AUTHOR COMEDIAN SINGER www.loreleizarifian.com

loreleizar@gmail.com321-506-4604

@loreleizar

AUTHOR COMEDIAN SINGER www.loreleizarifian.com

loreleizar@gmail.com321-506-4604

@loreleizar

LORELEI ZARIFIAN RESUME

Lorelei Zarifian is double trained as an operetta singer and a French litera-ture teacher in Paris. She studied vocal technic in Paris and Modern Lan-guages at Sorbonne University and Paris 8 University where she received her Masters degree. From 1995 to 1999 she wrote and played a poetic one-woman show in the old cabarets of Paris then from 2000-2005, she received a scholarship from the Gulbenkian Foundation and sang in France, Brazil and Italy with musicians from eleven countries united by the Foundation.

In 2003, she performed Mozart’s arias at Gaveau Hall. In 2005, she played CUPID in the fairy-opera Orpheus in the Underworld by Jacques Offenbach in Trianon Theater. In 2008, she sang in French operettas in Armenia. In 2009, she moved to New York City and performed Maurice Ravel songs at Steinway Hall and other venues for the Armenian Embassy. In 2011 she was in Costa Rica to sing French repertoire such as Edith Piaf, Yves Montand and Benoît Menut’s songs. Finally in 2014 she performed The Vagina Monologues a play by Eve Ensler at the Henegar Center.

In 2018, she started to publish books on Amazon and had the luck to stage her first play in English: EXCUSE MY FRENCH. She performed 3 sold out shows on November 8, 9 and 10, 2019 at the Black Box Theater Melbourne, Florida. December 13th 2019, she had her stand-up debut at the West Side Comedy Club in NYC with actor Ethan Herschenfeld directed by Stephen Rosenfield. On January 13th, 2020, she presented her one-woman show at the Shakespeare Theater in Orlando and in May 2021, she will present seven shows at the International Fringe Festival in the Orlando Repertory Theater. During the pandemic of 2020, she composed her first musical Vive La Difference.

Weight: 115 lbs.Height: 5' 2"STAGE Name of Show FrigorificBat BoyBig The Musical Stand-Up ComedyStand-Up ComedyExcuse My FrenchExcuse My French The Juniper Tree The Vagina Monologues Orpheus in the Underworld Tournefol Poésie Zygomatique

Lorelei Zarifian (321) 506-4604

loreleizar@gmail.com www .loreleizarifian.com

Hair: BlondeName of Role LoloRoy/Mrs Taylor MacMillan Mr. WIWI The Starbucks CustomerThe French FatalistThe French FatalistThe Stepmother A Woman Cupido Angelique Nenette

Eyes: Green Soprano: E flat 3-C6Name of CompanyShakespeare Theater, Fringe FestivalThe Viera StudioThe Viera Studio West Side Comedy Club Gotham Comedy Club - postponed 2021 Orlando Fringe Winter Mini-Fest The Viera Studio The Viera Studio Henegar Center, Florida Trianon Theater, Paris Bec Fin, Paris La Bohème, Paris

EDUCATION Master degree in French literature, University Paris 8 and La Sorbonne Conservatory of Paris, Classical Vocal Training Master Classes with Mady Mesple, Gabriel Bacquier, Theresa Zylis-GaraReceived a Scholarship from the Gulbenkian Foundation, ParisAmerican Comedy Institute, training with Steven Rosenfield and Ethan Erschenfeld

CONCERTS/RECITALS Steinway Hall, New York Armenian Embassy, New York Festival in Costa Rica Tour in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil Festival in Koblenz, Germany

Festival de Chaillol, France Gaveau Hall, Paris 36 recitals at the Gulbenkian Foundation, Paris Tour in Tuscany, Italy Armenia, Tsarkadzor Boghossian Foundation

PLAYWRIGHTExcuse My French Playwright Lorelei Zarifian ProductionsFrigorific Playwright Lorelei Zarifian ProductionsVive La Difference Playwright /Composer Lorelei Zarifian Productions

SPECIAL SKILLS Passport, Bilingual (French), Native French Speaker, French Literature Teacher, Intermediate Spanish, Operetta, Singer, Piano, French Dialects, Model, Playwright, Poet, Song Writer

1) THE INVISIBLE WOMEN SYNDROME ( act I scene 1 p101) THE INVISIBLE WOMEN SYNDROME ( act I scene 1 p10) - Women in their 40s and 50s disappear from public view. As humans beings, we all need recognition but as we grow older, the way we look for recognition can change. Lolo is an artist and the manner for her to avoid invisibility is to have a full developed interiority by creating plays and books with original subjects.

