Vivarium Studio
Encyclopedia
Vivarium Studio is a theatrical performance company which was founded by Philippe Quesne in 2003 in Paris
, France
. Established with the purpose of innovation, the organization includes painters, actors, dancers, musicians and animals which have created and performed their own works in theaters and festivals in various parts of the world. The writing and directing of these plays is done by Quesne, as part of the French avant-garde
tradition. Sets, movements and dialogue tend to be simple and sparse, with subtle political and social messages, and a focus on the little things of life.
. He has created designs for opera, concerts, theater performances and contemporary art exhibitions among other projects.
The company has developed projects for art galleries, urban spaces, parks, gardens and forests. These projects have tackled various topics often with irony. They use various types of techniques such as interviews, articles, poems, songs and word lists, along with actors, sound, lights, videos and movements. The works often contain references to literature, the sciences, the visual arts, music, cinema and comics. Vivarium Studio is part of the French avant-garde tradition which often focuses on mocking the ideas of the French bourgeoisie. Much of their work centers on characters who are in unusual to ridiculous situations but then turn the tables. Many of the works are focused on the little things in life. Although not obvious, Quesne also places political and social messages in his works, especially related to the environment. His views on the environment mostly show up in the stage design, as well as a series of picture books he created called Conséquences. Speech is kept to an absolute minimum, spectacle is decried and presence is considered to be most important. There is also conscious use of silence.
L’Effet de Serge is a drama performed on a very sparse set with no lavish dramatic gestures or abundant dialogue. The set is composed of empty walls, a ping-pong table, a snippet of a rug, a TV set, French doors opening onto a small garden. The work is about both the futility, pleasure and necessity of daily routines. Gaëtan Vourc'h played a Buster Keaton
-like main character who prepares short shows for his friends in his living room on Saturday night. The goal is to show the need for the creative impulse which can be expressed in the simplest of deeds. This project was supported by Étant donnés: The French-American Fund for the Performing Arts, a program of FACE. L'Effet de Serge won an Obie Award
at the Under the Radar Festival
in New York City.
In La Mélancolie des Dragons, the scene focuses on a Citroën
that houses six fans of Heavy metal music
. The story revolves around their attempts to start their own verision of a Disney theme park as a critique against cheap consumerism. In Echantillons, the stage consists mostly of a department store window, and spectators use an IMac
mouse button to give commands to the actors behind the glass. The show BIG BANG is based on the theory of evolution, which, after a massive explosion, six people on a small island rewrite the history of the world.
. Works by Vivarium have been presented in theaters and festivals in the United States, Brazil, Mexico, Germany, Sweden and Poland. Some of the venues have included the International Summer Festival Hamburg, La Ménagerie de Verre Paris, Festival d'Avignon
, Hebbel am Ufer
Berlin
, Les Spectacles vivants – Centre Pompidou Paris, Kunstencentrum Vooruit Gent
, Théâtre de l’Agora Scène nationale d’Evry et de l’Essone, Festival Baltoscandal Rakvere, Rotterdamse. In Mexico, the group has appeared at the Festival Internacional Cervantino
. Vivarium toured the U.S. in 2011 with the support of Etant donnés: The French-American Fund for the Performing Arts, a program of FACE (French American Cultural Exchange), the Germain Motor Company and Pella Window & Door .
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. Established with the purpose of innovation, the organization includes painters, actors, dancers, musicians and animals which have created and performed their own works in theaters and festivals in various parts of the world. The writing and directing of these plays is done by Quesne, as part of the French avant-garde
Avant-garde
Avant-garde means "advance guard" or "vanguard". The adjective form is used in English to refer to people or works that are experimental or innovative, particularly with respect to art, culture, and politics....
tradition. Sets, movements and dialogue tend to be simple and sparse, with subtle political and social messages, and a focus on the little things of life.
Establishment of the Studio
French artist Philippe Quesne established Vivarium Studio in Paris in 2003 as a laboratory for theatrical innovation, which includes painters, actors, dancers, musicians and animals. Quesne was born in Paris in 1970 and studied visual arts and graphic design at L’École Estienne and set design at L’École des Arts Décoratifs de ParisÉcole nationale supérieure des arts décoratifs
The École Nationale Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs is a public university of art and design and is one of the most prestigious French grande école...
. He has created designs for opera, concerts, theater performances and contemporary art exhibitions among other projects.
The company has developed projects for art galleries, urban spaces, parks, gardens and forests. These projects have tackled various topics often with irony. They use various types of techniques such as interviews, articles, poems, songs and word lists, along with actors, sound, lights, videos and movements. The works often contain references to literature, the sciences, the visual arts, music, cinema and comics. Vivarium Studio is part of the French avant-garde tradition which often focuses on mocking the ideas of the French bourgeoisie. Much of their work centers on characters who are in unusual to ridiculous situations but then turn the tables. Many of the works are focused on the little things in life. Although not obvious, Quesne also places political and social messages in his works, especially related to the environment. His views on the environment mostly show up in the stage design, as well as a series of picture books he created called Conséquences. Speech is kept to an absolute minimum, spectacle is decried and presence is considered to be most important. There is also conscious use of silence.
