International Voices Project: "American Shot (Le plan américain)" June 19, 2012

The International Voice Project celebrates the voices of global writers by presenting concert readings in collaboration with Consulates General and cultural institutions throughout the city of Chicago. These one night events highlight the voices of global writers, and provide audiences the opportunity to experience rarely seen plays and playwrights from around the world.

The Consulate General of Canada in Chicago is proud to have been a partner with IVP since its inception. This year's production will be "AMERICAN SHOT (LE PLAN AMERICAIN)", written by Evelyne de la Chenelière and Daniel Brière.

SYNOPSIS:
The parents have both succeeded professionally through working with images: the father travels the world photographing war zones, the mother edits a journal devoted to contemporary art. But their son and daughter react with cold detachment to such humanism. Instead, they devote themselves to each other and to animal rights activism, eventually becoming bigger media stars than their parents. In a series of fast-paced scenes and with sharp satire, American Shot depicts an unlikely yet emblematic North American family.
Playwright Evelyne de la Chenelière is a Canadian actress and writer whose plays have been widely produced in Quebec and translated into several languages. Her play include "Strawberries in January", "Henri & Margaux", "L’Héritage de Darwin" and "Bashir Lazhar", the basis of the Oscar-award winning film MONSIEUR LAZHAR. "American Shot" was the winner of the best play award at the Festival Primeurs in Saarbrücken, Germany in 2009. In 2006, Chenelière won the prestigious Governor General’s Literary Award for "Public Disorder", and she has since been a finalist for that award for two other plays. Chenelière was discovered by Jean-Pierre Ronfard, founding director of the Nouveau Théâtre Expérimental in Montreal, where she often collaborates with Daniel Brière. She has worked with many directors on stage and in film, and in 2011 she published a novel, La concordance des temps.
Playwright Daniel Brière is an actor, director, and writer, and co-artistic director of the Nouveau Théâtre Expérimental in Montreal, where he’s created new work since 2003. As an actor, Brière has played a variety of roles in Quebec and overseas. On TV, he’s appeared in several series including the popular comedy "The Parent Family", for which he was awarded the 2011 Artis Prize for a male lead. In film, he’s been seen in Denys Arcand’s "The Decline of the American Empire" and Philippe Falardeau’s "It’s Not Me, I Swear!". He’s directed twenty theatre productions, including Evelyne de la Chenelière’s "Bashir Lazhar", and "LÉO", which was created in Berlin and won three awards at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

Official Website: http://www.ivpchicago.org