Last Thursday, September 17, the inauguration of L’Avant-Scène took place, a new cultural venue entirely dedicated to the art of performance and led by actress Sophie Chiara. Located at 2 rue Georges Ville, this space offers theatre and singing for all ages.
Theatre classes, improvisation, singing, vocal coaching and even theatre in English, L’Avant-Scène is designed as a complete venue, where everything that precedes the performance is prepared. Behind this project, Sophie Chiara, trained at the Paris Conservatory, decided to return to a neighbourhood that is dear to her: « I am a daughter of the port. I told myself that if I started a project, it would definitely be here. »
The venue, rented and then completely renovated by the team, even welcomes international companies coming to rehearse or attend training. « We have Italians coming to sing and Spanish people coming for a physical expression workshop », the actress rejoices.
A nod to history
The name of the venue is not random, it pays tribute to L’Avant-scène, the famous theatre magazine created in 1949. « I loved reading them when I was 10 years old, I was a subscriber. It was kind of the Instagram of actors », laughs Sophie Chiara. Beyond the tribute, the name obviously carries a more representative meaning: « Here, we prepare people for the stage. They will learn to sing, to move, to speak, to be confident. So L’Avant-Scène is truly symbolic. »
Much more than classical theatre
What differentiates L’Avant-Scène from a classical theatre class, according to its founder, is precisely this transversal approach. « We have all the disciplines, not just theatre », she explains, « the profession has evolved, it’s no longer like before where people stuck to the text only, you need to be able to do a bit of everything. » As a result, you will even find sessions of yoga and qigong to fully work on breathing.
The venue organizes its time slots according to ages and profiles: theatrical awakening from age four on Wednesday mornings, children in the afternoon, pre-adolescents in the evening, then adults from 7:30 PM. To be able to rehearse, professional actors have Thursdays and Fridays, and even weekends.
A « craft-based » but accepted wager
Regarding the risks of such an independent project, Sophie Chiara remains serene, drawing on fifteen years of teaching experience: « I won’t have a swimming pool, that’s for sure, but I’ll live from it! I already have my students who I’ve known for years and who have followed me. » She acknowledges, however, the inherent fragility of this type of project: « We remain entertainment professionals on short-term contracts, it’s still very craft-based. »
As for institutional support, the venue has already received aid from the department last year, and now hopes to convince the new Nice municipal government, which « seems more community-focused » according to the director. A mindset she sums up with optimism: « We are close to the people, and that’s what interests me. With all the effort we’ve made, I think we will be supported, at least, I hope so. »
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