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Six short plays performed in French at Little Theatre

Nov. 2, 2004

KALAMAZOO--The Theatre de la Chandelle Verte, featuring Francine Conley and June Miyasaki, presents a collection of six short plays by one of France's leading contemporary playwrights, Jean-Michel Ribes. The single performance in French is Friday, Nov. 5, at 8 p.m. in the Little Theatre at Western Michigan University.

"The Theatre de la Chandelle Verte is one of only two companies that regularly tours the United States with productions in French, and theirs is by far the more interesting of the two," says Cynthia Running-Johnson, chair of WMU's Department of Foreign Lanuages, which is sponsoring the performance. "They have a great background in theater, and produce truly inventive stagings.

"People who are interested in theater, even though they may not know much or any French, will enjoy the show. And, the program includes summaries in English of the six short plays on the bill."

These pieces chosen for the WMU performance are from Ribes's "Theatre Sans Animaux" and "Sans m'en apercevoir." They are inventive and adventurous, funny and sad. Together they offer the audience an unexpected view of the world amid novel twists of language.

Ribes was named the director of the Theatre du Rond-Point by the mayor of Paris and the Minister of Culture in 2001, and in the same year was granted the Plaisir du Theatre award. In 2002, he won the prestigious Grand Prix Theatre de l'Academie Francaise.

Running-Johnson says there are a number of WMU connections with the Theatre de la Chandelle Verte. "One of our former students, Christian Flaugh, is a member of the company. Another member, June Miyasaki, taught here as a visiting professor several years ago. And the director of the play, Christine Iaderosa, is a theatre professional locally, and also happens to be married to one of our French professors, Vincent Desroches."

The show is $5 for WMU students and $10 for others. Tickets are available at the door and in advance in rooms 410 and 412 of Sprau Tower. For more information, call the Department of Foreign Languages at (269) 387-3001.

Media contact: Thom Myers, 269 387-8400, thom.myers@wmich.edu

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