Du Monde d’à Côté - November 9, 2006 - Orono, ME

Theater that celebrates the Franco-American Fact

November 9, 2006
Minsky Auditorium
University of Maine, Orono, ME
7:00 PM-9:00 PM
Admission: $3.00

Les Sacrés Monologues is a production made up of a number of monologues and dialogs, each one capturing the main character at a major turning point in his or her life. Characters depicted are all Franco-Americans and/or Acadians. The troupe draws from a current repertory of twelve individual pieces written by Grégoire Chabot to create a full show. Each piece is about 15-20 minutes in length with most available in both North American French and English versions.

The Orono performance will consist of the following five pieces:

1. Lucienne (in French) has the main character reviewing two major life events she thinks she should have handled better. Set in the 1950s or 60s
2. Simone (in English) describes a few of the issues that a 20-something girl has to deal with as she tries to adapt to being a maid for a rich family down south, after spending her early years on a potato farm up north. Set in the late 1930s.
3. Set in the late 1920s, Zithée (in French) showcases the reaction of a woman who has just realized she is pregnant for the 17th time, and the decisions she makes as a result.
4. Pauv’ Jeanne d’Arc, a est folle come braque is a short, one-act comedy in French that shows how today’s multiple layers of bureaucracy can place major obstacles on the road to sainthood

The performance will also include a 10-minute spoof commercial for an aide to assimilation called Assimilo, miracle de la science moderne. This wonder of modern medical science helps eliminate the danger and shame associated with frequent ethnicity attacks.

Musical accompaniment is provided by Erica Brown, a young Franco-American fiddler from Lewiston.

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Du Monde d’à Côté (literally People next door or neighbors) was formed in 1996 to help expand the awareness of Franco-Americans within the ethnic group itself and in other francophone areas and populations. The troupe is committed to performing works in French and English by Franco-American authors. It complements these plays with outstanding theater pieces from Canada, Louisiana, and other francophone regions. Over the past ten years, Du monde d’à côté has performed in Québec, Saskatchewan, New Brunswick, Louisiana, and France, as well as throughout the New England states.

Co-sponsored by:

FAROG students
Centre Franco-Américain
Cultural Affairs Committee
Chez-Nous Chapter of Association Canado-Américaine<