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The Importance of Being Ernest

All the pupils in the 2nde international class, the 2nde 1, enjoyed a theater workshop organized by Mrs. Blasco and supervised by a professional actor, Jonathan Hayes , from the company Orca Theatre, who also gives theatre workshops for the Théâtre en Anglais company. This English-born actor, trained at Guilford Drama School has been living in France for thirty years and has performed with the troupe of the Théâtre du Soleil of Ariane Mouchkine and with Peter Brook 's actors. He also acts just as well in French as in English. He has also mastered the art of mask in the Commedia dell'arte.  A link allows you to get acquainted with his company.

This course was held in the Maison des Lycéens on Tuesday 20^th and in the school auditorium on Wednesday,March 21st which is our ‘theatre’.  It ended with a performance of scenes from The Importance of Being Ernestwhich had been worked during these two days and in the five hours of lessons the previous week where Mrs Blasco worked on pronunciation, diction and intonation and expression. The workshops focused first of all on physical warm-ups, group-building, improvisation and how to work confidently in the theatre space. 

Nine students had already successfully performed in early March in the play Our Country's Good at the beginning of the month, but for most others it was a first acting experience. All embarked on the adventure with enthusiasm and curiosity. Having attended part of the course, I can testify to everyone's work, the attention of groups gathered in the ‘wings’, watching the actors performing and ready to respond in turn. We must congratulate them at having rising to such a challenge: They had to first master the text, quickly slip in one or even two, roles, learn to project their voice, to look at the audience, to move around the stage, to consider the presence of other actors on the set (oh, this is difficult when the temptation is to be overwhelmed by personal apprehension!). They also learned to work with the props. The Importance of Being Ernest is a comedy, the characters were played by several actors in turn. The changes took place on the stage, the transfer of props and accessories (hats, tie, jacket ...) allowed the audience to follow the thread of the story. These exchanges of costumes in full view of the audience fitted well in a plot where identity is such a central preoccupation . This added to the comedy, especially as the players stayed in character to exchange items in a carefully choreographed exchange.

The audience of about 20 enthusiastic parents and the CPE, Florence Duval arrived punctually at 6.pm to enjoy the 40 minute performance and of course applaud a great success! 

   D 1, 12th of march

Everyone was at the meeting point well on time and we had a trouble free journey.The sea was calm and the fog lifted as soon as we arrived in Jersey.We have had a beautiful spring day

 Montorgueil Castle is only five minutes away and the children had a great time exploring.The hostel is bright, comfortable and welcoming. After a hearty supper, everyone is now ready for an early night; curfew is a t 9.30 and tomorrow we are off to explore the war tunnels.

D 2, 13th of math

     After a pillow fight, a game of football between the beds and a few raised voices we finally got everyone off to bed and they were in fact exhausted.Breakfast at 7.45

      This morning, everyone sweet smelling and well rested.Managed to squeeze all  of us into the bus to the war tunnels.The children were very interested and worked hard at their   

worksheets.A pleasant walk down to the seafront to catch the bus into St Helier for a couple of hours shopping.Home made burger, chips and fresh  salad for supper then we corrected the quiz on the war Tunnels.Are now turning in for an early night.

AND THEY DID..............!

Our Country's Good is a 1988 play written by British playwright, Timberlake Wertenbaker.

The play's first production was at the Royal Court Theater in London.

The story is a matter of historical record. It concerns a group of Royal Marines and convicts in a penal colony in New South Wales (Australia), in the 1780s, who put on a production ofThe Recruting Officer by George Farquhar, directed by 2nd Lieutenant Ralph Clark.The play shows the class system and violence in the convict camp and the idea that it is possible for « theater to be a humanising force » that has the power to transform even those whom society considers unredeemable. Many of the military officers, as Major Robbie Ross, were against this idea. With Governor Phillip's sanction, Ralph and his players overcame a severe adversity to realize the production of the play.

The action is sometimes interrupted by short speeches from an unnamed Aboriginal Australian, who charts the British settlement's effect on the indigenous populations : curiosity, confusion, and finally fear and illness.

