PLAN B?

It's an expression mainly used in crime or action films. We switch to plan B when plan A hasn't worked. All that really appeals to me: build a plan and provide for a different one, all in the knowledge that if that one also fails, there will be no ‘plan C’. The characters in 'Plan B' are in this state of mind; of action, hope and fragility. They are alone with their plans...

GROUND PLAN?

'Plan B' is the second show in a trilogy that brings together juggling and acrobatics in a limited space. In 'IJK', the work on the cube and volume revealed the rhythm and musicality of juggling, offering a new perception of this discipline: instead of making it visible and tackling it from its visual side, we wanted to make it audible. With 'Plan B', this is the plan we are exploring, which puts set design at the centre of our work. This particular geometry imposes a certain link to movement and acrobatics, a tenuous link to the laws of physics. We aim to invest it as much as possible, and to find out what dreams, qualities and pitfalls are hidden behind this dialogue with gravity.

PLAN-SÉQUENCE?

The decomposition of movement brings us back to film and the photo, with the work of Muybridge or Marey as an example (who, incidentally, were very interested in acrobatics). For film, I could cite Méliès, who used the artifices of film to create magic and illusion. 'Plan B' is a nod to him, except that with us, artifice does not disappear behind an illusion; on the contrary, it is very much about highlighting the device, underlining its simplicity, the poverty of technical means – retaining only its poetic content. Different parts of the show are inspired by film, citing Keaton for example, who is still the reference for actors, in that his work consisted of appropriating several artistic practices. We love this approach; summoning music, acrobatics, juggling and dance to the stage as ways to carry out our work as actors.

PLAN OF ATTACK?

My role was specifically to come up with the main approaches, or axes, for 'Plan B', and then to bring together the artistic team. I then had the idea of offering the production to Phil Soltanoff, who wasn't used to this type or project. It's teamwork; the actors are multi-skilled. Light and sound have a strong presence. Everyone helps with the production, starting with the initial constraints, especially those relating to set design. This produced an artistic aspect, which Phil Soltanoff used to develop his direction.

Source : Interview with Aurélien Bory by Stéphane Boitel (Journal du Théâtre Garonne, January 2003

Aurélien Bory was born in Colmar in 1972. His studies in physics in Strasbourg led him to the field of architectural acoustics.  He then ended his scientific curriculum in 1995.  He settled in Toulouse where he joined the creative studio at the Lido, the Circus Arts Centre. In 1998, he played in Theatre Tattoo's "L'Odyssée" directed by Mladen Materic.  In 2000 he founded Compagnie 111 with actor Olivier Alenda.  He then conceived and began the six-year-long space trilogy project, in collaboration with Phil Soltanoff, including "IJK", "Plan B" and "Plus ou moins l'infini" (More or less, Infinity).
In 2003 he directed Pierre Rigal in his first solo creation Erection, the stem of their ungoing collaboration, which also originated their second work together: Arrêts de Jeu premiered in 2006. Merging various other fields, he created "Taoub" in 2004 in Tangier with twelve moroccan acrobats, this very show will launch the international career of the Groupe acrobatique de Tanger (Tangier Acrobatic Group).  In 2008 Aurélien was the recipient of the "Créateur sans frontières" (Creator without borders)/ Radio France trophy for his international creations, notably "Les sept planches de la ruse" (The seven boards of skill) created in China in 2007 with performers from Dalian. In 2008 and 2009, he conceived two creations: "Questcequetudeviens?", a portrait of a woman, and "Sans Objet", a piece for an industrial robot. His creations include different artistic fields : theatre, circus, dance, visual arts, music...  His genre-crossing approach is inscribed within the question of space and is explored through his distinctive scenography. In 2016, he created "ESPÆCE" based on the French writer Georges Perec 's work, at the Festival d'Avignon (France).

Source: Company 111 's website ; Plan Bey 's press file

More information : cie111.com

Born in 1977, Fabien Plasson is a video director specialized in the field of performing arts (dance , music, etc).

During his studies at the Ecole Nationale des Beaux-Arts de Lyon (joined in 1995) Fabien discovered video art. He was trained by various video artists (Joel Bartoloméo Pascal Nottoli , Eric Duyckaerts , etc) .
He first experimented with the creation of installations and cinematic objects.

From 2001 to 2011, he was in charge of Ginger & Fred video Bar’s programming at La Maison de la Danse in Lyon. He discovered the choreographic field and the importance of this medium in the dissemination, mediation and pedagogical approach to dance alongside Charles Picq, who was a brilliant video director and the director of the video department at that time.

Today, Fabien Plasson is the video director at La Maison de la Danse and in charge of the video section of Numeridanse.tv, an online international  video library, and continues his creative activities, making videos of concerts, performances and also creating video sets for live performances.

Sources: Maison de la Danse ; Fabien Plasson website

More information: fabione.fr