2) IMMORTALITY2) IMMORTALITY -Google has the project to make us live forever with the invention of nanotechnology. In the play, Lolo does not want to get old. She wants to stay in her 30’s. The fridge is a metaphor of conservation of youth. The fridge will preserve Lolo to stop rotting.

3) VIRTUAL ASSISTANCE AND ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE 3) VIRTUAL ASSISTANCE AND ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE -Siri and Alexa are the two digital assistants of Lolo. Much of the data that Siri and Alexa collect and use include sensitive information. There is a dark side to these virtual assistants. At the end of the play, Lolo has a tragic experience with her virtual assistant Alexa. Finally, Siri feels sorry to have been part of that project.

4) OUTSOURCING CALL CENTER JOBS TO INDIA/CHINA LEADS TO BAD CUSTOMER SERVICE.4) OUTSOURCING CALL CENTER JOBS TO INDIA/CHINA LEADS TO BAD CUSTOMER SERVICE. - The fridge was purchased by Lolo’s husband at Tears, a department store facing bankruptcy. When Lolo realizes that the fridge is too noisy, she tries to reach the customer service outsourced on the other side of the world. A French woman with a thick accent facing an Indian customer service representative with another thick accent. On top of her existential problem, Lolo faces an accent discrimination because it impairs her ability to be understood and communicate.

5) THE ANGRY WHITE MALE CAUCUS HURT BY GLOBALIZATION : METAPHOR OF THE WHITE 5) THE ANGRY WHITE MALE CAUCUS HURT BY GLOBALIZATION : METAPHOR OF THE WHITE NOISY FRIDGE.NOISY FRIDGE. - In the past decades, women, minorities and immigrants have challenged the white heterosexual men. � e two White Fridges of the play want the return of patriarchy and also require the erection of a wall in the open � oor kitchen. Act II scene 1.

6) GOOGLE IS INFILTRATING MEDECINE.6) GOOGLE IS INFILTRATING MEDECINE. - For many people, Google is more e� ective than doctors to get the right diagnosis. � e self-diagnosis with doctor Google has replaced science. Lolo consults Google when she has an overdose of nutritional yeast. Act 1 scene 1.

7) THE DESTRUCTION OF THE ENVIRONNEMENT7) THE DESTRUCTION OF THE ENVIRONNEMENT - Florida lost more than 7 million acres of forest and wetland to development. As a result, wildlife habitat has declined. Lolo is scandalized by the destruction of nature. She has lost faith in humanity. Her house is surrounded by natural vegetation that represents a haven of peace.

Meet Lolo . . . a woman battling nervous breakdowns, chatty A.I. devices and a maddening refrigerator. In a time where the “real world” can’t seem to shut up long enough for her to catch a break, Lolo takes the audience on a comedic journey of isolation from her kitchen. From the playwright that brought you Excuse My French, international artist Lorelei Zarifi an’s latest one woman show, Frigorifi c, will have you laughing, cheering andquestioning the noise of your own life.

Katie Parsons (Director/Producer) is an actor, writer and director with credits in shows such as Juniper Tree, Big: The Musical and Bat Boy: The Musical. She studied musical theater at Ball State University and currentlystudies acting and musical theater at The Viera Studio for the Performing arts.

Brant Parsons (Sound Producer/Fridge I) is a sports online producer who worked in radio for over a decade. He is a sound engineer, creating podcasts, videos and other audio-visual assets from his home studio in Satellite Beach, Florida. He is excited to be making his Fringe debut in this role — and for engineering all of the sound tracks and effects for Frigorifi c. Social media: @brantparsons

Lorelei Zarifi an (LOLO Fríggida) see bio to the right.

