Le terrain vague
Le Terrain Vague was created on June 11, 2004 at Santa Cruz’s Rio Theatre (California) in French with the original stage direction of the author. It was created in French on June 11, 2005 at the Rond-Point Theatre, then July 15-26, 2005 at the Lucernaire Theatre, next December 7-10, 2005 at the Maurice Ravel Theatre (in Paris’s 12th arrondissement), and finally performed again with an entirely new cast in Clermont de l’Oise (Picardy) in May 2007.
In total, it will have been performed around twenty times before more than a thousand people.
For the 2007-2008 season, Le Terrain Vague will be resumed, shot and produced with sound support.
Coproduction in the United States is undertaken by Elsa Production, the Cultural Council of Santa Cruz County, and Pocket Lyrique.
The performances in Paris are made possible with the support of the SACD’s Beaumarchais Association, Adami, the Mayor of Paris, and Medifirst.
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“Within exchange, there are contributions. These contributions are never what one expects, for one often expects to gratify the other, not to be disrupted by the events which take place, by the singularity and unity of the other’s story. This story reminds us of ourselves, by an entirely different slant from that of gratification. If we know how to accommodate it without protecting ourselves, it will take deep effect and we will find ourselves affected. Protection would be rejecting the other, while standing firm in one’s value judgments. Whether we protect ourselves or not, the presence will always take effect, often in a deaf way without us noticing anything. Le Terrain Vague is the story of these exchanges, of this raw reception of the other’s story.”
Benjamin Hamon
Cathy, soprano, student of song
Olga, mezzo-soprano, inhabits the wasteland
Eric, baritone, financial officer
Roland, baritone, Olga’s companion
Tommy, actor, beggar
A
soundtrack, entirely spatialised for multi-speaker surround sound, and
a creative video have just enriched the lyrical work with new artistic
horizons.
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In a city, within a short period of time, from the end of the afternoon to the early morning, we are about to follow the encounter and evolution of three characters: Cathy, Eric, and Tommy.
End of the afternoon in Paris.
Cathy is alone in her bedroom at the beginning of the afternoon. Eric,
her friend, calls her and offers to come pick her up from her music
lesson so that he can spend the evening with her. Cathy refuses.
A Parisian street at the end of the afternoon. Leaving from work, Eric
finally goes to wait for Cathy, who is finishing her music lesson.
Across from him, Tommy is begging in the street in the direction of the
passers-by. An altercation makes Tommy vacillate towards Eric. Tommy
sees a confidant in Eric.
When Cathy finishes her music lesson, she is surprised to find the two
men together. Eric is embarrassed and does not know how to get ride of
Tommy’s intrusive presence.
Touched by Tommy’s distress, Cathy offers to accompany him to his
refuge, a wasteland on the periphery of the city. Eric refuses to go
with them to the wasteland; he vehemently opposes Cathy.
Night on the wasteland…
In the evening, Cathy and Tommy meet Olga and Roland, a couple of
homeless people living on the wasteland. Olga and Roland invite Cathy
to share a meal with them.
A jealous Eric finds Cathy on the wasteland. He vehemently insists that
she immediately leave with him. The two of them begin a discussion.
Despite his aversion for this place and its people, Eric manages to
share a few moments of intimacy with the group, which continues in the
form of games until the characters become exhausted.
At the end of evening, Cathy, Eric, and Tommy remain wide-awake and
congregate around the fire. The atmosphere is conducive to the
evocation of each character’s precious moments. The exchange continues
between the characters until dawn.
Early morning, Cathy and Eric leave the wasteland and return to the city.
(...) Benjamin Hamon from France produced a multi-media operetta that
appeared like some John Cage work mixed with a Beckett short play, it
was excellent.”
Bruce Bratton
Bratton
Online, June 16th, 2004.
Video extracts of creation in Rio Theater of Santa Cruz |
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