The 19 young participants of the Adolescence & Territory(ies) program perform “Le Chant de l’ivresse" at Ateliers Berthier, Espace 1789, and Théâtre de Gennevilliers

CreateJoy from the CANAL+ Foundation, in collaboration with Odéon-Théâtre de l'Europe, initiated the Adolescence & Territory(ies) program. This program allows young people from the northern districts of Paris, Saint-Ouen, Gennevilliers, and other areas, without any particular theatrical experience initially, to experience a year of creation, accompanied by renowned professionals. This human and artistic adventure reveals talents, personalities, and friendships. And this has been happening for over 13 years since the program's inception.

Adolescence & Territory(ies) involves young people selected based on their motivation and after a group work session. The goal is to identify each individual's potential, the group's energy, while seeking a balance between territories, between girls and boys, and according to age. The small group of about twenty teenagers does not know each other even though they come from nearby areas. They commit to a demanding creative adventure during vacations and weekends. They work on improvisations and texts, breathing exercises, voice, body, and space, all supervised by professionals. The final project is never defined at the time of the recruitment. The young people write it themselves through improvisation sessions, based on their proposals, on stage.

In addition to rehearsal hours, the young people benefit from a spectator's journey and see about ten shows.

For these teenagers, expressing themselves on stage, accepting who they are, and facing the audience's gaze is already surpassing their limits. For the directors, the challenge of working with a group of teenagers is both dizzying and exciting. The secret of this creative work is, of course, the time given to the project: nearly 6 months, which allows them to get to know each other well, gain self-confidence, trust in the group, and the team, to give their best.

And this year again, as in each of the previous editions, the miracle happens. The audience is touched by the strength of "Le Chant d’ivresse," the 2025 creation directed by Juliette Navis and Romain Guion, with the technical teams from Ateliers Berthier, Espace 1789 in Saint-Ouen, and T2G in Gennevilliers, the project's partner theaters.

A web documentary traces the project's evolution and presents particularly touching portraits of the participants.

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