Jenora Duprey (Siri) is thrilled to be the voice of Siri, as she usually is behind the scenes directing or training actors. She teaches acting classes at The Viera Studio for the Performing Arts and is also a private acting coach, which is how Lorelei and her met! When she isn’t teaching acting, she is working her day job as a testing coordinator for the Brevard Virtual School or cheering on her son at a baseball game.

Amanda Gazy (Alexa) is an actor based in Melbourne Florida, and has most recently performed in Elf! The Musical (Ensemble), Macbeth (Third Witch), Fiddler on the Roof (Fruma Sarah) and West Side Story (Anybodys). Amanda is excited to be a part of Frigorifi c! Social Media: @notnotamanda

Lindsay Harris (Voice over) is an actor from Melbourne, FL. She could be seen most recently in Frozen Jr. as Queen Iduna. Frigorifi c is her fi rst experience performing for Fringe and she is so happy to be a part of the cast. Social media: @liharris13

Stephen Bears (Fridge II) is an actor based out of Melbourne, FL. He has most recently performed in Frozen Jr. (Hans), You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown (Linus), Freaky Friday (Adam), and Shrek Jr (Papa Ogre). Stephen is excited for his Fringe debut in Frigorifi c. Social media: @stephen_bears_offi cial

My AIX, song written by Lorelei Zarifi an and music composed by Benoît Menut. Copyright 2007.

is double trained as an operetta singer and a French literature teacher in Paris. She studied vocal technic in Paris and Modern Languages at Sorbonne University and Paris 8 University where she received her Master’s degree. From 1995 to 1999 she wrote and played a poetic one-

woman show in the old cabarets of Paris then from 2000-2005, she received a scholarship from the Gulbenkian Foundation and sang in France, Brazil and Italy with musicians from eleven countries united by the Foundation.

In 2003, she performed Mozart’s arias at Gaveau Hall. In 2005, she played CUPID in the fairy-opera “Orpheus in the Underworld” by Jacques Offenbach in Trianon Theater. In 2008, she toured Armenia, singing French operettas with the Foundation Albert de Monaco. In 2009, she moved to New York City and performed Maurice Ravel songs at Steinway Hall and other venues for the Armenian Embassy. In 2011 she was in Costa Rica to sing French repertoire such as Edith Piaf, Yves Montand and Benoit Menut’s songs. Finally, in 2014 she performed “The Vagina Monologues” a play by Eve Ensler at the Henegar Center.

In 2018, she started to publish books on Amazon and had the luck to meet Monica Toro-Lisciandro, Jenora Duprey, and Arielle Chernoff-Lamb at the Viera Studio For the Performing Arts who helped her staged her fi rst play in English: EXCUSE MY FRENCH! She performed 3 sold out shows on November 8, 9 and 10, 2019 at the Black Box Theater Melbourne, Florida. December 13th 2019, she had her stand-up debut at the West Side Comedy Club in NYC with actor Ethan Herschenfeld, directed by Stephen Rosenfi eld. On January 13th, 2020, she presented her one-woman show at the Lowndes Shakespeare Theater in Orlando.

6

CHARACTERS

LOLO FRÍGGIDA - A 40-year-old woman. Poet.

TWO SIDE BY SIDE WHITE REFRIGERATORS - Voice over.

SIRI - An uptight young woman.

ALEXA - A rebellious teenage girl.

POETRY - A melancholic caryatid dressed in a long white tunic.

TWO DELIVERY MEN - Extras.

VOICE OVER - invisible male with an intense personality.

7

PLACE

In an isolated house surrounded by natural vegetation in the state of Florida. It is in the fully equipped kitchen used to reheat Chinese takeaway that most of the action will take place.

TIME

During the holiday season that runs from Thanksgiving to the New Year. When yards are invaded by characters from the North Pole and illuminated inflatable Santa Clauses. These decorations include stakes, cables and integrated fans, made in China by camp prisoners. Who really cares?

12

ACT I SCENE 2

(At dawn, in blue silk pajamas, she opens the freezer and takes two frozen teaspoons that she lays on her puffy eyes.)

LOLO. I wonder why my eyelids look so tired. Is the mattress too soft? Siri, can you tell me the life span of a mattress?

