For a Fine Diplomacy

The GdRA is really glad to maintain a relationship with its audience that is not only based on a “frontal” representation of theatre. The collective thus offers people to take part in workshops—readings, creative writing, oral expression, corporal expression, etc.—devoted to biography and narrative identity, for a fine “diplomacy” and a staging of otherness. The workshops are incubators of common research involving both the participants and the GdRA actors. The boundaries that may separate the specialist, the amateur, the professional, the fan, the scholar and popular culture are blurred in a warm and friendly exploration of everyone’s specificities and skills. Many themes are tackled there, such as family lives, mechanics, sports, theatre, anthropology, cinema, and so on... The workshops are filmed and lead to the elaboration of a “proof-artefact”: a film, a book, a performance, a play, acts or documents, in other words, a tangible trace of this “bilateral” diplomatic encounter. They may also take a more narrative form on stage or result in installations, exhibitions and strolls. Experiences - Academic year 2013-2014, Théâtre d’Arles, with two classes of secondary-school students: “Théâtre de l’ordinaire”. - Academic year 2012-2013, Collège Pythéas de Marseille in collaboration with Le Merlan Scène Nationale, 23 students: “Promesse 2”, ten workshops and one staged form. - Season 2012-2013, TAP de Poitiers, scène nationale, multi-generational group of youngsters "seeking to enter the labour market", women knitters and illustrators, ten workshops, one staged form: “Promesse 1”. - September-October 2011, in collaboration with La Ferme du Buisson and the Festival Val Mots-buée de Torcy, a multi-generational workshop and an exhibition of objects and filmed portraits: “Pour une Belle Diplomatie”. - December 2009, le Channel Scène Nationale de Calais, a multi-generational workshop: “Mettre en scène son récit de vie”. - November 2009, Théâtre d’Arles, in collaboration with “L’Association pour le Soutien aux Travailleurs Immigrés d’Arles” : “Portraits de femmes”. - November 2009, Théâtre d’Arles and Lycée Perdiguier, CAP couture FLOU (French VCE in sewing), 15 students: “Se voir”. - February 2009, in collaboration with Théâtre de la Merise à Trappes, a one-week filmed workshop with a class of “CAP sanitaire et social” students (French VCE in health and social care) and a multi-generational group of people "seeking to enter the labour market": “Filmer son témoignage”. - January 2009, with Le Cratère, Scène Nationale d’Alès, a one-week filmed workshop with a class of “CAP logistique” (French VCE in logistics) and a class of S stream Baccalauréat students from Lycée Aragon: “Se raconter”. - October 2007, Ferme du Buisson, Scène Nationale de Marne-La-Vallée, with a class of “Quatrième” students (i.e. aged 13-14, British Y9) from Collège Louis Aragon, a one-week filmed workshop: “Récits de vie, récits de parents”.