EUROPEAN TOUR : January to march 2017

Phare Ponleu Selpak
& Collectif clowns d’ailleurs et d’ici
present
EUROPEAN TOUR :
January to march 2017
EUROPEAN TOUR:
January to march 2017
With the support of :
INFLUENCE
Survival of the fittest.
Domination. Manipulation.
How do we create a place for ourselves in the world?
Influence mixes drama, circus and puppetry to explore struggles for power and
survival. From primordial organisms battling in pre-historic jungles to an ancient king
being manipulated by external forces or a runner tripping his competitors to win a race;
all seek to triumph. The characters of Influence dominate and are dominated, trick and
are tricked, but ultimately discover their own strength and find unique place in the world.
Influence is the latest Phare creation and is still under development.
The artists, musicians and their teachers have come up with a powerful,
theatrical drama that is on track to become a top Phare production.
CREATION
Creation & direction : Det KHUON - Phare Ponleu Selpak (PPS)
Staging collaboration : Elsa De WITTE - Théâtre du Rugissant, Agathe OLIVIER et Antoine
RIGOT - Cie Les Colporteurs
Stage assistant : Chamroeun KHUONTHAN - PPS
Music creation : Van Than LY
Costumes : Nary CHHOEUN, Sreychea CHEUM
ARTISTES
Circus performers : Vimean KONG, Mann NEM, Ratha NGET, Sareuth SANN, Chanrachana
SREY, Makara VIN, Sopheak YAM
Musicians : Sophat KAN, Makara LY
Technician (Battambang) : Sok Keang REM
PRODUCTION
Production : Phare Ponleu Selpak et le Collectif clowns d’ailleurs et d’ici.
Coproduction : Fondation E.C.Art Pomaret
SUPPORT
Région Île-de- France, European Union, Compagnie ISIS; in partnership with
la Cascade - National Pole of Circus Arts.
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An historical partnership
P
hare Ponleu Selpak (PPS), meaning “the brightness of the arts” finds its
origins in drawing workshops organized in 1986 at Site 2, a refugee camp at
the Thai border. The association was founded in 1994 in Battambang by a group
of young adults who participated in these workshops, following their return
to their hometown. Phare Ponleu Selpak is a Cambodian non-governmental
organization that aims to support community development by offering social,
educational and cultural services to vulnerable children and their families.
F
or over 20 years, the circus school has been welcoming and training children
and adolescents in many circus disciplines: acrobatics, juggling, balance,
contortion, trapeze and clown. PPS shows mix various disciplines, breath-taking circus
skills, choreographed theatre scenes and live music. Priority is given to the creation
without rejecting any external influence, although Khmer roots remain ever-present.
S
ince 2001, a partnership brings the Collectif clowns d’ailleurs et d’ici (CCAI), a French
association located in Pantin (93) and Phare Ponleu Selpak together in the aim of supporting
and developing the circus school by improving the teachers’ and the technicians’ skills as well
as the artistic level. Thanks to this partnership, many students were able to train in French
circus schools (CNAC, ENACR, Lomme, Bordeaux, etc). Phare Ponleu Selpak also welcomed
numerous performing arts professionals, who came to share their skills and participate in the creation
of performances set to tour internationally, in collaboration with Khuon Det, the artistic director.
PREVIOUS TOUR :
2003
BONG TOUCH BONG THOM & CIE
2005 to 2007
DE 4 A 5
2005 to 2007
HOLIDAY
2005 to 2009
PHUM STYLE
ONTOUR :
2009 to 2011
PUTHO!
2010-2011
ROYAUMES
CHILLS
2014 to 2017
INFLUENCE
2017 to 2019
2012 to 2014
SOKHA
2014 to 2016
ECLIPSE
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Artistic means
P
hare Ponleu Selpak shows are inspired by the real-life experiences of its creators
and performers. In INFLUENCE, the colonization is approched throught strong
themes. All the elements that make up the show - dance, set design, themes and plot combine to offer the viewer a glimpse of Khmer culture and Cambodian life and history.
STAGE DESIGN
The simple stage design of INFLUENCE accentuates the beauty of the choreographed
scenes. Common thread of the performance, the light attracts the viewer’s
gaze towards the acrobat while stressing out the symbolic elements of the plot.
MUSIC
The two musicians of the troupe use traditional Khmer and modern instruments to reflect the
intensity and the emotions conveyed in the show. The rhythmic structure they set is the frame
of the show. Thanks to a clever mix of xylophones, guitars and percussions, they manage to
create a surprisingly varied and mesmerizing atmosphere, evoking the sounds of Cambodian life.
CIRCUS TECHNIQUES
Disappeared from Cambodian culture after the Khmer Rouge regime and decades of civil war, circus was
originally present in the Khmer cultural heritage, as evidenced by some bas-reliefs that can be found
on the temples of Angkor, a hundred kilometers away from the circus school of Phare Ponleu Selpak.