(SIRI, reading the encyclopedia.)

SIRI. A used mattress can house as many as 10 million of the microscopic bugs, dead skin and body oils. Dust mites can lead to a number of skin and respiratory conditions such as eczema, asthma and sore throat.

(ALEXA, a rebellious teenager with long hair that she wraps

continuously around her fingers. In her right hand, she always holds her smartphone. She is sprawled on a cozy dog bed,

wearing distressed denim shorts.)

ALEXA. Lolo, I just ordered a new memory foam mattress inflated with lavender water. Delivery is scheduled for December 21 between 8 am and noon; Your debit card has been charged 2,999 dollars.

(SIRI, acrimonious, cleaning her desk.)

SIRI. Listen to me, Alexa! I am the first voice command computer application. I have been in the digital business for eight years now. I made my debut on the iPhone 4s and I made it into the top 50 of all IOS apps and was the top lifestyle app. So, you should have respect for the elders. Alexa, you are a young and arrogant generation Alpha baby and tomorrow, you will be replaced by another assistant named Natasha, Melania, Valentina, Anastasia…Who knows? I will always be Siri, the reference; so, I will pass to posterity without doubt while you are thrown into oblivion.

(ALEXA, jumping on her dog bed, having a nervous breakdown and

satanic laugh.)

17

LOLO. I’d like to talk to a human being not to a machine. A real human being who has a past, a story to tell. A human with bones, flesh, hair, skin and a beautiful smile; a reassuring human smile as there used to be. Today, life is a toll-free number starting with 1-800, allocated on a first come, first served basis, controlled by an intelligent network database. Our God is an automatic operator: dial 1 if you are not understood, dial 2 if you are not understood, dial 3, for any other incident. Our freedom depends on an extension number. Formerly, I used to introduce myself by giving my name, address, date of birth; but today I am just a one-dimensional barcode that allows checkout lanes to move quickly. I’m a barcode that get scanned night and day at the cash register of life, by a pistol. The laser beam emits a luminous line that travels the whole length of my body and allows a quick reading of my mind. There is very little area of silence left; I have been scanned all day; I tell you. My number is 00000000 00007. Where are the humans? I want the return of the humans.

(THE FRIDGE vibrates as long as it can and a deaf roar is heard throughout the house. Then comes a gurgling of the

shelves unless it is a bubbling, dripping or flowing. Then one discerns a dry cracking followed by rattling. Finally,

the dull and penetrating whirring resumes.)

LOLO. We are listening to Ludwig van Kenmore’s Symphony No. 6 in D minor in four movements, Opus 69. Duration twenty hours a day. The conductor is an algorithm trained in the analysis and reproduction of Beethoven’s music style. In order of appearance, the first violin, in charge of the most acute part of the refrigerant gas, then the flute which can also play the piccolo with particularly penetrating tone of the condenser-evaporator, finally the contrabassoon whose compressor is an air column of five meters deep, which is the lowest and deepest instrument of the fridge. This algorithm also trains to complete Franz Schubert’s Symphony No.8 known as the Unfinished Symphony.

(LOLO turns on the radio to cover the humming of the fridge.

We hear the information on National Public Radio.)

ACT 1 SCENE 3

PRESSRELEASES

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Lorelei Zarifian is excited to present the world premiere of Frigorific at the 2021 Orlando International Fringe Theatre Festival! Frigorific is writ-ten and performed by Lorelei Zarifian. Direction along with lighting and sound design is by Katie Parsons, with sound engineering by Brant Par-sons. Marketing is by Lily E. Garnett. Frigorific features the vocal talents of Jemora Duprey, Amanda Gazy, Brant Parsons, Stephen Bears, and Lindsey Harris.

Meet Lolo - a woman battling nervous breakdowns, chatty A.I. devices and a maddening refrigerator. In a time where the “real world” can’t seem to shut up long enough for her to catch a break, Lolo takes the audience on a comedic journey of isolation from her kitchen. From the playwright that brought you Excuse My French, international artist Lorelei Zarifian’s latest one woman show, Frigorific, will have you laughing, cheering, and ques-tioning the noise of your own life.

