Theatre Performance...IN FRENCH!

I have done theatre all my life, so once I saw there was a theatre course offered in my study abroad program, I knew I had to sign up. This amazing class run by Bertrand was something I looked forward to every week. It was so neat seeing the training I have received in English translate over to French theatre. In the beginning, the ten of us in the course were incredibly nervous. Improvising in a foreign language is no joke. However, we were quickly able to open up and create a safe space where mistakes were learning opportunities and nothing to be embarassed over. When we first read through the script being used for our final performance, it took two 3-hour class periods just to read through it and begin to understand the French jokes, vocabulary, and les jeu de mots. It was very daunting, interpreting a script you do not completely understand and trying to deliver your lines with the correct intent. After a few weeks of practice and getting our roles assigned, the real work began. Every individual exposition and tableau had to be staged. We worked and reworked each scene until the literal show day. We even had one-on-one coaching with Bertrand to work on the pronunciation of each line. We were very nervous for the show, mainly because memorizing lines in French is a lot harder than memorizing lines in English...so none of us were 100% confident we wouldn't forget something. Despite the nerves, we absolutely crushed the performance and had so much fun doing it. It was such an incredible time working with these amazing humans to create something so special. This is definitely an experience I will never forget. Enjoy this video where I take you along for show-day and a fun gastronomie excursion!