Commonwealth Center Sponsored Events
Post-Colonial Film Series - Spring 2013
Karmen Gei
(Senegal, 2001, dir. Joseph Gai Ramata)
Thursday, April 11 @ 1 PM – Shumaker Bldg. Room 139
Discussion with Beth Willey
The story of tempestuous Carmen, first told in a short story by Prosper Merimee and made famous in an opera by Georges Bizet, gets a new and striking modern-dress adaptation in this provocative drama with music. Karmen Gei is an inmate in a women's prison in Senegal; lusty, impulsive, and looking out for herself at all times. Karmen's uninhibited dancing and sensual demeanor excites the Sapphic passions of the prison's warden, whose seduction sets off a chain of epic events. While inspired in part by Bizet's opera, Karmen Gai boasts an all-new score by David Murray, Julien Jouga, and Doudou Ndiaye Rose that draws on elements of pop, jazz, and Afro-pop for its original themes.
Students and Faculty are warmly invited
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"Nous jouons Molière!" (Variations sur Molière)
written by Sylvaine Hinglais
Tuesday & Thursday, April 9 &11 @ 2:50 P
Humanities Bldg. Room 205
The one-act play, written by Sylvaine Hinglais, features a selection of some of the most celebrated scenes from the comedies of Molière, France's leading comic playwright. Although written in the 17th century, Molière's comedies are widely performed today and he remains one of France's leading literary figures--the French language itself being known synonymously as "la langue de Molière." Why is this? How can plays written so long ago remain relevant and vibrant for today's audiences? In much the same way that Shakespeare remains in vogue in the English-speaking world, so Molière's longevity is due to his ability to transcend time periods and cultures and to depict characters who share universal character traits we can all relate to.
The performance will run for a total of forty minutes. The play involves a good deal of physical comedy and was selected to appeal to both an audience of native speakers and beginning language learners, so come and share the magical world of Molière with us!
