Catherine Filloux
Encyclopedia
Catherine Filloux is a French
-Algeria
n-American
playwright. She has received awards from the Kennedy Center Fund for New American Plays, the O'Neill, the Rockefeller MAP Fund
, and the Asian Cultural Council
. In 2003 she was a Fullbright Senior Specialist in playwriting in Cambodia
.
Filloux's plays have confronted the issue of genocide
in many nations. She was first drawn to the subject on reading of the psychosomatic blindness suffered by a group of Cambodian
women after witnessing the massacres of the Khmer Rouge
, a story that formed the basis of her 1996 play Eyes of the Heart. She continued to work with survivors of the Cambodian genocide, developing the oral history project A Circle of Grace with the Cambodian Women's Group at St. Rita's Centre for Immigration and Refugee Services in the Bronx, New York.
Her 2005 play Lemkin's House is based on the life of Raphael Lemkin
, the Polish Jew and American immigrant lawyer who invented the word genocide
in 1944 and spent his life striving to have it recognized as an international crime.
Filloux states "For a while, these crimes were the 'best-kept secrets,' but they're not even secrets. They happen all the time, and nobody cares. And that's the problem on some level with doing this kind of theater. There's just a little wall that's been built up against these things, and to write theater about them is part of the challenge." http://www.offoffonline.com/feature-020806.htm
. "My mom was a very literate person who loved literature" and wrote poetry in both French and English. As a child, Filloux moved with her family to San Diego, where she grew up. She says, "We grew up ... in this kind of schism of Algeria, France, and San Diego. So it made for a background of not really knowing where one belongs..." http://www.offoffonline.com/feature-020806.htm
Filloux received her M.F.A. in Dramatic Writing from Tisch School of the Arts
at New York University
(NYU) and her French Baccalaureate
with Honors in Toulon
, France.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
-Algeria
Algeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
n-American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
playwright. She has received awards from the Kennedy Center Fund for New American Plays, the O'Neill, the Rockefeller MAP Fund
Rockefeller Foundation
The Rockefeller Foundation is a prominent philanthropic organization and private foundation based at 420 Fifth Avenue, New York City. The preeminent institution established by the six-generation Rockefeller family, it was founded by John D. Rockefeller , along with his son John D. Rockefeller, Jr...
, and the Asian Cultural Council
Asian Cultural Council
The Asian Cultural Council is an American non-profit organization dedicated to providing support to Asian-American cultural exchange in the areas of visual and performing arts.- History :...
. In 2003 she was a Fullbright Senior Specialist in playwriting in Cambodia
Cambodia
Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
.
Filloux's plays have confronted the issue of genocide
Genocide
Genocide is defined as "the deliberate and systematic destruction, in whole or in part, of an ethnic, racial, religious, or national group", though what constitutes enough of a "part" to qualify as genocide has been subject to much debate by legal scholars...
in many nations. She was first drawn to the subject on reading of the psychosomatic blindness suffered by a group of Cambodian
Khmer people
Khmer people are the predominant ethnic group in Cambodia, accounting for approximately 90% of the 14.8 million people in the country. They speak the Khmer language, which is part of the larger Mon–Khmer language family found throughout Southeast Asia...
women after witnessing the massacres of the Khmer Rouge
Khmer Rouge
The Khmer Rouge literally translated as Red Cambodians was the name given to the followers of the Communist Party of Kampuchea, who were the ruling party in Cambodia from 1975 to 1979, led by Pol Pot, Nuon Chea, Ieng Sary, Son Sen and Khieu Samphan...
, a story that formed the basis of her 1996 play Eyes of the Heart. She continued to work with survivors of the Cambodian genocide, developing the oral history project A Circle of Grace with the Cambodian Women's Group at St. Rita's Centre for Immigration and Refugee Services in the Bronx, New York.
Her 2005 play Lemkin's House is based on the life of Raphael Lemkin
Raphael Lemkin
Raphael Lemkin was a Polish lawyer of Jewish descent. He is best known for his work against genocide, a word he coined in 1943 from the root words genos and -cide...
