Antonine Maillet and Her World: Return to Acadie

The symposium takes place at Vermilionville Performance Center, 300 Fisher Road, Lafayette LA 70508,11:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Please note the roster of speakers posted here. Madame Maillet CANNOT attend the symposium herself, but many of the speakers have been her personal associates for many years. Late purchase tickets are still available. These are at a reduced price, and do not include the buffet lunch. Late purchase tickets will be available at the door, or online at: http://mailletlafayette2012.eventbrite.com

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Dr. Denis Bourque will be the keynote speaker at the Symposium on March 16. Denis Bourque is a professor of Acadian literature at the University of Moncton, Canada. He earned a Ph. D. from the University of Montreal with a thesis on the work of the Acadian author Antonine Maillet and has published extensively on her work and on the history of Acadian literature.

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New logo for the University of Louisiana at Lafayette Performing Arts production of Antonine Maillet's play, "The Rabble" [Les Crasseux]. Performances will be held March 22-25, 2012 at Burke Theatre on the UL Lafayette campus.

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Le pays de La Sangouine is an historical and cultural center in Bouctouche, New Brunswick. The center celebrates the literary works and characters of Antonine Maillet (b. 1929), the most important French Canadian writer of the 20th century representing the Acadian tradition. Le pays de La Sangouine resembles Vermilionville in Lafayette, Louisiana, in its historic homes and representations of the traditional lives of ordinary Acadians in the 19th century.

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Vermilionville, a living museum of Cajun life and history in South Louisiana, is located at 300 Fisher Road, Lafayette LA 70508. The Performance Center at Vermilionville will be the site of the Symposium on March 16, 2012. The cultural site provides a glimpse into the homes and lives of people just like the characters in Maillet's play, The Rabble [Les Crasseux]. Symposium attendees will enjoy a buffet lunch of traditional Cajun food.

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Joe Stewart, Emmy Award-winning production designer and partner in John Shaffner/Joe Stewart Production Design, Los Angeles. Raised in Lafayette, Louisiana and educated at Cathedral Carmel High School and the University of Louisiana at Lafayette (then the University of Southwestern Louisiana), he completed his B.F.A degree at Carnegie-Melon University.

He has designed live productions such as The Magic of David Copperfield, The Republican National Convention, The Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon, Miss Universe Pageant,  The Primetime Emmy Awards, The American Music Awards. In television, he has designed such shows as The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Two and a Half Men, George Lopez, The Drew Carey Show, Friends, War at Home.

During 2011-2012, Stewart is an Artist-in-Residence at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette College of the Arts. With a team of design students, he will be leading the production and set design of the Performing Arts production of Maillet's The Rabble [Les Crasseux]. He will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award from the College of the Arts at the gala opening of The Rabble, the first event of the Festival of the Arts, on March 22, 2012.

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Danny Devillier, composer and performer of original music for Maillet's The Rabble [Les Crasseux], March 22-25, 2012 at Burke Theatre on the UL Lafayette campus.

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Symposium Speakers (March 16, 2012)

KEYNOTE SPEAKER: Dr. Denis Bourque, Département d'études françaises, université de Moncton, Nouveau-Brunswick, Canada

Dr. Mathé Allain, Professor Emerita, Dept. of Modern Languages, University of Louisiana at Lafayette

Dr. Barry Ancelet, Dept. of Modern Languages, University of Louisiana at Lafayette

Dr. A. David Barry, Dept. of Modern Languages, University of Louisiana at Lafayette

Prof. Earlene Broussard-Echeverria, Dept. of French Studies, Louisiana State University

Dr. David Cheramie, CEO, Bayou Vermilion District, Lafayette LA

Dr. Michael Martin, Director, Center for Louisiana Studies, University of Louisiana at Lafayette

Nathan Rabalais, Graduate Student, Dept. of French and Italian, Tulane University

Gisèle Thériault, Graduate Student, Dept. of Modern Languages, University of Louisiana at Lafayette

Prof. Camille Bulliard and Mr. Danny Devilier, Production Team Members: University of Louisiana at Lafayette Performing Arts Program, 2012 production of Maillet's play, The Rabble [Les Crasseux] 

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This is the official events calendar of the University of Louisiana College of the Arts. To find out detailed information about any particular event, just click on its title in the calendar. The annual Festival of the Arts will take place March 22-28, 2012. It will feature the Performing Arts production of Antonine Maillet's play, "The Rabble" [Les Crasseux]. The SPARK Lifetime Achievement Award will be given to Joe Stewart, internationally recognized production designer, and 2011-2012 Artist-in-Residence for the College of the Arts.

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General Admission tickets for the Symposium may be purchased online NOW at the above link. Early Bird price is $30; $40 after February 10, 2012. A small fee will be assessed for online sales.

To purchase general admission tickets for the Symposium with cash or check, please contact the College of the Arts, University of Louisiana at Lafayette [phone].

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This YouTube video introduces the viewer to Madame Maillet as she speaks about the creation of one of her most memorable characters, La Sagouine (an old charwoman).

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This article is a good beginning for understanding the importance of Canadian author/playwright Antonine Maillet.