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I do not know if it was born from an idea, but rather from a need. At the beginning, people came from far away, they travelled through mud, and it was important to allow them to eat. And with good food, we wanted to make people happy. 1789 required a fairground. We asked for a basketball court, because we knew that there were basketball courts everywhere! It is thus the project which gave rise to this configuration at piece-rates; it is also the part which required actor-spectators. For the same reason, it is because there were no dressing rooms inside the Cartoucherie that the actors put their make-up on in public. We kept the idea. But I believe that our public is initially that of the Theatre du Soleil.

Ariane Mnouchkine#1

ArtCommunityInnovationPracticalityTheatre

About this quote

What does it mean?
The theatre project started from basic needs like food and space, leading to unique public interaction formats.
In plain terms
We built this theatre based on practical needs like eating and playing, which shaped how actors and audiences interact.
What can you take from it?
Practical needs can drive innovative creative formats.

Where it applies

  • starting a arts project
  • community building
  • theatre production

Putting it to work

  • designing public spaces
  • community arts
  • resourceful production

Questions to consider

  • How do practical needs shape your work?
  • What can you create with limited resources?

Another view

This approach may not suit all types of performance or funding models.

More from Ariane Mnouchkine

  1. My engagements were always idealistic.

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  2. I am in the present and only the present matters to me.

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  3. The director has already achieved the greatest degree of power he has ever had in history. And our aim is to move beoynd that situation by creating a form of t…

    Permalink to quote #4

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