1996 he took part in several performances from the repertoire of the Ballet Preljocaj. He then performed for the companies of Serge Ricci ( ) and Anne Dreyfus (1997). In 1999 he started his own company, Aloïs, and directed Drosera at the Théâtre des Bouffes du Nord (Paris). After that, he both created and performed for other companies: François Raffinot (1999), Christiane Blaise ( ), Bud Blumenthal ( ), Paulo Ribeiro ( ) and Béatrice Massin ( ). Jung-Ae Kim was born in South Korea where she studied traditional, classical and contemporary dance. She started performing on stage at 15 in Ground Potato by the company Trust. She graduated from the Conservatoire of Paris, CNR, and underwent training courses such as EX.E.R.CE at the CCN (Centre Chorégraphique National) in Montpellier under the supervision of Mathilde Monnier. She has a state diploma as a dance instructor. In 2007 she won the Déclics Jeunes grant from the Fondation de France and she produced her first performance Jamais de Jambes. In 2009 she was commissioned by the SACD (Société des Auteurs et Compositeurs Dramatiques) and the international choreographic convention of Seine-Saint-Denis to create a solo piece, Doc, in collaboration with Arco Renz, for the festival Le Vif du Sujet. In 2011 she was invited to perform Molt at the festival Il Faut Brûler pour Briller.She has also performed and worked with the following choreographers and stage directors: Mathilde Monnier, Publique (took over a role in 2004), Tempo76 (2007), Pavlova 3 23 (took over a role in 2009), work in progress (2012) Herman Diephuis, La MuMa et Elles (at the Malraux museum in Le Havre, 2011) Philippe Quesne, Big Bang (2010), L Effet de Serge (occasional participation on tour, 2007) Arend Pinoy, Toi/Poufie/Moi (2010) Olivier Dubois, Révolution (2009) David Drouard, La Follia (2009) Marion Lévy, En Somme! (2008/2009) Jean-François Peyret, Tournant autour de Galilée (2008) Benoit Bradel, Napoli Express (2006/2007) Odile Duboc, Rien Ne Laisse Présager de l État de l Eau (2005), Insurrection (2009) 11

12 Denis Lavant, actor Denis Lavant was fascinated by comedy from an early age and devoted himself to mime and street theatre. He then joined the Conservatoire where he was taught by Jacques Lassalle. He got his first acting job in a TV production by Luc Béraud, L Ombre sur la Plage, and appeared on the big screen in Les Misérables by Hossein in Yet despite appearing in films by Diane Kurys and Chéreau, he has mostly worked in theatre. He was discovered by Leos Carax, when the young director was looking for a hero for his first film Boy Meets Girl, at the unemployment office in He gave him the part of Alex, a tormented soul, who would become the main character in his next two films. With his deeply furrowed face, he became the alter ego of the famous 80s director, with Juliette Binoche at his side in the poetic Bad Blood (1986) and The Lovers on the Bridge (1991), the passionate tale of two vagrants, which would require three years of work and intense training for the actor. The level of intensity he experienced when working with Leos Carax has only been matched by his work on the stage. Nevertheless, he has still been selected by independent directors such as Patrick Grandperret (Mona and I) or Simon Reggiani (Forced to Be with Others). He played a delinquent on the path to rehabilitation in Obviously I Need You, and a taciturn player in The Chess Game. The actor made use of his physicality and his ominous look to startling effect in one of his most memorable parts, as an officer in the ballet film Beau Travail by Claire Denis (2000). While Jean-Pierre Jeunet took him on another military adventure in A Very Long Engagement in 2004, he formed an unexpected pairing with Isild Le Besco in Wild Camp, his first film shown in Berlin in Cyril Casmeze, comédien Cyril Casmèze started off as a zoomorphic acrobat in the Cirque Archaos and performed several times with the Cirque Plume. He worked again with Bernard Kudlak, director of the Cirque Plume, and with the Télémaque group on Le Cabaret des Valises which is currently touring. In the theatre he has worked with Geneviève de Kermabon on Morituri, which opened at the Printemps des Comédiens and was also performed at the Théâtre de Chaillot. He was invited several times to the Cabaret des Achille Tonic (Shirley and Dino). He has performed (and still does) in several shows and cabarets by Michèle Guigon. He has also lent his talents to work by contemporary dramatists such as Patrick Kermann, when he was directed by Claude Bokobza. He has performed in classics: Lucretia Borgia by Victor Hugo, which was staged by M-C Morland and The Man who Laughs, also by Victor Hugo and directed by Yamina Hachémi. He has often taken part in the Grand Mezze by François Rollin and Edouard Bear at the Théâtre du Rond-Point. He performed in Edouard Bear s show La Folle et Véritable Vie de Luigi Prizzoti at La Cigale (Paris). In 2002 he founded, together with Jade Duviquet, the Compagnie du Singe Debout and created four shows: Animalité (directed by J. Duviquet and C. Casmèze at the Ferme du Buisson), Unplusun (written by the company and directed by Jean-Yves Ruf, at Nanterre-Amandiers/Vidy-Lausanne), Un Grand Singe à l Académie (based on a short story by Kafka, directed by J. Duviquet at Nanterre-Amandiers) and CQPVD in April 2008 (directed by Jade Duviquet at the Théâtre des Subsistances). He has also worked in cinema and television alongside Jean-Jacques Annaud, Alain Chabat, Edouard Bear and the Larrieu brothers. 12

13 PRESS* With humour and poetry, Marion Lévy delves into the secrets of sleep in a choreographic performance full of originality and intelligence. ( ) Punctuated by the clear rhythm of Fabrice Melquiot s text and music that alternates strange sounds with cheerful ballads, Marion Lévy succeeds in studying sleep in all its ambiguities. La Croix Monday 19th January 2009 Marie-Valentine Chaudon Between science and humour, dance and theatre, fantasy and domestic rows, this first creation by Marion Lévy, former dancer for Anne Teresa de Keersmaeker, has the delicacy of goose down and the caustic beauty of dreams. ( ) Poetry, comedy, knowledge, everything in this show works perfectly... Le Figaro 10th & 11th January 2009 Ariane Bavelier Marion Lévy dances her insomniac dreams. ( ) Beautiful and spectacular extrapolation, the play manages gentle and funny intrusions around the bedroom, the darkness, sex and loneliness. Paradoxically soft even in the nightmares, it slips by like the sand in an hourglass. Le Monde 31st January 2009 Rosita Boisseau Marion Lévy decides to turn her insomnia into subtle choreography. Rather than Fabrice Melquiot s text, it is the body language itself, curled up in the dancers sleep, which is enchanting. ( ) En Somme! combines science and play in constant motion. Les Inrockuptibles 16th December 2008 Philippe Noisette In En Somme!- a beautiful performance which is as evanescent as a dream and considerably more pleasant than insomnia- Marion Lévy has created a choreographic and dramatic cycle around the rhythm and the structure of the different stages of sleep. The text, fine and fitting, is produced by the writer Fabrice Melquiot ( ) En Somme! becomes an enlightening truth. Télérama 10th November 2010 *Complete press review available on request 13

14 CIE DIDASCALIE 8 PLACE DU GUIGNIER PARIS - FRANCE ADMINISTRATOR BERTRAND GUERRY (0) admin@marionlevy.com TOUR MANAGERS Bertrand Guerry I (0) I bertrand@mitiki.com Alix Prud Homoz I (0) I alix@mitiki.com