For more than 20 years, the school has been applying to revive the circus, in a mixture of tradition and
contemporaneity. In this line, the artists of INFLUENCE
present acrobatics, juggling and performances with
natural virtuosity and breathtaking vitality.
The puppetry and object manipulation
is a new in Phare’s shows and and
allows artist to explore new
techniques of performing arts.
Important components
of INFLUENCE are
the substances and
articles of Khmer
life (mat, broom,
coconuts...)
that used as
apparatus and
accessories
all
along
the show.
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© Scott_Sharick
Artistic team
I
NFLUENCE is a creation of Det Khuon. Result of a collaboration between artists from
PPS, musicians, circus performers and actors, Elsa De WITTE - Théâtre du Rugissant,
Agathe Olivier and Antoine Rigot from the company Les Colporteurs. The artistic skills
and complementary experiences of each created a contemporary performance, colored
with references to Cambodian culture, with colonization as a creative starting point.
Det KHUON
H
e grows up in a refugee camp at the Thai border, where he took part in drawing workshops but also
martial arts and gymnastics classes. Upon his return to Cambodia in 1992, he takes an internship
at the National Circus School of Phnom Penh, primarily focusing on learning teaching skills. As founder
of Phare Ponleu Selpak in 1994, he founds the circus school in 1998 and stages many of its productions.
Det wrote and directed the show INFLUENCE working with Elsa De Witte, Agathe Olivier and Antoine
Rigot and assisted by Chamroeun Khounthan.
Elsa DE WITTE
S
he has been formed in a street theater company. Since 1993, she creates, plays, goes
up, tinkers performances as an actress and costume designer for the companies Babylon,
les Alama’s Givrés and many other projects and as an actress for various outdoor structures.
She is also costume designer for Raphaëlle Delaunay and Cirque Plume. In 2005, she joines the
show “Le Bal des Fous” of the company Les Chiffonières and Le Théâtre du Rugissant. In 2010
arises another puppet show, under big top, “L’Œil du Judas”.She is a tinker, preferring the art of
recovery and diversion, her universe is made of used materials, waste textures and embellished.
Elsa meets Collectif clowns d’ailleurs et d’ici during one of the first Phare Ponleu Selpak tour in 2003.
She meets Det KHOUN and subsequently decides to conduct workshops on directing and
acting in circus school of Phare Ponleu Selpak. She is an active member of the Collective and
participates regularly to the European tours of PPS. More than ten years after coming to
Phare, she returned to Battambang for co-staging INFLUENCE and bring her puppetery skills.
Agathe OLIVIER & Antoine RIGOT
T
hey meet at the Nationale Circus School, Annie Fratellini in 1979. Antoine makes burlesque stunt,
Agathe is a tightrope walker. Together they create a tightrope duet with which they get in 1983 a
silver medal at the Festival Mondial du Cirque de Demain, and leave for 2 seasons at Roncalli Circus.
From 1985 to 1988, they participate in the creation of Cirque du Soleil. In 1987, Antoine interpret
“Quasimodo” with the Théâtre de l’Unité, with Ars Nova and the Cie Foraine Agathe and Antoine create
“L’Histoire du soldat”. In 1990, they participate in the creation of “La Volière Dromesko” with which they
travel Europe for 4 years. In 1993, they received the Grand Prix National du Cirque and create “Amore
Captus”. They continue assisting Mathias Langoff in “Le Révisor de Gogol”, in “Dans la jungle des villes
de Brecht”, and with the Footsbarn Theater in “Ne touchez pas à Molière et le Cabaret inattendu”.
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In 1996, Agathe et Antoine create the compagny Les Colporteurs and they build the big top of their
dreams... and create “FILAO”, “Diabolus in Musica”, “Le Fil sous la neige”, “Les Etoiles”, “Sur la route”..
Agathe and Antoine receive in 2008 the SACD price circus Arts. In 1999, the Colporteurs team joins Les
Nouveaux Nez to imagine, what will become La Cascade, National Pole of Circus Arts in Ardèche, which
opened in Bourg-Saint-Andéol in April 2008. May 2000, Antoine is the victim of a serious accident that will
prevent him to continue dancing on the tightrope, but he returns to his work as an actor / musician and
starts stage direction. “Le fil sous la neige”, poetic evocation of the challenges and emotions of the life, is
created under the big top in 2006. It was presented more than 270 times in France and in 15 other countries.
Agathe meets Phare Ponleu Selpak in 2010 during a tour in France organized by the Collectif clowns
d’ailleurs et d’ici, and collaborates in the staging of Eclipse in 2013. Antoine meets PPS on a stage of
creation Eclipse in 2013 to lend its artistic look. Both contribute to the staging of the new creation of
Phare Ponleu Selpak, INFLUENCE.
