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Jte dérange - Non non
Jean-Charles Massera
Jte dérange - Non non
DR
Actes du théâtre n° 72.[ imprimer ]
Jte dérange ? Non non is a series of ten phone calls from friends or family who are being a pain about something without letting you get a word in edgewise. Things that seem like nothing but are quite telling when you stop and think about it. Calls that in fact, without seeming to, slightly alter the way you see your job, the government, land use, male-female relations (and especially the reverse), as well as the clothes you wear, how you decorated your apartment, and even the state of depression – and actually the absence of form – that your life is turning into. Ten calls that, in form and content, address the listeners, male and female, even if they can’t get a word in edgewise either.

‘‘You’ll get hooked on this Arte radio series with a brilliant cast and mordant tone, built around phone conversations with a tragicomic flavor.’’
Laurence Le Saux, Télérama, January 2, 2013

‘‘An original series designed for new modes of listening (podcasts, smartphones, headphones). Every week there’s a phone call in the car, while eating a meal or at work: a brief story about a couple, desire, or a soccer team scarf. Contemporary writing and alert acting for this in-house production.’’
Arte radio press release, 2011

Created for ARTE Radio.
Sound & mixing: Arnaud Forest and Jean-Charle Massera
Assistant director: Sara Monimart
Produced by: Chloé Assous-Plunian, Sara Monimart, Silvain Gire
(2012 – about 10 x 8 min)

1 episode every week starting November 21, 2012.
The entire series available on ‘‘Fictions / Dramatiques’’
Podcast for indefinite listening and downloading on arteradiocom.

1. T'as mis où les oranges ? (Where did you put the oranges?)
A man: Christophe Brault
2. Le restau qui faisait chalet (The restaurant that was used as a chalet)
A man: Pascal Sangla
3. Le survêt' j'en peux plus là (That track suit, give me a break)
A woman: Élisabeth Hölzle
4. On est mal barré en fait (We’re up the creek aren’t we)
A man: Pascal Sangla
5. Cool que tu sois instable (You’re unstable. Awesome)
A man: Christophe Brault
6. En région (In the country)
A woman: Morgane Hainaux
7. C'est mon écharpe, c'est ça ? (What, you mean that’s my scarf?)
A man: Guillaume Hincky
8. L'URSS c'était pas à droite (The USSR wasn’t right-wing)
A man: Slimane Yefsah
9. Tu m'laisses jamais finir (You never let me finish)
A woman: Morgane Hainaux
10. Non mais là ça dépasse tout (That’s really over the top)
A man: Guillaume Hincky


Characters : 1 women - 1 men -

You’re unstable. Awesome. (excerpt)

[McDonald’s dinner boxes being opened]
Hello… Is this a bad time?

[Slight pause – Drinking his ice coke with a straw, then chewing his hamburger]
Yeah me too. Listen, I was thinking about that story of yours. There’s also…something kinda interesting when sexual r'lations don’t quite take form. Like I mean it creates frustration, right, so a desire to move. Ya know it’s interesting. At least it keeps you from closing yourself off. Hey, it’s like you’re not feeling all that great at home, right. You feel like going out right away, uh, you pace around, turn on the TV then turn it off five minutes later, you…So the next day ya really don’t feel like going through a night like that again, right. [Facebook notification] Ya see I mean there’s somethin' about your instability that… that keeps you from closing yourself off… [He burps] from slowly getting used to losing interest in the outside world and other places…and other things, right. No really you’re…you’re fucking lucky!…

[Slight pause]
Hmm… What are you eating?

[Slight pause]
Oh yeah. Yeah, see, I was thinking about all that again...I really think…you’ve gotta start realizing how lucky you are... ya can’t let it pass ya by, Dude... [Facebook notification] Mmm, yeah it reminds me of … of that business about the… about the sofa bed you’re hanging onto, it’s totally ugly but it’s still there ‘cuz ya can’t find one that works in your place... It’s awesome ‘cuz that way you can keep your place kinda gross, right... It gives you the blues when ya come home at night ‘cuz it’s not very cozy or comfy... So yeah it’s actually really cool that you’re not going out together anymore...

The acting: should be as close as possible to a regular phone conversation. If the words are garbled and the syllables not all pronounced in the everyday language and the kind of situation in the episode, the actors should follow that pronunciation. It’s the gap between what’s said (which never arises in an ordinary conversation) and the situation that creates the meaning. So traditional acting styles or dramatization should be ruled out.
Form / radio recording: The listening conditions create part of the meaning: listeners identify with the ‘‘slight pauses’’ between each line, as if the character was addressing them.
Jean-Charles Massera