Johanny Bert & Magali Mougel
She No Princess, He No Hero

English Language World Premiere

Saturday, March 2, 2019 at 11:30am & 4pm
Sunday, March 3, 2019 at 4pm

FIAF Skyroom & Haskell Library

Theater • Ages 7 & up • 70 mins • In English • No late seating

Leïli and Nils are in the same class. Leïli likes to hunt, dress like boys, and gel her short hair. Nils likes to wear his hair long, shows his emotions, and is not physically strong. Neither conforms to gendered roles that society dictates. Told through the voices of Leïli and Nils, this intimate and poignant theater piece transports the audience into the mind of young boys and girls confronting the cultural stereotypes imposed on them as they come of age.

Commissioned in English for TILT 2019 and produced with a new cast of American actors, She No Princess, He No Hero will be performed in classroom-sized venues for small audiences. The audience will be split into two groups, with each one hearing from either Leïli or Nils. At intermission, the groups will switch rooms and hear from the second character. Together, they come to understand that they don’t need to be a princess or a hero; they can just be themselves.

Cast
Marleny Heredia (Leïli)
Zan VaiLento (Nils)

Conception and direction by Johanny Bert
Assistant director: Dylan Côté
Text commissioned from Magali Mougel
Translation by Christopher Campbell
Illustrations: Michael Ribaltchenko
Administration, production, touring: Mathieu Hilléreau and Les Indépendances
US tour produced by the French Institute Alliance Française (FIAF)

Two Shows, One Day!
See both She No Princess, He No Hero and The Young Girl, the Devil and the Mill on the same day for an afternoon of artistic adventures and a fun festival experience. Buy Package

Dress Up Lunch
Saturday, March 2 from 12:30-2pm
Join us for a fun dress up mealtime celebration on the first day of TILT 2019. Maman Bakery picnic baskets will be available for purchase.

Tickets
$15–25

Package
$30-50

Discounted two-show package includes same-day tickets for She No Princess, He No Hero and The Young Girl, the Devil and the Mill.

FIAF Skyroom
& Haskell Library
22 East 60th Street,
New York, NY 10022

About the Artists

Johanny Bert trained as an actor at the Ateliers of the Comédie de St-Etienne and studied puppetry with Alain Recoing of the Théâtre aux Mains Nues, Paris. He gradually developed his own theatrical language through the works he created and the people he met while doing them, including working with props and puppet theater. In 2000, in Puy-en-Velay he founded the Compagnie Théâtre de Romette, an experimental space for creation. His company was in residence at the Théâtre Municipal in Puy-en-Velay, then at Polaris in Corbas (69). From January 2012 to December 2015, Johanny Bert was the director of the Centre Dramatique National de Montluçon – Le Fracas, after which he returned to directing and working with Compagnie Théâtre de Romette. Since January 2016, the company has been registered and given a residency by the city of Clermont-Ferrand, and Johanny Bert is an Associated Artist for three years at the Scène Nationale of Clermont-Ferrand. His works that are accessible for young audiences include Le petit bonhomme à modeler (2002–2008), Les pieds dans les nuages – inspired by a plastician photographer, Robert Parkeharisson (2004–2012), Les orphelines – written by Marion Aubert (2009–2012), De Passage – written by Stéphane Jaubertie (2014-2018), Patoussalafoi – a contemporary opera by Matteo Franceschini and Philippe Dorin (2015–2016), and Elle pas princesse, lui pas héros – written by Magali Mougel (2015-2017).

Magali Mougel is a playwright and drama teacher. She currently teaches at the ENSATT/National School in Lyon (France) where she was a student between 2008 and 2011. Her works have been shown on stage by Jean Pierre Baro, Anne Bisang, Philippe Delaigue, Eloi Recoing, among others. Since 2011, she has written numerous works, many specially commissioned, for specific theater companies and directors. Her works include Elle pas princesse, lui pas héros for Johanny Bert (National Dramatical Center of Montluçon), Poudre Noire for Simon Delattre (Rodeo Theatre), and Je ne veux plus and La Nuit où le jour s’est levé for Olivier Letellier (Theatre du Phare/National Theater of Chaillot). Her writings: Erwin Motor, Devotion (finalist of the Grand Prize of Drama Literature in 2013), Guerillères ordinaires, Suzy Storck (finalist of the Grand Prize of Drama Literature in 2013), and Penthy sur la Bande, The Lulu Projekt are published by the Editions Espaces 34. Her Young Audience plays, Elle pas princesse, lui pas héros and We just wanted you to love us, are published by the Editions Actes Sud – Heyoka Jeunesse. Many of her plays have been translated into English, German, Italian, and Spanish. In 2017 and 2018, she was an Associate Artist with the Scènes du Jura and the National Dramatical Center of Sartrouville.

Théâtre de Romette is registered with the DRAC Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region and the city of Clermont-Ferrand. Johanny Bert is an Associated Artist at the Bateau Feu – Scène Nationale Dunkerque. Support for this play provided by the CONTXTO network.

Photos © Christophe Raynaud de Lage