In Celebration!French playwright Molière was born on 15 January 1622. Two hundred years later, Kansas City became a French settlement and Missouri became a state. Celebrations of the 400th birthday and the 200th anniversaries will come together in the 2021-22 theatre season and in city-wide arts events: KC MOlière: 400 in 2022.
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Célébrons!Molière est né le 15 janvier 1622. Deux cents ans plus tard, les premiers habitants français fondèrent ce qui allait devenir Kansas City et l'état du Missouri naquit. La ville célèbrera ces 400ème et 200ème anniversaires en même temps lors de la saison théâtrale 2021-22 ainsi qu'avec des manifestations artistiques dans toute la ville : KC MOlière: 400 in 2022.
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Why Kansas City? |
Pourquoi Kansas City? |
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François Chouteau settled at the confluence of the Kansas and Missouri rivers and opened a fur-trading post where French families interacted with Osage and Kansa natives. They will be represented as a sculpture group on The François Chouteau and Native American Heritage Fountain to be unveiled in 2021.
Molière’s comedies have always been part of Kansas City’s vibrant theatre scene. Demographically, Kansas City ranks in the top three American cities for support of the arts. Virtually every one of our dozen professional theatre companies is committed to presenting a play by Molière or inspired by his work as part of KC MOlière: 400 in 2022. |
François Chouteau s'établit au confluent des fleuves Kansas et Missouri et ouvrit un poste de traite de fourrures où les familles françaises et les tribus locales Osage et Kansa pouvaient se rencontrer. En 2021, une sculpture de groupe les représentant fera partie de la François Chouteau and Native American Heritage Fountain qui sera inaugurée en 2021.
Les pièces de Molière ont depuis toujours fait partie de la vibrante scène théâtrale de Kansas City. Part rapport à sa population Kansas City figure parmi les trois premières villes des États-Unis pour le soutien aux arts. Pour ainsi dire chacune des douze compagnies de théâtre s'est engagée présenter une pièce de Molière ou s'inspirant de son oeuvre pour le festival KC MOlière: 400 in 2022. |
board of directors listing
As president of the board, Felicia Londré carries on the legacy of Kip Niven, founder of Equity Actors’ Readers Theatre (EARTh), whose production of Molière’s The Doctor in Spite of Himself on 4 December 2017 was the genesis of KC MOlière: 400 in 2022. He convinced Felicia to undertake what has become an increasingly large undertaking. Felicia is Curators’ Distinguished Professor Emerita at UMKC where she is in her 42nd year of teaching theatre history. She earned her BA in French at the University of Montana, her MA in Romance Languages at the University of Washington, Seattle, and her Ph.D. in Speech/Theatre at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she directed plays in French and English. She was pleased to get two minutes at the inaugural gathering of the Theatre Alliance of Kansas City (TAKC) on 12 August to tell about KC MOlière: 400 in 2022, Inc.
Sarah Ingram-Eiser joined the board as vice president, having offered her assistance in arts endeavors when she and Felicia Londré sat together in the audience of a Black Repertory Theatre of KC production. Sarah graduated from Scripps College in California where she began lifelong friendships with leaders in the arts. She served as chair of the original Missouri Repertory Theatre (now KC Rep) Guild as well as numerous other community and arts boards. Sarah brings her experience as a tax associate for H&R BLOCK and as an international theatregoer ever since her year of study at the University of Florence.
Jim Weitzel, board treasurer, has opened a bank account for KC MOlière: 400 in 2022, Inc. and is working with Fundraising chair Don Dagenais. Jim brings to the board his experience from a career in commercial real estate marketing and development. He earned his B.S. in Economics at Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA in Marketing from the University of Michigan Business School. Jim has served on the boards of the Folly Theatre (board president 2011-12), the Unicorn, the American Jazz Museum, and the Homeowners Association of Kansas City. Jim and his wife, Sarah Minogue Weitzel, are also strong supporters of KC Melting Pot Theatre.
Patricia Hamarstrom Williams is an international film and theatre producer/director and new media expert. She holds the honor of being a past U.S. Cultural Rep to Eastern Europe, as well as U.S.I.S. Academic Specialist in that region.
Her film directing credits include “A Tomb for Boris Davidovich”, “A Long Day’s Journey Into Night”, “Othello”, and “Tiger Dance”; work at Cinecitta and for Universal Studios. She is currently a higher education curriculum consultant and serves on the Boards of Directors of CinemaKC and the United Nations Association of Greater Kansas City, as well as our Board.
Her film directing credits include “A Tomb for Boris Davidovich”, “A Long Day’s Journey Into Night”, “Othello”, and “Tiger Dance”; work at Cinecitta and for Universal Studios. She is currently a higher education curriculum consultant and serves on the Boards of Directors of CinemaKC and the United Nations Association of Greater Kansas City, as well as our Board.
Board member at large, Rebecca Smith, was the driving energy behind the success of our volunteer “getting to know you” party at Diastole on 6 August. She grew up in the St. Louis area and graduated from Indiana University with studies at the University of Hamburg, Germany. Becky and her husband, Phil Smith, met in Chicago, where they both worked in advertising. They and their three children have lived in New Zealand, Australia, Thailand, and Ann Arbor. Becky is an avid supporter of the arts in Kansas City, as you can tell from her articles in KC Studio magazine.
Committee Chairs
Fundraising: Don Dagenais
Press & Publications: Rebecca Smith & Patricia Hamarstrom Williams
Education: K-12: Martin English & Danielle Trebus
Education: College & University: Mechele Leon & Jennifer Martin
Cultural Context: Music & Dance: Linda Ade Brand & Tracy Terstriep Herber
Cultural Context: Visual & Popular Arts: Trudie Homan & Beth Byrd Lonski
International Relations: Cyprienne Simchowitz & Dorothée Werner
Thoroughly Modern Molière: Cynthia Levin & Damron Russel Armstrong
Social: Georgianna Londré Buchanan & Claire Davis
Special Collaborations
Dennis Hennessy, ex officio advisor
Stephanie Roberts, UMKC Conservatory Liaison
Alison De Simone & Collin Vorbeck, Academic Conference Planners
Chantal Roberts, Molière Book Club convener & Website Calender Manager
Richard Rischar, Music-Theatre Research
Catherine Thompson, Website Blogmaster
Melanie Adams, High School French Teacher Liaison
Catherine Tissot, Alliance Française de Kansas City Liaison
Tanguy Accart, Cultural Attaché, Consulate General of France in Chicago
Tasha Zugazagoitia, Honorary French Consul for Kansas and Western Missouri
Keith Nelson, Chouteau Fountain Founders
Philip blue owl Hooser, Missouri Bicentennial Play
Nicole Hodges Persley & Linda Williams, KC Melting Pot Theatre
René Bollier, creator of The Molière, a new pastry in fall 2021
Doug Frost, Molière Coffee & Wine Liaison
Trilla Ray Carter, Kansas City Baroque Ensemble
Calan Welder, Chief of Operations, Jeu de Plume K-12 Essay Competition
Sarah Ingram-Eiser, Coordinator of Jeu de Plume Judging
Sarah Jean Haynes-Hohne & Mary Allison Joseph & Gabriel Livingston, Judges of Grades 6-8 Jeu de Plume essay competition
Patricia Cleary Miller & Bryan LeBeau & Elisabeth Kirsch, Judges of Grades 9-12 Jeu de Plume essay competition
Julia Brand, Kelly Brown, Georgianna Buchanan, Brigid Elbert, Sascha Groschang, Trudie Homan, Peregrine Honig, Karen Lisondra, & Rebecca Parrill, Molière Coloring Book Contributors
Fundraising: Don Dagenais
Press & Publications: Rebecca Smith & Patricia Hamarstrom Williams
Education: K-12: Martin English & Danielle Trebus
Education: College & University: Mechele Leon & Jennifer Martin
Cultural Context: Music & Dance: Linda Ade Brand & Tracy Terstriep Herber
Cultural Context: Visual & Popular Arts: Trudie Homan & Beth Byrd Lonski
International Relations: Cyprienne Simchowitz & Dorothée Werner
Thoroughly Modern Molière: Cynthia Levin & Damron Russel Armstrong
Social: Georgianna Londré Buchanan & Claire Davis
Special Collaborations
Dennis Hennessy, ex officio advisor
Stephanie Roberts, UMKC Conservatory Liaison
Alison De Simone & Collin Vorbeck, Academic Conference Planners
Chantal Roberts, Molière Book Club convener & Website Calender Manager
Richard Rischar, Music-Theatre Research
Catherine Thompson, Website Blogmaster
Melanie Adams, High School French Teacher Liaison
Catherine Tissot, Alliance Française de Kansas City Liaison
Tanguy Accart, Cultural Attaché, Consulate General of France in Chicago
Tasha Zugazagoitia, Honorary French Consul for Kansas and Western Missouri
Keith Nelson, Chouteau Fountain Founders
Philip blue owl Hooser, Missouri Bicentennial Play
Nicole Hodges Persley & Linda Williams, KC Melting Pot Theatre
René Bollier, creator of The Molière, a new pastry in fall 2021
Doug Frost, Molière Coffee & Wine Liaison
Trilla Ray Carter, Kansas City Baroque Ensemble
Calan Welder, Chief of Operations, Jeu de Plume K-12 Essay Competition
Sarah Ingram-Eiser, Coordinator of Jeu de Plume Judging
Sarah Jean Haynes-Hohne & Mary Allison Joseph & Gabriel Livingston, Judges of Grades 6-8 Jeu de Plume essay competition
Patricia Cleary Miller & Bryan LeBeau & Elisabeth Kirsch, Judges of Grades 9-12 Jeu de Plume essay competition
Julia Brand, Kelly Brown, Georgianna Buchanan, Brigid Elbert, Sascha Groschang, Trudie Homan, Peregrine Honig, Karen Lisondra, & Rebecca Parrill, Molière Coloring Book Contributors