Jeanne Laurent

Jeanne Laurent , born on May 7th, 1902 with Cast (Finistere), and died in 1989, is a French civil servant , initiator of the policy of theatrical Décentralisation under the Fourth Republic.

Biography

Girl of Breton farmers, it makes her studies with the National school of the charters, then integrates the public office. In 1930, it enters to the Minister of education main road and the secretariat of the National Commission of the historic buildings, then is named with the secretariat of State to the Art schools in 1939. Under the Occupation, she attends association Jeune France, installation by the Régime of Vichy, then takes part in the movements of Résistance near Germaine Tillion.

She is named in 1946 sub-manageress of the spectacles and the music to the head office of Arts and Letters to the Minister of education main road by Jacques Jaujard. At this station during six years, it develops a policy of dramatic decentralization, wishing to increase the diffusion of the theater in province, and to popularize it.

It thus takes part in the rebirth of the popular National theater, in the foundation of the Festival of Avignon, and creates the first national dramatic centers, in Colmar (dramatic center of the East, 1946) and at Saint-Etienne (Comédie of Saint-Etienne, 1947), followed Grenier of Toulouse (1948), dramatic Center of the West (1949) and Comédie of Provence (1952). It also sets up a contest of the young companies and a subsidy at first piece-rates, in order to encourage new talents.

Without established plan, it benefits from the circumstances and its network of friendship and knowledge (Jean Vilar, Jean Dasté, André Clavé, etc) to establish the theater out of Paris, and is based on the talents which emergent in area, rather than to name actors in province from Paris. Thus, she encourages the Alsatian cities to protest against the loss of financing of the theaters of the area, because of end of the German supervision, which leads to the constitution of the CDN of the East. The other national dramatic centers also rest all on an existing regional troop (the Attic in Toulouse, the troop of Dasté with Saint-Etienne, the theater of Baty with Aix-en-Provence, etc).

Isolated within the secretariat from State from the Art schools, and criticized by the press and the Parisian theater directors, it is transferred on arrival of Antoine Pinay in October 1952, to the university Service of the relations with the foreigner and overseas, quickly integrated into the Ministère of the Co-operation. In spite of this setting with the variation, which caused many protests and interrogations, it continues to contribute in writing to the reflection for a theatrical action of the State, and publishes two tests, the Republic and the Art schools (1955) and Arts and capacities in France of 1793 to 1981. History of an artistic resignation (1982). It takes its retirement of administrator except class in 1967, and dies in 1989.

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