The young actors had to perform roles with strong personalities and complex,far removed from their world, but they are able to capture that story that touched them and they worked hard for this great result. All have played fair and gave life to their characters be it an enlightened man, like Governor Philip (Charlotte Slater), an officer convinced of his superiority of race and cast, as Major Ross (Lefa Mondon), a captive rebel like Liz (Eugenie Lawson), sweet as Mary (Agathe Pervier), love as Duckling (SelenaChalet), combative as Dabby (Manon Ardeois). The public could only beshocked by the harshness of officers, Tench (Constance Levy-B), Dawes(Leanne Gaury), Johnston (Emily Trémoureux), Campbell (Louise Parsons),Faddy (Coline Bedel) all well drawn, which semi defended slavery of prisoners, each with their arguments or no argument, such as Captain Campbell and his strange humour. The evolution of Captain Collins (Constance Armangaud) was finely expressed. Finally, we must salute the remarkable performance of Ralph (Quentin Carlier), a character on stage all throughout the play, or opportunistic careerist at first, then convinced of the benefits of this theatrical adventure. We laugh at the Reverend Johnson (Taipei Dlamini) conscious of good character in the camp. The madness of poor Harry (Pierre Thierry), the Midship, was poignant. The male prisoners were real figures: Ketch (Guillaume Dubert), despite his executioner, Sideway (Pauline Legal) the flexible pickpocket passionate about theater, Wisehammer (Delphine Dubert and Coline Bedel) the reader of dictionaries, Ascott (Emilie Trémoureux) who finds peace in acting, Black Cesar (Kaohsiug Dlamini) lost on these shores. And we will long remember the Aborigine (Taipei Dlamini) shouting his helpless distress.

The play opened with a moving song led by Charlotte Slater followed by the chorus of others actors, and immediately after the lashes suffered by Sideway.
The simplicity of the decor consists of several cubes arranged in stage showcased the sinister threat of rope hanging the unfortunate prisoners. Thus was realized on stage the two poles of the debate that carries the show: to punish or educate the scene.

Julien Gely was to be governed and organized a set of lights which outlined the action steps.
Finally the costumes prepared by Mrs. Chalet served the acting and brought harmony of colors and shapes.

One can only admire the quality of this show, to celebrate this wonderful evening and congratulations to all those who participated.

Theatre in English project 2011-2012

     Since last September, 19 students from the 2^nde, 1^èreand Terminale classes of the British Section as well as one 2nde student who loves theatre have been working on performing a contemporary English play, under Mrs Blasco's direction.

   They have been rehearsing on Wednesday afternoons from 2 to 4 pm in the High School amphitheatre and have also been able to rehearse for two whole weekends in situ at the La Baule MJC, on the very stage where both performanceswill take place. Julien GELY, actor and director, helped the students with the staging of the play.

     Our Country 's Good is a play written in 1988 by Timberlake Wertenbaker.

     An upcoming blog post will cover this topic at length. The action takes place in the 18th century, in Australia, where the English Royal Navy escorted convicts, future settlers of that country.

     On January 25, the British Section blogger attended the rehearsal and interviewed the young actors as well as their teacher.

     Right away, Mrs Blasco reminds everyone that theatre work requires concentration and attention. They are indeed focused but this afternoon is also about sharing the pleasure of acting. Six weeks away from show time, each of them has gotten into his or her character and knows how to move about the stage. Nearly all of them have mastered their lines. This particular rehearsal is about delivery, tone of voice and gestures. While one group is on stage, the rest of the students rehearse in the hallway, go over their lines or watch the actors.

How did their desire to participate in this theatre project come about?

- I’ve been acting for 2 years, says Pierre who is in Terminale S, last year, I played some small characters, but it’s always interesting and this play is part of this year’s curriculum.

Kaohsiung et Taipei , both TS students, add that they always enjoy acting and thatperforming contemporary theatre after having performed Shakespeare is simpler and it’s easier to understand the theme of the play.Kaohsiung thinks that the play can move everyone. Guillaume, also a TS student,regretted not performing last year and took the opportunity he got this year. Eugénie and Lefa from 1ere S have always wanted to perform theatre. Agathe feels the same way. The 2nde students are taking part for the first time in the preparation of an entire play but Quentin, Pauline, Agathe and Constance already performed a scene fromMacbeth at the 10^thanniversary of the British Section in 2011. Finally, Émilie, who is not a British Section student, has been performing on stage since CM2, and has even been noticed by Laurent Deutsch who saw her in Mozart. What she’d like to do now is improve her English.

