Class of 1984: 40 years on, a reunion full of memories...
This Kedger wants to open a comedy club in Marseille!
2012 KEDGE graduate, Alice Bellia, is a member of the Garage Comedy team. She needs your help to make it THE place to go in Marseille to watch stand-up comedy.
Since 2019, Le Garage comedy team, of which Alice (GEP 2012) is a member, has attracted more than 3,000 spectators to its stand-up shows in the south of France. Shows last an average of 1.5 hours, and some four to six comedians perform cutting-edge shows every evening. In total, Le Garage has had dozens of guests coming from all over France and has 50 resident artists that will be tomorrow’s talk of the town!
Le Garage advocates access to culture for all. After seeing strong demand, it now wants to offer more comedy clubs in an area that is completely adapted to stand-up. It also wants to digitalise stand-up comedy in France through a specially dedicated WebTV show.
Conceptualised by stand-up artists, this temple of modern humour will be upgraded so it can plunge spectators into the world of laughter and sharing. It will bring together more than 100 artists a year, welcoming, as it already does in its partner venues, headliners from the Jamel Comedy Club and Montreux - all free of charge!
Eventually, the venue aims to hold stand-up shows 7 days a week!
Finally, Le Garage wants to be a school of comedy and offer courses related to the art of the “one-man show” (stand-up, speaking, directing, etc.).
INTERVIEW - ALICE BELLIA 💬
To begin, tell us about your educational background. What did you study, both before and at KEDGE?
I started attending KEDGE after taking two years of literary prep classes (at Hypokhâgne in Toulon and Khâgne in Paris) and getting a degree in German at the University of Aix Marseille. I was in the Grande Ecole Programme at KEDGE and specialised in project management and creative industries.
After that, I worked in marketing and business development in both Germany and France. Now I work for KEDGE in international promotion.
What are you doing today? What gave you the idea and the desire to do what you’re doing today?
I’ve been doing theatre for 10 years and have always been passionate about all types of theatre, including classical, improv, and stand up. During my exchange year at KEDGE, I had the immense privilege of being selected to spend a semester in San Diego, California, where I was introduced to comedy clubs.
Five years later, I went to work for KEDGE as Africa Promotion Officer and there I met another KEDGE employee, Sebastien Meï, and Quentin Friburger, whose business had incubated at the KEDGE Business Nursery. Both of them had been doing stand-up for two years and I discovered the world of stand up in the Marseille style consisting of open mics and fervour of the audience. I also learned what’s at stake for artists who are suffering from a massive exodus from Marseille to the capital.
That's why the three of us had the idea of opening the first comedy club in Marseille: Le Garage.
We've organised more than a hundred stand-up shows in temporary locations in the South of France which have drawn some 6,500 people over a period of one year. Le Garage will provide Marseille with an acclaimed venue that can make it the second-best city for stand-up comedy in France. Performances will also be filmed and broadcast on WebTV, which is intended to be a digital springboard for stand-up comedians.
The venue will be located in the city’s arts district. We want it to be more than just a comedy club and want to have a lounge area with a decor that blends an automobile garage with a 1950's jazz bar. We also plan to have a space for hosting other artistic projects during the day and in the evening. Culture is needed right now to be a ray of sunshine to in this bleak era!
In order to give the general public a chance to be part of this project, an online crowdfunding campaign has been launched and it's already attracting widespread interest.
What are your goals?
In order to help this project see the light of day, our collective has launched a crowdfunding campaign with a goal of 12,000€, even more, if possible!
With the monies raised, we hope to open the place as soon as we’re able and to film and broadcast performances on our WebTV to increase the visibility of the performers.
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