Upstage

Geoff Finn, founder of Upstage, has recently passed away. He will be remembered by all who knew him as a great man, a wonderful teacher, and an Upstage legend.

Read messages left by students, colleagues, and friends, and leave one yourself.

This  year Upstage performed The Crucible (by Arthur Miller) from the 15th to the 19th of March. We're very happy with this year's production, and hope you enjoyed it as much as us, and we hope to see you next spring at the theatre for another Upstage play!

upstage produces each year something hard to find elsewhere in Grenoble theatres: outstanding comedies in English. Their young team, all from the Cité Internationale Europole, have been putting on plays in Grenoble since 1993 when they began with Oscar Wilde’s “The Importance of Being Earnest”. The team, of course, has to renew itself from one year to the next and each successive production has a strong tradition to follow and new precedents to set.

Indeed, such is the reputation of the group that their public comes from all walks of life and widely different sectors of the local community. Much of this is due to the global approach they bring to theatre production, and their belief that they have a part to play in the life of Grenoble. Accessibility is the key factor in the selection of plays.

A special relationship has been established over the years with the Théâtre Ste-Marie-d’en-Bas. Their management and staff deserve special thanks for their help and support.

Aims:

• Produce high quality theatre in English.

• Train those involved in project management.

• Develop their group awareness and communication skills.

• Develop the greatest degree of group autonomy during performance week.

• Make bridges between the English Section of the Lycée and all other departments and services.

• Demonstrate the role of the Cité Internationale in local life to the community.

Special Points:

• Activity entirely self-supporting, without any subsidy.

• All theatre activity undertaken voluntarily outside classroom time.

What you always wanted to know but never dared to ask.

In a galaxy not so far away, Cool-LIS was created back in 1989 upon a common idea expressed by Mrs. Joly Adams and Mr. Geoff Finn, two English Literature teachers at the Lycée International Stendhal. At this time, none of them thought this theatre company composed of pupils of the English section would grow so big, but nonetheless they were pretty proud of its witty name (we’ll let you figure it out). Le Ciel Theatre welcomed our successful thespian debuts for two performances each year.

Mrs Joly Adams left the school in 1995, but Mr Geoff Finn carried on directing and producing one play a year with Mr David Simpson. About 20 students each year were eager to rise to Cool-LIS’s challenge: each successive production had

“a strong tradition to follow and new precedents to set”.

Usually, four evening performances were held at Théâtre Sainte-Marie-d'en-Bas and each one was sold out well before.

In September 2001 the English section moved to the Cité Scolaire Internationale Europole; Cool-LIS was laid to rest, and from its ashes upstage was born. No witty pun this time, but the company’s new name still reflected its philosophy: professional performers who don’t take themselves too seriously.

After upstage’s first production Mr Geoff Finn decided to leave the company, and this time Mr David Simpson was joined by Mrs Julie Valade. Nowadays, as a consequence of Cool-LIS and upstage’s success, auditions involving up to 50 students take place in September each year to select the Actors and members of the Glorious Production Team. Five evening performances are faithfully held at Théâtre Sainte-Marie-d'en-Bas, to the delight of both the company and the theatre’s director, Diden Berramdane.

The team, of course, is partially renewed each year. Yet, each new team lives up to the company’s reputation for outstanding quality and entertainment value. As well as pupils and staff from the school, family and friends, there is a large and devoted group of followers in the audience who come from the local community. Some fans have been with us since 1993!

Now, young disciple, enter the legend and join the Cool-LIS heroes…

May upstage be with you.

Upstage is a professional english theatre group in Grenoble, producing annual plays since 1993. It is comprised mainly of students from Cité Scolaire Internationale Europole, although some old students, like Tom and Julie, come back to help even once they've moved on to university in other countries.