Beiruting News

1. Which character do you portray in this play?
Tania: I play "La Garce"; the girl that uses people to get to her means no matter what. Her name is Sasha, she lives in an apartment with her fiance "Luigi". The owner of the apartment is "Hubert" who comes back in need of his apartment back which shocked the couple. They couldn't leave so the trio ended up living together. Sasha had to pretend that Luigi is her brother so she could seduce Hubert and convince him to let her stay.

Fabrice: I play a very special guy "Hubert", he is stupid but very sympathic and fun; we want to protect him. he came to Paris to take his apartment back to find out that his place is taken by a couple. He falls in love with Sasha which makes a very difficult situation because she lives with her fiance. 

Oliver: I play Luigi, Sasha's fiance. He is a very stupid and arrogant Italian guy who gets very jealous in this play. He hates Hubert but is obliged to withstand him and act as Sasha's brother. 

2. What made you feel comfortable to portray this character?
Tania: The wittiness of the girl and the fact that she is sexy. I think every girl likes to be sexy. I also think that when you play a role you can project something that you can't usually project in real life but, when you're on stage you can let it out because the character demands it and you can exaggerate.

Fabrice: I wrote the play, so it's easy for me because it's personal but, I'm not that stupid (laughs). But I can relate and Hubert is my favorite character. 

Oliver: It is a pleasure for me to play this character because it is so far from what I am. I enjoy playing a character that is very far from mine. I thinks it's very hard to play a character that is similar to mine; it's very odd, it's like you're nude in front of everyone. 

3. Is your character very different from the one you're portraying?
Tania: Extremely different! People don't know it and everybody thinks I am very strong. On the contrary, I am very emotional and sensitive and not at all like Sasha. I am not that witty in a way to get my means. 

Fabrice: No. We're only a little bit different. 

Oliver: It is very different, I hope so. Maybe the only common thing is that I like to look in the mirror as much as Luigi does but that's it.


4. How do you make yourself get into the character you're portraying?
Tania: It's a comedy, it doesn't really need personal emotional work. It needs timing, rhythm and finding tricks. It's very different from the work I do for drama. It's more fun to play and it's lighter.

Fabrice: (Tania answers): He drinks wine, makes jokes, never wants to rehearse and asks everyone not to take anything seriously. Fabrice: I'm spontaneous.

Oliver: I have no particular method. I prefer to be a "virgin" artistically speaking. Luigi is a character that is very common. We see this kind of character (stupid and jealous guy) always on TV and in movies. I prefer to go on stage and find something personal that I'd like to project instead of copying the ones we see.

5. What do you like in the personality of your character?
Tania: Her wittiness, her sexiness and her capability of getting what she wants.
Fabrice: He's sympathic and funny. People want to protect him, you can get attached to him. 

Oliver: I like his stupidity because it makes it fun to play this character. He's not a bad person yet stupid and wants to be the best; he thinks he's the center of the universe but he's not a bad character.


6. What do you hate about the personality of your character?
Tania: She is a user.

Fabrice: His stupidity sometimes and also he's not ambitious. 

Oliver: Everything! he is a liar, he's so proud of himself. 

7. Do you imagine yourself in plays of other genre?
Tania: Yes. This is my second comedy. I only played drama for years.

Fabrice: Oh yes. I don't often play a role like that. I'm already an actor in a French series where I play as a bad boy who is the total opposite of Hubert. 

Oliver: I've played in a drama before. In 1998, I built a theater in an old cinema in France where I performed for Moliere and other plays of the drama genre.

8. What are you future plans?
Tania: For now just plays with Fabrice, on tour de France and maybe Paris. That's for now and then who know where life takes you? I'm going to do my work and then it'll take me where I have to go. 
Fabrice: I am planning to act in another play where I am a homosexual living with my boy, and we decide to have a child so we search for a woman who would help us. The woman ends up being more than "une garce". I can't wait to perform in this play, it's going to be in Paris this September. I also wrote another play "La Guerre des Garces", and I started acting in a new TV program that will air next week in France.

Oliver: I am planning a stand up show for September. It's going to be very hard since it's without props, without back ground, without sound effects. I have to come up with all of these live on stage all alone. I might perform it in different cities and Beirut migh be one of them!