Which characters do they play? Did they easily get in character? How did they accomplish that?

-Mrs Blasco explains that in this play, there are 18 roles, but the playwright requested that only 9 actors perform when the play was first staged. The author also wanted each actor to play a character that would completely differ from their own identity i.e. a man would play a woman and vice versa. There are far more than 9 students in the theatre group and respecting this wish was not possible, but since this play is built on a play within a play principle, the young actors still have to play some pretty disconcerting roles.

For instance, Pauline plays Robert Sideway, a pickpocket prisoner, sweet Eugénie plays a particularly rebellious female prisoner, Lefa is THE bad guy in the play, an imposing officer who is absolutely against putting on a theatre play in the colony...

-My character, Harry, is insane, the people he killed talk through him, it’s not an easy part and on top of that, he’s a sailor whose language is more unusual that the other prisoners’. I worked with Mrs Blasco as well as at home, says Pierre. It’s definitely not easy to play a character so different from yourself, emphasizes Eugénie, I have to focus and even watched a video on Youtube in which Vanessa Bolt goes through an angry monologue, which helped me. Pauline agrees: acting requires a lot of energy.  And Guillaume who plays James Freeman, (the man named Ketch because he was forced by the other characters to become the executioner), finds this role complex, all the more so because the character is very concerned about how other people perceive him and has to evolve.

Lefa had to find ways to compensate for her small stature: I yell, raise my voice, I work on gestures, stand on a table...Delphine also found it difficult to play a male character. Thankfully, she got some coaching from William, Mrs Blasco‘s son.

Louise also plays a weird character.But some of the actresses did not find it too hard to play their respective role: Charlotte, because she plays a character with whom she agrees, Agathe and Constance because they share some personality traits with their characters. Quentin plays his character, Ralph, with pleasure but notes that 300 lines of text is a lot!

What does theatre bring to the students’ lives?

-They unanimously say how much it improves their English skills, but also mention much more: It allows me to see how far I can go, says Eugénie. It gives me confidence and self assurance states Pauline,  I’m having fun, I’m meeting people, I’m discovering this play, explains Lefa, and I learned a lot about theatre. Constance adds : It helps with self expression, oral expression and now, when I’m reading a book, I pay more attention to the psychology of the characters and to the way they interact. And it also brought together a dynamic group, we learn to get to know people. Agathe approves: it’s great when we are all together. They all said  it’s great! It’s fantastic!

Mrs Blasco mischievously concludes that, in this play where the characters become beginner actors learning how to perform in a theatre play, there are times when the text describes exactly what is happening for the students who are going through this experienceand when the director, herself, finds in the play the same patient comments that she makes to her young students.

There’ll be more Wednesday rehearsals and even another Sunday of work on February 26. Two performances are scheduled, one for Friday March 2 and the other for Saturday March 3 at 19h30 at the La Baule MJC.

Ten students from the theatre group as well as 20 students from the British Section 1ere will be attending a performance of Macbeth on February 9.

The play is performed in English by the students of the British Section of the Lycée de Saint-Germain-en-Laye under the direction of Mrs Claire Lewis.

« This theatre group has been a source of inspiration for Grand Air ever since our first visit to their location in 2003 to see The Norman Conquests. This experience made our then students want to get started in English-speaking theatre. The 'Why can't we do that?'son the bus trip back gave birth to a theatre group, ever changing naturally, but always awed by the magic of the theatre. The renewal of a school theatre group has to take place each year, sometimes with challenges at the beginning, but the combination of the enthusiasm of the newcomers and the ease that experience brings make for an enriching experience for all participants » emphasizes Mrs Blasco.

Translated by Sylvie Wiggins

Theatre in English offers workshop sessions around a theater play.
 
