Il était une fois et quelques d'autres - François Lavallée

François Lavallée, storyteller. A storytelling recital. All audiences, ages 10 and up. 75 minutes

Membership required. Affordable drinks at the community bar on site

After thirty years in the profession, storyteller François Lavallée revisits the profound richness of fairy tales from the Brothers Grimm’s repertoire. Stories have the power to show us what our eyes cannot see, to link the visible and invisible, and to break down the boundaries between humans and nature, reality and imagination.

A storytelling gathering prepared by an artist who knows how to set the table and welcome his guests. A return to the roots of storytelling practice, in a spare, poetic staging with a chair, a glass of water, a good story and a few others.

FRANÇOIS LAVALLÉE

Artist of words, imagination and community

Nourished by his roots, François Lavallée is certain that our surface lives are anchored far more deeply than we think. Behind his gentle gaze, steady voice and reassuring tone lies a dark world, irrevocably marked by loss: the loss of childhood, roots or memory. To retrace the path, search for the source, be moved by this quest and, word by word, build images in the form of tender and cruel stories. To transform reality.

François Lavallée has been a writer, storyteller, lecturer and trainer since 1996. His work has taken him along paved and gravel roads throughout Quebec and Canada, and more than a hundred times to France, Switzerland and Belgium; to the white desert of Nunavik and the Tuareg desert of Niger; among the Indigenous peoples of Ecuador’s volcanoes; to the island of Réunion, Romania, Djibouti and the Paris suburbs. He represented Canada and won the gold medal in the “Contes et conteurs” competition at the 5th Jeux de la Francophonie (2005) in Niamey, Niger, with the story “Le recycleur de talents.” In fall 2017, he received the JOCELYN BÉRUBÉ PRIZE, awarded by the Festival de contes et récits de Trois-Pistoles, and in 2024 he received the RAYONNEMENT PRIZE for making an exceptional contribution to the cultural vitality of Haut-Richelieu in Montérégie, where he grew up.

Membership required

Affordable drinks at the community bar on site

Organized by: MCE Productions

Since 2003, L’éolienne has been a center for the creation and development of storytelling, based in Marseille and reaching throughout the region. At the heart of its projects are ideas of connection, cultural diversity and a commitment to welcoming all audiences.

L’éolienne is:

• A program of storytelling events and artist residencies at Archipel 49 in Marseille

• An extensive off-site program of storytelling performances for all ages, for many libraries and partner venues (more than 150 performances per year)

• A partner in several events and festivals

• A hub for many cultural and outreach activities, including monthly storytelling circles for children and adults and activities for all audiences, particularly in social, healthcare and correctional facilities.

• A storytelling training center

• An advisory and support office for artists and associations

• An organization deeply committed to networking, serving since 2020 on the College of RNCAP, the National Network for Storytelling and the Arts of the Spoken Word.

https://www.helloasso.com/associations/mce-productions