Works created by the company
As an individual and director of Vivarium, Quesne has created and produced a number of works such as the multi-media piece, The Itching of the Wings (La Démangeaison des Ailes), Des Expériences (2004), an evolving project set in such diverse spaces as an art gallery, a forest, a pond, and a wasteland, D’après Nature (2006), L’Effet de Serge (2007), La Mélancolie des Dragons (2008), Echantillons(2008) and Big Bang (2010) .L’Effet de Serge is a drama performed on a very sparse set with no lavish dramatic gestures or abundant dialogue. The set is composed of empty walls, a ping-pong table, a snippet of a rug, a TV set, French doors opening onto a small garden. The work is about both the futility, pleasure and necessity of daily routines. Gaëtan Vourc'h played a Buster Keaton
Buster Keaton
Joseph Frank "Buster" Keaton was an American comic actor, filmmaker, producer and writer. He was best known for his silent films, in which his trademark was physical comedy with a consistently stoic, deadpan expression, earning him the nickname "The Great Stone Face".Keaton was recognized as the...
-like main character who prepares short shows for his friends in his living room on Saturday night. The goal is to show the need for the creative impulse which can be expressed in the simplest of deeds. This project was supported by Étant donnés: The French-American Fund for the Performing Arts, a program of FACE. L'Effet de Serge won an Obie Award
Obie Award
The Obie Awards or Off-Broadway Theater Awards are annual awards given by The Village Voice newspaper to theatre artists and groups in New York City...
at the Under the Radar Festival
Under the Radar Festival
The Under the Radar Festival is a theater festival in New York City, founded in 2005 by Mark Russell, former Artistic Director of P.S. 122 for over twenty years and also Guest Artistic Director for the Portland Institute for Contemporary Art's Time-Based Art Festival in 2006...
in New York City.
In La Mélancolie des Dragons, the scene focuses on a Citroën
Citroën
Citroën is a major French automobile manufacturer, part of the PSA Peugeot Citroën group.Founded in 1919 by French industrialist André-Gustave Citroën , Citroën was the first mass-production car company outside the USA and pioneered the modern concept of creating a sales and services network that...
that houses six fans of Heavy metal music
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
. The story revolves around their attempts to start their own verision of a Disney theme park as a critique against cheap consumerism. In Echantillons, the stage consists mostly of a department store window, and spectators use an IMac
IMac
The iMac is a range of all-in-one Macintosh desktop computers built by Apple. It has been the primary part of Apple's consumer desktop offerings since its introduction in 1998, and has evolved through five distinct forms....
mouse button to give commands to the actors behind the glass. The show BIG BANG is based on the theory of evolution, which, after a massive explosion, six people on a small island rewrite the history of the world.
Performances
The company is mostly supported by DRAC Île-de-France / the French Ministry of Cultural AffairsMinister of Culture (France)
The Minister of Culture is, in the Government of France, the cabinet member in charge of national museums and monuments; promoting and protecting the arts in France and abroad; and managing the national archives and regional "maisons de culture"...
. Works by Vivarium have been presented in theaters and festivals in the United States, Brazil, Mexico, Germany, Sweden and Poland. Some of the venues have included the International Summer Festival Hamburg, La Ménagerie de Verre Paris, Festival d'Avignon
Festival d'Avignon
The Festival d'Avignon, or Avignon Festival, is an annual arts festival held in the French city of Avignon. Founded in 1947 by Jean Vilar, it is the oldest extant festival in France and one of the world's greatest...
, Hebbel am Ufer
Hebbel am Ufer
The Hebbel am Ufer is a theater and international performance center based in Berlin, Germany. It was founded fusioning 3 theaters in Kreuzberg, Berlin:* Hebbel Theater, now called HAU1...
Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, Les Spectacles vivants – Centre Pompidou Paris, Kunstencentrum Vooruit Gent
Ghent
Ghent is a city and a municipality located in the Flemish region of Belgium. It is the capital and biggest city of the East Flanders province. The city started as a settlement at the confluence of the Rivers Scheldt and Lys and in the Middle Ages became one of the largest and richest cities of...
, Théâtre de l’Agora Scène nationale d’Evry et de l’Essone, Festival Baltoscandal Rakvere, Rotterdamse. In Mexico, the group has appeared at the Festival Internacional Cervantino
Festival Internacional Cervantino
The Festival Internacional Cervantino takes place each fall in the city of Guanajuato, located in central Mexico. This is a small colonial-era city with history of having a large cultural scene. The origins of the festival are from the mid 20th century, when short plays by Miguel de Cervantes...
. Vivarium toured the U.S. in 2011 with the support of Etant donnés: The French-American Fund for the Performing Arts, a program of FACE (French American Cultural Exchange), the Germain Motor Company and Pella Window & Door .