They are a fun complement to the conventional preparation and study of the plays in class. The activities allow an exploration of themes, situations and characters in the play through improvisations and theater games. The workshop is entirely in English and the students no longer think about the language difficulty and speak more spontaneously in English.
 
 
On Tuesday 20 and Wednesday, March 21 we were able to obtain 2 full-day workshop with four three-hour sessions (9:30 am to 12h30 and 14h to 17h), which led to a presentation by the students of their own version of the text.
 
Since this project is fully financed by the Parents Association of the British section, it is offered to the entire class without exception, on school time because it has a great educational, linguistic and cultural interest.

The play, this year, will be "The Importance of Being Earnest 'by Oscar Wilde.

"Macbeth" on 9 and 10 February 2012
   

         the theater school at St Germain Hamlet 2010 Claire Lewis and his team

We got 33 tickets for the performance of this piece appearing in B.Ed program for students in first and second current. Twenty to thirty students in the class of 1st International will travel, the other ten are already in the mountains with M Magnac for ski holiday. The remaining 10 seats are taken by students who are enrolled in 2nd theater project since September, and that while their class 2nde1 involved in a project directed by Ms. Trémel in partnership with the park of Brière and EIPC.

We have already seen several pieces of the cast of St Germain in 2003 and directed by Claire Lewis is very good and helps a lot with understanding the texts to be studied.

We leave by bus at 13:30 with a picnic lunch for the end of the afternoon. We will then be hosted by the students of the International School of St Germain and return Friday, we start from the High School at 8:30.

Claire Lewis then come to La Baule for the representation of Our Country's Good on March 2, and we are excited to build such links with St Germain.

  The price of this field trip will be fully supported by the Association of the British section.

We're back! 

Nearly 900 kilometers of coach in two days, a night's lodging hosted by the St Germain families themselves, -9°C for the morning departure and Friday lunch at 3pm. And why all this, you might ask? To see a play of course!

Not just any play and not just any theatre company! The play, as regular blog readers know was Macbeth, part of the OIB syllabus for the 2013 and 2014 exams. That's a good enough reason in itself to make the journey. Any set text play is so much easier to understand if you have actually seen it acted out. The cast of international pupils from St Germain and their director Mme Claire Lewis have been working on the play since September with 2-hour sessions for the main characters to master the finer points this last week. They have worked on meaning and interpretation and all the spectators have to do is sit back and 'go with the flow'.

The last three Shakespeare plays (The Winter's Tale at Stratford in September 2010 andMuch Ado at the Globe in May 2011 )  have also been tested on Mr Philippe Sauteron our now veteran francophone parent who provides invaluable insight into how well a play can be understood;  by a non-anglophone after careful reading of a synopsis, and attention to the acting (intonation, gestures and the dramatisation including costumes, sound and lighting). He also does a photo-report that shows how much we actually do in very short 48 hour trips and provides invaluable back-up with the logistics of a school trip down to such important details as offering to wait for the bus to to arrive and guiding it in arctic conditions (-10°c)  while the pupils and staff wait in the heated cafeteria. These are luxuries which are greatly appreciated! 

Mme Giraud completed the adult team, and is becoming a regular member of the British Section Lycée outings; inveterate theatre-lover and Shakespeare fan, her enthusiasm and implication are total and add to the smooth running of the trip, as does her ability to remind me of who the secondary characters are when I forget!

So which lucky pupils went on this trip? Twenty of the thirty members of  the 1er international class, the other ten were already away on the ski trip and the remaining places were filled by the 2nde cast members of our forthcoming play Our Country's Good. This second group were particularly enthusiastic about seeing another school at work and admitted to a few sympathy butterflies at the thought of the actors in the wings. They also appreciated the opportunity to talk about the experience with their actor-hosts.

The play itself was brought to life by over thirty actors in a Jazz age night club setting, with the three traditional old hags replaced by 13 silken-clad vamps in red evening dresses whose sinister opening whispers unsettled the audience beautifully. Macbeth and Banquo arrived in suits and fedoras and the play was launched with the witches' tantalizing prophecies of power and ambition. The Cauldron spell became a Jazz impro number and the murder scenes were violent and convincing.