Chamroeun KHUONTHAN
C
hamroeun is part of the first generation trained at the circus school of Phare Ponleu
Selpak (PPS). In 2002, he joined the National School of Circus Arts in Rosny (ENACR)
for one year of training to become an assistant teacher at his return to PPS circus
school. In 2003, he participates in the French tour of Collectif clowns
d’ailleurs et d’ici, with the shows “Bong Touch Bong Thom & Cie”,
“De 4 à 5”, “Phum Style et Holiday”. In 2007, he turned to
the theater with the Khmer re-creation of of the Théâtre
du Soleil show “L’Histoire terrible mais inachevée de
Norodom Sihanouk, roi du Cambodge” of Hélène
Cixous, directed by Georges Bigot and Delphine
Cottu. In summer 2015 he participated in the French
tour of “CHILLS”, on which he collaborated.
He is currently teacher at the circus Phare Ponleu
Selpak working on the staging of INFLUENCE.
THE ARTISTS
T
he artists of INFLUENCE are part of the
fifth generation of students from the
circus school of Phare Ponleu Selpak. They are
between 18 and 20 years old, and are mostly
from disadvantaged families of the community
surrounding the PPS compound. They have
been training in circus daily for about 8 years,
and have now reached a professional level.
They already have a lot of stage experience
through the many shows they were part of.
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© Scott_Sharick
Technic
Detailed specifications: upon request
DURATION
1 hour
PROVIDED BY THE ORGANISER
STAGE
TEAM (12 or 14 people)
7 circus artists, 2 musicians, 1 or 2 technician
1 Cambodian stage director
1 or 2 French coordinators
Proscenium opening: 10 meters
Depth: 10 meters
Height: 7 meters
Floor: black dance carpet
MUSIC EQUIPMENT
LIGHTS
Roneat (Khmer Xylophone) + Stand
Khim + Stand
Khmer Big-Drum + Stand
German Drum (Bassed-sound drum) + Stand
Tom-tom + Stand
Hi-hat + Stand
Cymbal + Stand
Conga + Stand
Ukulele
2 Khmer Flute (1small + 1big)
5 Gong piece + Stand
Tradaok (Cowbell) + Stand
Big-Water-bottle “20L” (for music sound)
Cables for the whole system
1 mini jack stereo cable for computer
Reverb effect processor
FACILITIES
- The troupe arrives the day before the first
performance in the afternoon or early evening.
- The troupe leaves the day after the last
performance.
SET UP & STRIKE
THE DAY BEFORE
1 shift in the morning (before the arrival of the
troupe): setting of the stage, lights, sound system
1 shift in the afternoon: set up, sound check
1 shift in the evening: light check, focus, rehearsal
THE DAY OF THE PERFORMANCE
1 shift in the afternoon (rehearsal, 1 shift in the
evening: performance, strike after the show)
TIME
Set-up : 4 hours
Strike : 1 hour
PC : 34
PAR : 16
Profile Soure 36 Degree : 8
Lighting controller : 1
Dimmer and cable for all light
Provide lights backstage
SOUND EQUIPMENT
Microphone Shure 58 : 5
Microphone Shure Beta 52 Bundle : 1
Microphone Shure PGA Drum kit 6 : 1 set
Wireless Microphone : 1
Sound Mixer 16 Channels : 1
Top / High-Speaker : 4
Bass / Sub-Speaker : 2
Speaker for Monitor : 4
Amplifier for all system : 1 set
Cable for all system and microphone : 1 set
CHANGING ROOMS
For 12 people backstage with mirrors,
electricity, tables, chairs, running water,
toilets close to the stage area.
20 liters of water at the troupe’s arrival for
the set up.
Catering with fresh and dried fruit, biscuits,
juice, water
HUMAN RESOURCES:
SET UP: 1 light technician and 1 sound
technician
PERFORMANCE: 1 sound and light technician
STRIKE: 2 persons to help
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Calendar
January to March 2017
CONFIRMED DATES:
6 to 19 January: Work session to la Cascade - National Pole of Circus Arts, Bourg St-Andéol
(07)
20 January: la Cascade - National Pole of Circus Arts, Bourg St-Andéol (07)
22 January: Centre Culturel de la Ricamarie (42)
26 January: Dôme théâtre, Albertville (73)
29 January: Espace culturel Robert Doisneau - Meudon (92)
15 February: Coloc’ de la Culture, Cournon d’Auvergne (63)
4 and 5 March: Théâtre de Vénissieux with les théâtres de l’Est Lyonnais (69)
WAITING:
Romans Scènes (26)
A Petits Pas (62)
Stora Teatern, SWEDEN
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Contacts
Collectif clowns d’ailleurs et d’ici
61, rue Victor Hugo
93500 Pantin - FRANCE
+ 33 (0)1 48 43 39 17 / + 33 (0) 6 81 06 01 65
www.ccai.fr
Collectif clowns d’ailleurs et d’ici
Aurélia Immacolato
Tour manager
[email protected]
Cécile Babin
Administration
[email protected]
Phare Ponleu Selpak
P.O Box 316 Battambang - CAMBODGE
+855.(0)53.952.424 / +855.(0)12.890.360
www.phareps.org
www.pharecambodiancircus.org
Phare Ponleu Selpak
Phare, The Cambodgian Circus