Molière et moi

Le Google Doodle d'aujourd'hui rend hommage à Molière, dont ce sera l'anniversaire de la mort le 17 février. Ça me rappelle des souvenirs de l'université, où j'ai lu Molière, mais aussi où je l'ai joué. J'ai en effet joué le rôle de Purgon dans Le malade imaginaire. Autre anniversaire à souligner: la première était le 10 février 1673. Ça m'a donné le goût des planches. Molière, c'est en le jouant que j'ai vraiment appris à l'apprécier. Cela dit, je l'ai trop peu lu et trop peu vu, alors il faudra aussi que je corrige ça.

Saint David's Day and me

First and foremost, for those who do not know, the first of March is of course Saint David's Day, the national day of Wales, because Saint David is their patron saint. Google commemorated it with an absolutely magnificent Doodle, with the Welsh red dragon hanging on the L and daffodils. I had to share it. I owe a lot to Welsh culture, being specialized in medieval Arthurian literature. The most vivid memory I have of Saint David's Day comes from when I was at uni, doing an amateur production of Le malade imaginaire. Many of the cast were Welsh. At the end of the performance, each threw daffodils at the crowd, wearing a Welsh flag. I remember it to this day and at that moment I wished I had been Welsh. I loved their flag so much that I bought one, which is now somewhere at my parents' home. I wish I could have it here today.

The acting gene?

I was speaking to my mother yesterday, telling her how much I missed acting and being on the stage and she wondered where I got my talent for acting. Her (flattering) words, even though she very rarely saw me on stage and I think the last time she heard me acting was for that radio play two years ago. She told me that she was terribly shy as a child and that for a school play she had ran away from the stage. I am terribly shy too and I remember my first performance at uni: my legs were shaking, I thought I would collapse on the stage. It did not happen though, and I carried through the role. It was only a few lines: I was playing Purgon in Le malade imaginaire. But the lecturer and stage director had told me after the very first rehearsal that I was a natural. When I took acting classes later, I learned that being a natural means very little: you need to develop your talent if you want it to become a craft. Something I have never done enough. Nevertheless, I do think I have at least some talent, some natural skill for acting. And I wonder where I got it from.