, the Polish Jew and American immigrant lawyer who invented the word genocide
Genocide
Genocide is defined as "the deliberate and systematic destruction, in whole or in part, of an ethnic, racial, religious, or national group", though what constitutes enough of a "part" to qualify as genocide has been subject to much debate by legal scholars...
in 1944 and spent his life striving to have it recognized as an international crime.
Filloux states "For a while, these crimes were the 'best-kept secrets,' but they're not even secrets. They happen all the time, and nobody cares. And that's the problem on some level with doing this kind of theater. There's just a little wall that's been built up against these things, and to write theater about them is part of the challenge." http://www.offoffonline.com/feature-020806.htm
Biography
Of her parents, Filloux says, "My dad was born in the center of France, and he became an adventurer," who boated from France to New York in a catamaranCatamaran
A catamaran is a type of multihulled boat or ship consisting of two hulls, or vakas, joined by some structure, the most basic being a frame, formed of akas...
. "My mom was a very literate person who loved literature" and wrote poetry in both French and English. As a child, Filloux moved with her family to San Diego, where she grew up. She says, "We grew up ... in this kind of schism of Algeria, France, and San Diego. So it made for a background of not really knowing where one belongs..." http://www.offoffonline.com/feature-020806.htm
Filloux received her M.F.A. in Dramatic Writing from Tisch School of the Arts
Tisch School of the Arts
Tisch School of the Arts is one of the 15 schools that make up New York University ....
at New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
(NYU) and her French Baccalaureate
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
with Honors in Toulon
Toulon
Toulon is a town in southern France and a large military harbor on the Mediterranean coast, with a major French naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur region, Toulon is the capital of the Var department in the former province of Provence....
, France.
Works
- Dog and Wolf 2010, 59E59, New York
- Killing the Boss 2008, Cherry Lane Studio Theatre, New York
- Lemkin’s House 2005, Kamerni Teatar 55, Sarajevo
- Silence Of God 2002, Contemporary American Theater Festival, West Virginia
- The Floating Box: A Story in ChinatownThe Floating Box: A Story in ChinatownThe Floating Box: A Story in Chinatown is a chamber opera by Jason Kao Hwang, to a libretto by Catherine Filloux. It premiered in 2001, directed by Jean Randich and conducted by Juan Carlos Rivas...
, 2001 - Lessons Of My Father 2001, HB Playwrights Foundation & Theatre, New York
- The Beauty Inside 2001, HB Playwrights Foundation & Theatre, New York
- Mary And Myra 2000, Contemporary American Theater Festival, West Virginia
- Photographs From S-21 1998, HB Playwrights Foundation & Theatre, New York
- White Trash 1997, Women's Project & Productions, New York
- Eyes Of The Heart 1996, Eugene O'Neill Theater Center, Connecticut
- All Dressed Up And Nowhere To Go 1994, Playwrights Theatre of Baltimore, Maryland
- The Price Of Madness 1992, Alleyway Theatre, Buffalo New York
- Venus In The Birdbath 1990, Alleyway Theatre, Buffalo New York
- Arthur’s War
- Cut To: The Deal
- The Awakening
- The G Word
- Storks
- The Russian Doll
- Three Continents
- Accepting Applause
- Converting
- The Sun Always Rose
- Altar Ego
- Prodigal Son
- Priscilla’s Story
Awards
- The Kennedy Center Fund for New American Plays' Roger L. Stevens award
- Eric Kocher Playwrights Award (National Playwrights Conference, O'Neill Theater Center)
- Fulbright Senior Specialist (Cambodia & Morocco)
- James Thurber Playwright-In-Residence; Asian Cultural Council Artist's Residency Grant in Asia
- Winner Nausicaa Franco-American Play Contest
- Rockefeller MAP Fund (for Floating Box with Hwang)
- 4-time Heideman Award Finalist, Actors Theatre of Louisville