The Frenchman

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The Frenchman

$550.00
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This is the remarkable true story of a desperate man with a dream. In a remote corner of Southwest Virginia, Pierre du Tubeuf staked his claim to build his colony of St. Marie on the Clinch River — a new French settlement far from the threats of the French Revolution. With letters of introduction from Lafayette and dreams of building a new coal enterprise in Virginia, du Tubeuf was forced to leave part of his family behind in France. Pierre and his fellow French settlers survived a deadly sea voyage only to have their servants abandon them upon their arrival to Virginia. But the nightmare was only beginning. In Russell County, Pierre found that nothing was as he had been promised.

Description:

This is a 90-minute play in two acts with a 15-minute intermission. Set in France at the time of the French Revolution and in Russell County, Virginia through 1795, the set relies on a center table with chairs that is dressed for Act 1 as the French apartment. In the second act, the table and set pieces reflect a rustic cabin in Russell County. Wings of the stage are used for insert scenes, such as George Washington’s office.  Backgrounds are images projected via rear screen projection. The death scene is recorded and edited as a video and inserted at the appropriate time during each performance. The set goes dark, the actors move to positions they will take at the end of the video. The lights come up after the video and the play proceeds.

Number of Actors:

Eight lead actors and eight supporting actors, although the main actors could play the supporting roles.

Excerpt