Manon GUILLY
Actress

Manon received a grant to help her study at Paris’s École Supérieure d’Art Dramatique.

What is your artistic background?
I started acting at the amateur workshop closest to my home and, at the same time, in my high school in Bethune, in the Pas-de-Calais region. After the Baccalauréat and two years at the University of Lille, wondering where I belonged, I decided to go to Brussels, to the Cours Florent. Then at the end of that year, I learned that a preparatory class for drama schools had just opened at the Comédie de Béthune. Back to my roots, in the town where I started acting, to do two years of training, before being accepted, in September 2021, at the École Supérieure d'Art Dramatique de Paris.

How do you view your profession today?
Today, more than ever, I am unwavering in my view of the exhilarating need to continue to create, invent and reinvent. I think that's why we persist in surviving. In a world in which you have to be efficient and prioritise, produce a lot and quickly, I like that my profession allows itself to be on the fringe, to have its own breathing space. My favourite moments, when I'm on the set or when I'm a spectator, are when I can say to myself "only in the theatre can I do this, see this". Even taking into account the difficult reality of the profession, and my doubts and fears, I feel that there is a real chance, even today, to do what you love in life.

How do you see yourself in five years? in 10 years?
Difficult question. In five years, I see myself as a young actress who wanders between projects, looking for my place, my affinities with other artists, to build a path together. Perhaps to create a company with friends from my class. In 10 years, I will be 33 years old, and I tell myself that I would love to start passing on what I think I know about theatre, and that's how we are enriched. I also hope I don't forget one of my goals, which is to make theatre for those who never go, for those who find it inaccessible or not for them. And to dream a little, I see myself playing great roles like Hermione, Célimène or Lady Macbeth.

This interview was conducted in 2021
Photography credit: Julie Glassberg