The Macbeth couple were outstanding; James Edwards played Macbeth with mastery in what we were suprised to learn is his first principal role. His voice was clear and his delivery excellent as he progressively explored his growing ambition and internal torments. Fiona Macklin's Lady Macbeth was a similarly powerful characterization; both sensual and chilling, mocking and later desperate. Again, her delivery of the key speeches was both limpid and stirring with the range from confident and heartless noblewoman to mad, abandoned wreck before her suicide bringing great pleasure to the audience. 

Sample of the student reviews :

On Thursday February 9^th, at around 13:30, we set off on the coach for a 6 hour drive to the Lycée International in Saint-Germain-en-Laye in order to see their adaptation of 'Macbeth'. I was really happy and excited so it went by really fast : we listened to music, chatted about different things and went through our lines for 'Our Country's Good'. As we got closer to our destination, we started seeing more and more snow through the windows which brought a smile to my face because I hadn't seen any for a while. We arrived at around 20:00 and entered the grounds rapidly to make sure we didn't miss the beginning. We went past an enormous Château in which the students from the British Section used to study when it opened in the early 1950's but that it now used as exam rooms. It immediately reminded us of 'Hogwarts'! We then entered the theatre which felt very cosy because the stage was very close to us. We had just enough time to put our bags down and the play began. I had never seen 'Macbeth' before but knew the story and I was blown away by what I saw. The costumes, the lighting, the music, everything looked very professional. After looking at the program, I found out that around 50 people were involved in the project! The main actors, who played 'Macbeth' and 'Lady Macbeth' were exceptional! They embodied the characters extremely well and I could really feel everything they were expressing. They had set the play in the 1930's which surprised me at first but it was nice to have a contrast between the Shakespearian language and the more modern setting. After the performance, Constance and I went home with the Edwards family who welcomed us very nicely. We had a little chat with them learned things about the school, the different sections and activities they offer and facts about the town. The next morning, we all met up in the lycee's cafeteria and left at around 9:00. We watched a film and talked about the play on the way back and then had lunch at around 16:00 at Grand-Air. All in all, it was a really great trip and I hope we'll be able to go and see another play there next year!

Thursday, December 1, : Thank you Christine !

Reine and Gilles gave Christine Brown a thank you gift,

- a gift certificate from a travel agency - to thank her for all her years of service in the British section.Christine Brown thanked all the parents who had expressed their gratitude or participated in the gift giving.

Friday, December 9, 2011 : Christmas Party

The evening started at 6.30 pm with Mr Morel, the British Section Association President, giving a welcoming speech.

 The 6èmes began the show by singing "Holly Jolly Christmas", then came the 5èmes’ turn with "Deck the Halls", the 4èmes’ with "Winter Wonderland" and the 3èmes’ with "Jingle Bells".

All the children gathered to sing "Merry Christmas everyone" as a finale. Mrs Chicaud and Mrs Wiggins

orchestrated the performance.

 Mrs Verdon congratulated all involved on the work they put in to produce this Christmas show.

 After the students’ second performance, children and parents gathered in the dining hall to share the beautiful and delicious dishes brought in by all on the day.

 We thank the families for attending in numbers in order to end the year in such a warm friendly way.

After the middle schoolers’ show, two high schoolers rocked the amphitheatre and we thank them for their performance!

 Merry Christmas and best wishes for 2012 !

Translated by Sylvie Wiggins

All students from the Collège British Section can gather in the English Library which is

situated in Room F00 aka Mrs Chicaud’s classroom. They can borrow books and DVDs in

 English on Mondays and Fridays from 12.00 to 1.00 pm.

 The library is staffed by volunteer parents and their schedule is put together by Mrs Delépine.

For one hour, the students can settle down with a book or play board games…in English, of course!

The library is visited steadily but it gets busier on rainy days.

All reading levels are catered to. The large book selection goes from easy picture books to Thomas

Hardy’s novels and Shakespeare’s plays!

 Often borrowed DVDs include movies based on Charles Dickens and Jane Austen’s novels as well as Roald Dahl’s books, who is favoured by younger students. Harry Potter is as successful as ever. 

 Translated by Sylvie Wiggins

Photos Marie-Christine Cavani