Interview with Adele Lafargue, actress and co-founder of the collective “Les Risiens”.

Paris is a city of theatre, and among the young talents vibrating the Parisian scene, we find Adele Lafargue. A young 24-year-old actress from Touraine, Adèle is determined to contribute to the creation of theater that is relevant for all generations. Thus in 2023, she co-founded the collective “Les Réziens” to share her 5 compositions and her ideas through interpretation and reinterpretation on stage. “How did you get into theatre?

I always wanted to play but was always afraid. In 2020, while I was on exchange in Chile, my mother called to tell me that she had signed me up for a summer internship at the Course Florent in Paris. I was as happy as I was anxious, and the internship happened very naturally indeed; I had no problem being at home on set. I then joined school and did a three-year theater course. Maybe if my mother hadn’t signed me up for this course, I would never have followed this desire to play that inspired me since childhood…

What made you want to become an actress?

When I was young I went to see Yasmina Reza’s “Art” at the Antoine Theater with my family, and Jean-Pierre DeRossin played Yvan’s -long- monologue in one go, without imposing silence on the crowd after a mass apnea. I remember being so moved by this moment in the theater and vowing to do the same “when I grow up” (I was already 18 but had no idea what the rest of my life would be like).

You studied at the prestigious theater school, Course Florent. How did you experience this?

What I remember from the school, apart from the sports education, are the people I met there. Teachers as well as young actors, it was at that school that I met people with whom I work today and with whom I am creating theater in which I want to develop with them.

What are your current projects and what projects do you want to start?

At the beginning of 2023, I co-founded the collective “Les Réziens” with Killian Seban. My current ambition is to develop this collective, to be able to perform our plays and create new ones, with the aim of making theater more accessible.

I really want to act in short and feature films in cinema, but right now I don’t have enough time to look for casting.

What is the most important thing you have learned in your journey as an actress?

My acting journey has just begun. But I learned that what I wanted more than anything else was to work collectively; Nor do we build anything alone, even though collective construction is often laborious.

On the other hand, I think I’ve learned that as an artist, we are constantly evolving in our beliefs, our interests, and our artistic ambitions. Every year that passes since I started acting, I smile fondly as I think about who I was a year ago, what I loved, what I believed and what I wanted.

I have learned many skills myself. To create “Les Réziens” I needed to acquire many qualities related to the administrative management of the association, broadcasting of the show, press relations… We had no support on this subject at school, and so I had to learn by myself. Mistakes, by. These are the challenges that give me so much satisfaction today, seeing the amount of things I’ve learned in just a few months.

Can you introduce us to the Risiens collective?

“Les Risiens” is a theater collective, but not only that. We currently have 45 members and we have 5 very diverse productions (1 youth show, 1 Brazilian farce, 1 improv show, 1 original writing and 1 other currently being written). We are working to create “popular, demanding and innovative” theater that is generally more accessible because of its artistic, social and educational ambitions.

What themes do you address in your show?

They are very diverse. From show to show, audiences can explore universal themes; caught by thoughts about the world; Moving from a realistic scene in “Montée aux calvaires” to an improvised dreamlike sequence in “Histoires Filantes”; Discover a piece of writing or rediscover a classic… The idea really is to have a variety of creations which is a real richness.

Currently, we are working with several other writers on writing a new play that will deal with current social issues in various forms, mixing our personal opinions with important research work. Using art as a means of expression, to open ourselves to reflection on the world we live in, without falling into guilt-inducing theater, seems essential to us. I believe that an actor’s words cannot be deeply political and this is also one of the reasons why I want to become an actress.

Also, what do you like most about improvisation?

You must know that I perform completely improvised shows, but this discipline is absolutely terrifying for me. During some rehearsals – yes, improvisation still requires work sessions – I find myself paralyzed in a corner of the set, unable to set foot because the fear of ridicule is too great. But once this fear is overcome, the joy of being together, of creating a story together that evolves with the melding of ideas, is immeasurable. Our improvisation show “Histoires Filantes” is: 24 actors who constantly reinvent themselves on stage and create a different story each time. I would say the show we love the most is being in a theater in front of a full house, with no idea what show we’re going to do.

What are the challenges?

Improvisation (outside the show, where the magic happens) is more of a failure than a good scene. So the main challenge is to accept being bad sometimes in order to be good sometimes.

What are the collective’s plans for the future?

Our projects are numerous and many are under development. But to name some of our ambitions: playing in public spaces, creating our festival, offering improvisation and dramatic art workshops in public and private structures (hospitals, prisons, children’s homes, etc.), bringing audiences back to the theater. Don’t go there or not now…

What advice would you give to a young actor wanting to get into theater and improvisation?

Dark. It’s scary, but it’s so rich. The strength of listening, proposal and situation construction that we develop in improv can only be beneficial to actors.

Adèle and Risiens can be found in “Montée aux Calvaires” every Friday at 9 pm at the Darius Milhaud Theatre, Paris 19. Till January 26, 2024.