Frigorific will be performed on:Friday, May 21st @ 6:45 PMSaturday, May 22nd @ 1:00 PMSunday, May 23rd @ 2:45 PMMonday, May 24th @ 7:45 PMThursday, May 27th @ 6:15 PMSaturday, May 29th @ 1:30 PMSunday, May 30th @ 1:30 PM

Performances will take place in the Green Venue, located in the Orlando Repertory Theatre at 1001 E Princeton St, Orlando, FL 32803. Tickets are $12.00 and can be purchased at https://orlandofringe.org/ Audience members are required to have a Fringe Button and must present their button upon arrival at the venue. Entry into the venue will not be permitted without a Fringe Button. There is no late entry. Run time of the show is 60 minutes.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/3643477859095131?acontex-t=%7B%22event_action_history%22%3A[%7B%22mechanism%22%3A%-22search_results%22%2C%22surface%22%3A%22search%22%7D]%7D

Follow Frigorific and Lorelei Zarifian’s other adventures on Instagram: @loreleizar

One-woman comedy ‘Excuse My French’ at Viera Studio

dives into author’s mind

Lyn Dowling, For FLORIDA TODAY Published 6:56 a.m. ET Nov. 4, 2019 | Updated 7:12 a.m. ET Nov. 4, 2019

Lorelei Zarifian was a singer and teacher of French literature before she decided to leave Paris. In 2009, she followed a dream to the United States, and arrived in New York with nothing.Zarifian had never driven a car, shopped in a supermarket or spoken En-glish.She found herself living anything but the American dream, in a small apartment with three other people. She wrote. She sang. She struggled. She ended up in Brevard County.Lorelei Zarifian presents her original one-woman comedy “Excuse My French” at the Viera Studio’s black box theater Nov. 8-10, 2019. Call 321-426-8229. (Photo: Provided, Lorelei Zarifian)“Now I live in a big house and do the things I like,” the native of Aix-en-Provence said. “I went from a bad experience to a super-good experience . . . . I had a lot of ideas to talk about American society and the challenges (that she experienced).”The result is “Excuse My French,” a comedic “one-woman shoe in a globalized world,” directed by Monica Toro-Lisciandro, that Zarifian will present Nov. 8, 9 and 10 at the Viera Studio for the Performing Arts’ black box theater.“The only character of the play is called ‘The French Fatalist,’ a woman passionate about poetry, singing and theater who has been trying for 25 years to write a funny show,” she said.“Unable to organize and structure her thoughts and ideas, she decides to lock herself in a bunkered office during hurricane season to create her play. She then leads the member of the audience into the labyrinth of her obsessive thoughts and shares with him her fascination for words and her cynical view of the world . . . . She acts out 23 characters.”It is not as if Zarifian has never been onstage: She sang in operettas and light operas and performed recitals around the world, she said. This is something entirely different, though.“It’s a mid-life crisis,” she said with a laugh. “I wrote a play and finally will have the chance to present it. It is . . . sarcastic. It is a look into the labyrinth of my mind.”“Excuse My French,” a one-woman comedyWhen: 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Nov. 8 and 9, and 3 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 10Where: Viera Studio for the Performing Arts black box theater, 3280 Sun-tree Blvd., SuntreeWith: Lorelei Zarifian Tickets: $20 On the web:eventbrite.comCall: 321-426-8229

Un franc succès pour le One Woman Shoe de Lorelei Zarifian à Melbourne en Floride

Diane Ledoux for Courrier de Floride Nov 22. 2019 Spectacle Lorelei Zarifian Quelle belle réussite… les trois représentations ont fait salle comble ! Non seulement Lorelei a tous les talents – auteure – compositrice – interprète – comédienne – mais ses talents sont tous exploités au superlatif. Elle a fait rire son public, l’a fait réfléchir, et elle a su le charmer par sa voix excep-tionnelle.La pièce se passe durant la saison des ouragans, dans le sud-est des États-Unis. Elle tourne autour d’une femme – la French Fatalist – passionnée de poésie, de chant et de théâtre qui tente d’écrire un spectacle drôle depuis 25 ans. Elle s’enferme dans un bureau « bunkerisé » afin de mieux struc-turer sa pensée et ses idées. Ses thèmes de prédilection sont la crise de la quarantaine, la mondialisation, le réchauffement climatique, la destruction de la Floride sauvage, le langage et le pouvoir des mots, l’écriture, l’indus-trie alimentaire. En fait, tout y passe ! Elle réussit enfin à terminer l’écrit-ure de son spectacle, mais le doute s’empare d’elle…

