Cast: Holly Thomas Cerney, John Kahara, Beata Pilch, and Sadie Rogers.
Playwright
Pierre Notte is a playwright, director, journalist, novelist, poet, and arts consultant. He was secretary general of the Comedie-Francaise, and is a Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres. He has written such plays as Et l’Enfant sur le Loup, Deux Petites Dames Vers le Nord, Les Couteaux Dans le Dos, J’Existe, and Bidules.
Director
Valery Warnotte is both an actor and director. Originally from Belgium, he lives in Paris and works in France, Belgium and the USA. He is a member of artist collective DEREZO in Brest. Directorial credits include: Sharing Midi by Paul Claudel, Elle by Jean Genet, On Purge Baby! By Georges Feydeau, Judas Pilate by Paul Claudel, Ubu Roi by Alfred Jarry and Monelle after the work of Marcel Schwob. He works regularly with the author Olivier Coyette; they collaborated at the 14th Street Playhouse in Atlanta, with Voir Un Ami Pleurer (To See a Friend Cry). Other works include Microfictions, by Regis Jauffret in collaboration with Charlie Windelschmidt at Théâtre du Rond Point in Paris (with subsequent performances throughout France, with over 250 actors); an adaptation of Valere Novarina’s text, The Sacrificing Actor in partnership with Emory University in Atlanta and Georgetown University in Washington DC.
Me Too, I am Catherine Deneuve
Written by Pierre Notte
Translated by David Bradby
Directed by Valery Warnotte
Guest Director from France
October 14 – December 4, 2010
Presented with support from The Cultural Services of the French Consulate, and the Alliance Française de Washington, the Consulate General of France in Atlanta, the France-Atlanta festival, Cultures France, and the Etant donnes from FACE – French American Fund for the Performing Arts. Additional support from the Alliance Française de Chicago, France Chicago Center, Franke Institute for the Humanities, Norman Wait Harris Memorial Fund, Théâtre du Rond-Point/Paris in the USA, as well as the University of Chicago’s Office of the Deputy Provost for the Arts, Office of the Dean of the College, and the Department of Romance Languages and Literatures.
Guest Director Valery Warnotte stages his vision of this witty, imaginative and grotesque family drama that reveals the liberating and destructive elements that occur as each member suffers the varying effects of an identity crisis. The play asks the audience to explore, alongside the characters, the potent relationship between self-definition and self-determination. Following the Chicago run, the production had tour to Washington DC and Atlanta.
Visit the U.S. Tour: Atalanta, GA, 2010 & Washington DC, 2011
Gallery
Four Stars… It’s a production whose small moments are likely to linger in the mind like something from a New Wave film.
John Beer, Time Out Chicago
Recommended… A stylish U.S. premiere by the ever-worldly Trap Door Theatre
Hedy Weiss, Chicago Sun-Times
The performances of the entire ensemble are continually captivating…This was not an easy piece to pull off so I give extra credit to the folks at Trap Door for doing such a wonderful job with it. Recommended.
Jake Lindquist, Chicago Critic
…With skill and humor, Notte balances the kids’ thirst for self-erasure against mom’s panicky but fierce determination to avoid it. Valery Warnotte’s lively staging for Trap Door Theatre benefits from a stylishly tacky set by Ewelina Dobiesz and a hammy performance from Beata Pilch, who turns the mother into a perpetually exasperated virago. Highly Recommended.
Zac Thompson, Chicago Reader
Pianist: Gary Damico / Musical Director: Nicholas Tonozzi / Assistant Director: Robert Teetsov / Sound Design: Sam Lewis / Lighting Design: Richard Norwood / Set Design: Ewelina Dobiesz / Stage Managers: Michael Garvey & Barry Branford / Costume Design: Nevena Todorovic / Make-up Design: Zsófia Ötvös / Graphic Design: Michal Janicki