Génica Athanasiou. A Romanian Actress in the Parisian Avant‐ Garde during the Interwar Period.

Abstract

After the armistice in 1919, a young girl of Bucharest, a student of Nicolae Soreanu at the Conservatory of Music and Declamation, decided to leave to study in Paris despite the opposition of her parents. So began the career of Génica Athanasiou (1897‐1966), dedicated to the so‐called “Theater of Artˮ. On the Parisian stage, which was in full renewal, her choice of training goes towards a high stadard, as she takes part at the foundation of l’Atelier, with Charles Dullin (former collaborator of Jacques Copeau). Afterwards, her career demonstrated the same rigor: her work was supervised by directors such as Georges Pitoëff, Antonin Artaud or Jean Cocteau on stage; Germaine Dulac, Jean Grémillon or Georg Wilhelm Pabst behind the camera. A thorough investigation shows that she takes part in all battles of the theatrical avant‐garde, interpreting the first creations of Antonin Artaud, the Théâtre Alfred‐Jarry, Jean‐Louis Barrault and the Compagnie des Quinze (some of Copiaus). Fallen into oblivion after the Second World War, it was still thanks to the network of the avant‐garde that she managed to work, for the new generation of directors: Sacha Pitoëff or Guy Suarès. Her route without compromise illustrates the ethical,  almost monastic ideal, defended by the Théâtre du Vieux‐Colombier and the Cartel’s members: the spirit of the company searches for a collective  transcendence without the temptation of ego, or even stardom, in favor of a collective work raised to a high level of creativity.