English version
La Comète was designated a « Scène nationale» (National Stage) in 1995. Philippe Bachman has directed La Comète since 2004.
The general missions of a Scène Nationale are :
- To be recognised nationally as a place of artistic production or co-production in contemporary art through artists’ residencies or by creating new work.
- To programme and compare different art forms: theatre, dance, music, circus, visual arts, cinema, photography, always favouring contemporary work.
- To develop the arts within the theatre’s geographical zone by encouraging new attitudes towards and a better integration of new work by artists.
The network of the Scènes nationales, a label given by the Department of Culture, constitutes a unique network working towards the decentralisation of the arts in France.
Situation
La Comète is situated in the heart of Châlons en Champagne, the capital town of the region Champagne-Ardennes, 170km to the North East of Paris. La Comète is a major arts centre for the urban zone of Cités en Champagne with its population of 70 000 inhabitants. The region Champagne-Ardennes owes its international reputation to the Champagne vineyards.
The Venue
La Comète is composed of:
- 1 auditorium with 620 seats
- 1 auditorium with 150 seats
La Comète also has the use of an exceptional building, the permanent circus of Châlons en Champagne, built in 1899, with a capacity of 1100 seats.
It also works throughout the suburbs of Châlons en Champagne and the surrounding countryside, in particular with the festival Les Nouveaux Itinéraires (New Itineraries), funded by the Conseil Général de la Marne and the Fondation de France.
The project
Philippe Bachman has maintained the multidisciplinary vocation of La Comète, and has at the same time centred his artistic project (programming, creating and producing new work) around three major axes: presenting all forms of artistic language in an entirely cross-disciplinary way, confronting both common and erudite culture and creating new international work.
Since 2004, the international dimension of La Comète’s programme has become increasingly important.
La Comète has programmed
Robert Lepage, Declan Donnellan, Wajdi Mouawad, Big Art Group…
La La La Human Steps, Dumb Type, Gary Stewart Australian Dance Theatre, Emanuel Gat, Companhia de Dança Mimulus, Louise Lecavalier…
Wayne Shorter, John Scofield, Jim Hall, Lee Konitz, Mc Coy Tyner, Gary Burton, Carla Bley….
Steve Reich, the Luxemburg Philharmonic Orchestra, The Flemish Radio Orchestra, The National Chamber Orchestra of Armenia…
Many artists’ residencies also take place at La Comète across all of the art forms.
In 2008, La Comète will invite Robert Lepage to Châlons en Champagne for the world premiere of «The Blue Dragon».
La Comète has a policy of taking on the role of associate producer for new work and has in particular invited and organised a tour of performances by the Quebec company Ubus Theatre and a new piece by Jacques Bonnafé, associate artist of La Comète for the past two seasons.
La Comète programmes on average 120 performances per season to an audience of almost 30 000 people.
Presided by Stephan MenGuillemin, La Comète – Scène Nationale of Châlons en Champagne is funded by: Cités en Champagne, le Ministère de la Culture et de la Communication. It is also supported by: the Conseil Régional de Champagne-Ardennes, the Conseil Général de la Marne, the Town of Châlons en Champagne
RESEAU 360 NETWORK - May 2010
All over Western Europe and France in particular, a good twenty performing arts venues stand out: they all have a circular stage, and each has a very special history. They can be divided in three categories:
- the stable (or winter) circuses : about 12 buildings built between 1850 and 1910, and 3 built within the past 5 years,
- the theatres-in-the-round : 3 buildings built during the past 30 years,
- the industrial heritage, restored and transformed into performing art venues (mostly railway roundhouses, gasometers and water tanks) : about nine buildings built between 1840 and 1920.
These round spaces are exceptional and outstanding in terms of heritage but isolated because of their specificity of circularity or specialized only in circus activities.
That is how Philippe Bachman, director of La Comète, Scène nationale of Châlons-en-Champagne, a town with a winter circus in a district that holds three of them, had the idea to set up a network in order to bring these venues together, to bring out their special heritage and to stimulate some artistic creation, drifting away from the circus, made specifically for the circular stage.
The first official meeting of Réseau 360 Network was in Madrid in January 2010 at the Teatro Circo Price. Were present representatives from the London Roundhouse, the Manchester Royal Exchange Theater, the Milan Piccolo Teatro, the Amsterdam WestergasFabriek, among others.
The Réseau 360 Network project expands over two phases. The first one is to coincide with the reopening of the Châlons-en-Champagne Circus, currently under renovation, and mainly focuses on the documentation and exposure of the circular stage heritage. This should be achieved through the publishing of a book on the architecture of circular stages, and the presentation of an exhibition on the same topic in the fall of 2011.
The second phase corresponds to an artistic exploitation of the stages. Together, the Réseau 360 Network directors commissioned world renown Canadian multi-talented artist Robert Lepage to create a unique show for their stages. Lepage will have on stage actors from Canada, France, Spain and Sweden. A week-long residency is planned to happen in Châlons in June 2010 and the show should premiere in 2013.
Setting up the Réseau 360 Network is made possible with the support of Département de la Marne, of the Communauté d’Agglomération Cités en Champagne, of the Ministère de la Culture, of the Région Champagne Ardenne. Réseau 360 / 360 Network is also funded through the European Union FEDER program.
Contact info
Catherine Henry – Project Manager for the Réseau 360 / 360 Network
Office: +33 326 69 50 80 - Cell: +33 689 81 20 67 – chenry@la-comete.fr
