The FEU is delighted to invite you to the show Rise up – Women of the Beat Generation. This creation by RUBY-THEATER is a poetic and musical performance. Rise Up invites us to discover the work of the lesser-known women of the Beat Generation with a selection of unpublished and libertarian texts by Anne Waldman, Diane Di Prima, Hettie Jones, Elise Cowen and Fran Landesman. This show mixes poetry and theater dialogue with a mix of writing and improvisation.
Rise Up was conceived and interpreted by Mirabelle Wassef (actress and director) and Séverine Morfin (violist and improviser) with the collaboration of Jacqueline Starer, author and translator specialised Beat Generation poets, and Jean-Pascal Molina, drums. This poetry is to the mind, opening it up to the great possibilities of creation in the vivid spirit of the Beats. The audience navigates between French and American literature, experiencing the richness of their artistry and vivid intellectual exchanges with authors musicians, photographers and editors. This event is part of the Femmes dans le Monde cycle at the Cité Internationale.
The Company
RUBY-THEATRE was founded in 2007 in Paris, and it works on texts as such as theater, poetry, philosophy and songs. Actors and musicians are present on stage to give another dimension to the understanding of the texts and the characters. In our performances, we believe in the specifics strengths engaged on stage and we wish to encourage the freedom of the interpreter as an « actor-creator » who brings the texts to the audience in the most vivid and sincere way. Our work intends to incarnate thoughts and feelings through a total investment of the body, the imagination and the voice and to share great literature and original music as simply as possible with a large audience in France and around the world. We perform texts adapted from works by L.F.Céline, J.Genet, A.Artaud, G.Cabrera Infante etc. We also question the links between the performer and the audience by experimenting with different forms of directing: theater, street performances, cabaret shows, poetry and music, short films. Intercultural exchanges is at the heart of our work : on two occasions we have had the opportunity of engaging in some research and artistic immersion abroad and we often choose texts from foreign authors. Two of our previous creations were invited to Cuba for the International Theatre Festival in La Havana. Today we are conducting research and interviews in New York and San Francisco for the creation Rise Up for an upcoming publication. Also follow all the company news on the Facebook page. RUBY-THEATRE is supported by PETER LINDBERGH, LABEL Springtime Selection of poets 2015 “Poetic insurrection” and the help of ARCADI IDF “Plateaux Solidaires”. The creations: LAYLATI / O MY NIGHT, BLAST, Rise Up – Women of the Beat Generation, Performances, Rosilyn, Carnival Advocate, Street cabaret, Farewell of Rosilyn (short film), Rita and Luna In Extremis, Baro and the magic violin.
The Artists
Mirabelle Wassef is an actress, director and singer. Wassef graduated in “Contemporary Literature” and “theatrical studies” from the Sorbonne Nouvelle Paris III. Wassef worked as an actress for 10 years, in the company Théâtre du Voyageur directed by Chantal Mélior (Asnières) and the Théâtre Alcyon (Besançon). Wassef also conducted research in drama studies, such as the Art of the Actor and the improvisation with Clément Victor or on the presence in scene and the creation of numbers under tent with Alexandre Del Perugia. She pursued a career as a singer after attending intensive vocal training, classical and Jazz. She plays and sings in French, Spanish and English. Mirabelle Wassef sings in 2010 in the Afro-Cuban music group Rumbokan and is currently preparing a duo of Arab and Cuban songs with the pianist singer Sarah Wassef. Since January 2017, she has performed with her character Victoria in the Cabaret of Madame Arthur with the troupe directed by Jérome Marin. She runs workshops in France and in collaboration with the Alliance Française de la Havane in Cuba.
Séverine Morfin is a viola player, composer and improviser. She studied viola early on, and graduated from the Conservatoire National de Paris. She took classes in chamber music, improvised music and jazz with Jean-Charles Richard, Marc Buronfosse, Frédéric Norel, then in DEM at the CRC Evry with Guillaume Roy. She graduated in “Contemporary History” at Paris 1-Panthéon-Assas University, and holds a Master of musical pedagogy from Paris-Sorbonne. She teaches at University, at the Cité de la Musique, and in conservatoires and the Demos project. JIM’s Festival workshop in 2008 with Mark Feldman, Peter Herbert, Jim Black. She studied free improvisation with Joelle Leandre, Dominique Pifarely and Claudia Solal. She now performs with The New Large Ensemble-Carine Bonnefoy, Méderic Collignon in « King Crimson project », the new Tentet Joelle Léandre and Andy Emler. Morfin plays her own solos and works on interdisciplinary projects with RUBY-THEATRE and is creating and performing a cine-concert: « Ghost Voices » in coproduction with the LUX National scene of Valence and the CNC. She has been part of the RUBY-THEATER company since 2007 and composes music for the musical and poetic show Rise Up – Femmes de la Beat Generation, premiere 2015. Until March the 3rd, here is an insight of the show: