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 and committee contacts
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.
Secretary of the board, Chantal Roberts, has contributed far beyond her secretarial duties. As co-chair of the Press and Publications Committee, she has edited every issue of the newsletter, created our website and maintained a 'personal' Facebook page for Jean-Baptiste Poquelin. She answers myriad emails in the persona of Molière’s secretary, so it’s not surprising that she loves to wear costumes and looks forward to a masquerade-ball 399th birthday gala on 15 January 2021. Chantal graduated from Baylor University with dual majors in French and Radio-TV-Film. She and her husband, Aaron Roberts, moved from Little Rock, Arkansas, to Overland Park in July 2018, just in time to see Rebecca Smith’s article on the Molière project in KC Studio magazine.
With moving crates not yet unpacked, Chantal tracked down Felicia Londré and signed on initially to help with the newsletter, but Chantal has a way of taking initiatives, even as she runs her own business CMR Consulting.
With moving crates not yet unpacked, Chantal tracked down Felicia Londré and signed on initially to help with the newsletter, but Chantal has a way of taking initiatives, even as she runs her own business CMR Consulting.
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.
festival timeline
For a more detailed listing of upcoming events, visit our Events page.
2019
Continue long-range planning (especially for booking art exhibits and international events) and dissemination of information.
Create web page: kcmoliere400in2022.com .
Fill out committee chairs and add volunteers to committees.
Announcement by Thoroughly Modern Molière Committee of commission or competition for new work on a Molière-related subject.
Achieve 501c3 status.
Fundraising.
Apply for grants to support funding.
Continue outreach to potential supporters: Barnes & Noble, KC Parks & Recreation, etc.
Fall 2019
Hire an Administrative Assistant to coordinate all initiatives.
Schedule meeting of Conservatory theatre & music faculty to plan co-productions.
Outreach to K-12 schools to schedule their own educational activities as well as booking
touring performances and workshops.
2020
Major fundraising initiatives: donor parties, grant applications.
Season planning by performing arts organizations on the Molière calendar-in-progress.
Commission lecturers and book workshop sessions for schools.
March 2020
Lock in academic/educational scheduling for fall 2021 as the educational build-up to the
birthdate.
April-May 2020
Lock in scheduling of professional theatre, ballet, opera, music, and puppet productions
to be presented from 15 January through June 2022.
Fall 2020
Solicit ads and prepare materials for souvenir booklet.
Put in orders for commercial product souvenirs that will be sold.
Outreach to French media to begin coverage in fall 2021.
2021
Early spring 2021
Public announcement of all scheduled productions, a media event.
Spring-Summer 2021
Edit souvenir booklet and send to printer.
Arrange hotel and transportation for distinguished international visitors in January.
Make roster to coordinate volunteer work beginning in September.
Begin national and international news coverage and other media blitz.
September-December: focus on educational events as a build-up to the January birthday celebration.
K-12 and higher education classes in theatre, music, visual art, literature, film, history, French, and Italian: all incorporate materials by and about Molière and/or the aesthetics and philosophical thought of his era.
Academic productions of Molière plays at area colleges and universities.
UMKC one-act Molière farce touring unit visiting K-12 area schools.
Public library lecture series.
Workshops on commedia dell’arte, mask-making, 17th-century dance deportment, and other topics.
Baroque music & dance demonstrations in schools.
Send invitations and coordinate activities for the 15 January benefit gala.
Saturday 15 January 2022
The actual birthday party is a two-part event:
Afternoon festivities will be free and open to the public with free birthday cake,
possible visit by a French celebrity, school performances or sing-alongs in
French; ideally this will be in the great hall of Union Station or the Kauffman
lobby. This gala kick-off free-to-the-public birthday party will feature four 100-candle
cakes and a French celebrity to blow out the candles and Académie Lafayette students to
sing French folksongs. Live telecast of Molière event at the Comédie-Française.
Evening will be the gala benefit ball, possibly in Rozelle Court of the Nelson Atkins
Gallery, a paid dinner-dance, costumes and masks optional.
2022
January to May 2022 will be the six-month period when the various
professional arts organizations each include a Molière-related arts event –
budgeted and presented as part of their regular seasons.
French Baroque concerts and art exhibits and professional theatre productions.
June Future Stages Festival at the Kauffman will feature school and youth
performances derived from their learning about Molière and 17th-century France
over the previous nine months.
July-September: evaluate success according to the following criteria:
Numbers of productions, concerts, lectures, workshops, and other school events.
Attendance at those events.
International, national, and local press coverage before, during, and after the six-month celebration.
Continuing strengthened bonds between Kansas City and French cultural organizations.
Future scheduling of classic works including those given contemporary and diverse re-
interpretations.
Continue long-range planning (especially for booking art exhibits and international events) and dissemination of information.
Create web page: kcmoliere400in2022.com .
Fill out committee chairs and add volunteers to committees.
Announcement by Thoroughly Modern Molière Committee of commission or competition for new work on a Molière-related subject.
Achieve 501c3 status.
Fundraising.
Apply for grants to support funding.
Continue outreach to potential supporters: Barnes & Noble, KC Parks & Recreation, etc.
Fall 2019
Hire an Administrative Assistant to coordinate all initiatives.
Schedule meeting of Conservatory theatre & music faculty to plan co-productions.
Outreach to K-12 schools to schedule their own educational activities as well as booking
touring performances and workshops.
2020
Major fundraising initiatives: donor parties, grant applications.
Season planning by performing arts organizations on the Molière calendar-in-progress.
Commission lecturers and book workshop sessions for schools.
March 2020
Lock in academic/educational scheduling for fall 2021 as the educational build-up to the
birthdate.
April-May 2020
Lock in scheduling of professional theatre, ballet, opera, music, and puppet productions
to be presented from 15 January through June 2022.
Fall 2020
Solicit ads and prepare materials for souvenir booklet.
Put in orders for commercial product souvenirs that will be sold.
Outreach to French media to begin coverage in fall 2021.
2021
Early spring 2021
Public announcement of all scheduled productions, a media event.
Spring-Summer 2021
Edit souvenir booklet and send to printer.
Arrange hotel and transportation for distinguished international visitors in January.
Make roster to coordinate volunteer work beginning in September.
Begin national and international news coverage and other media blitz.
September-December: focus on educational events as a build-up to the January birthday celebration.
K-12 and higher education classes in theatre, music, visual art, literature, film, history, French, and Italian: all incorporate materials by and about Molière and/or the aesthetics and philosophical thought of his era.
Academic productions of Molière plays at area colleges and universities.
UMKC one-act Molière farce touring unit visiting K-12 area schools.
Public library lecture series.
Workshops on commedia dell’arte, mask-making, 17th-century dance deportment, and other topics.
Baroque music & dance demonstrations in schools.
Send invitations and coordinate activities for the 15 January benefit gala.
Saturday 15 January 2022
The actual birthday party is a two-part event:
Afternoon festivities will be free and open to the public with free birthday cake,
possible visit by a French celebrity, school performances or sing-alongs in
French; ideally this will be in the great hall of Union Station or the Kauffman
lobby. This gala kick-off free-to-the-public birthday party will feature four 100-candle
cakes and a French celebrity to blow out the candles and Académie Lafayette students to
sing French folksongs. Live telecast of Molière event at the Comédie-Française.
Evening will be the gala benefit ball, possibly in Rozelle Court of the Nelson Atkins
Gallery, a paid dinner-dance, costumes and masks optional.
2022
January to May 2022 will be the six-month period when the various
professional arts organizations each include a Molière-related arts event –
budgeted and presented as part of their regular seasons.
French Baroque concerts and art exhibits and professional theatre productions.
June Future Stages Festival at the Kauffman will feature school and youth
performances derived from their learning about Molière and 17th-century France
over the previous nine months.
July-September: evaluate success according to the following criteria:
Numbers of productions, concerts, lectures, workshops, and other school events.
Attendance at those events.
International, national, and local press coverage before, during, and after the six-month celebration.
Continuing strengthened bonds between Kansas City and French cultural organizations.
Future scheduling of classic works including those given contemporary and diverse re-
interpretations.