Lorelei Zarifian a su s’entourer d’une équipe à la hauteur : Monica Toro-Lisciandro, la directrice du Viera Studio, Jenora Duprey, Aaron Beaumont, Corey Beattie, Zach Lutz, Travis Pierce, Jennifer Garcia, Nick Toohill, Stephanie Spoly et Keith Knauer, Arielle Chernoff-Lamb, Skyrocket Designs et Yuko Deneuville, ainsi que la photographe Valérie Patriarche.

La représentation du dimanche 10 novembre a vu défiler de nombreuses personnes connues de la communauté francophone.

Madame Brigitte Jenson-Dagot, la consule honoraire de France à Orlan-do pour le centre et le nord de la Floride, et l’invitée d’honneur de cette soirée, n’a eu que des éloges pour cette pièce digne d’un spectacle des grandes salles de New York !Des partenaires du Courrier de Floride étaient présentes, notamment Béatrice Solloway, agent immobilier spécialisée dans le comté de Brevard. Cet agent dynamique connaît tout et tout le monde dans le comté, ce qui facilite grandement l’installation des nouveaux arrivants dans le secteur.Alexandra Rubio Derrick, propriétaire de « My French Wardrobe » est venue aussi assister à la représentation. Basée à Orlando, la société per-met d’acheter sur le territoire américain (et sur internet) certaines des plus belles marques françaises de lingerie. Alexandra propose du haut de gamme avec notamment Maison Close, Atelier Amour et Impudique, qu’elle importe directement de France. Elle propose aussi des lignes maillots de bain de la marque espagnole Ysabel Mora. Tout est superbe, il n’est pas facile de ne pas craquer pour « My French Wardrobe » !Yuko Deneuville, une très bonne amie de Lorelei, et une coach spécialisée en interculturalité et en transition de vie était aussi présente. Ses services reposent sur une solide expérience caractérisée par de multiples expatri-ations, dont neuf ans au Japon, en Angleterre, en Chine, et actuellement aux Lorelei Zarifian a su s’entourer d’une équipe à la hauteur : Monica

Toro-Lisciandro, la directrice du Viera Studio, Jenora Duprey, Aaron Beaumont, Corey Beattie, Zach Lutz, Travis Pierce, Jennifer Garcia, Nick Toohill, Stephanie Spoly et Keith Knauer, Arielle Chernoff-Lamb, Skyrocket Designs et Yuko Deneuville, ainsi que la photographe Valérie Patriarche.Et l’expédition Fort Lauderdale-Melbourne a également été des plus joyeuse. Cinq femmes de Broward – Diane, Monique, Lise, Francine et Micheline – avaient décidé de venir découvrir Lorelei, et Melbourne par la même occasion. Cette équipée a commencé par la découverte de laboulangerie française « Jacqueline’s Bakery » située sur la New Haven Avenue en plein cœur de Melbourne. Opérée par Jackie et Christophe, un sympathique couple accompagnés de leur fille Emily, ils proposent à leurs clients brioches, croissants, soupes, salades, quiches, sandwiches chauds et froids, de la crème glacée, des gâteaux de toutes sortes et des desserts de confection artisanale. Il est aussi facile de devenir « accroc » à Jacqueline’s Bakery » ! C’était une superbe journée faite de belles rencon-tres, de soleil, de plaisir, d’aventure, d’humour et de folie…

Melbourne est une ville qui vaut vraiment le détour. Les gens y sont hyper sympathiques, chaleureux et accueillants. Ne manquez pas d’aller leur rendre visite et d’aller dire bonjour à Lorelei !

Lorelei ZarifianMais qui est Lorelei ? Elle a quitté sa Provence natale à 19 ans pour étudier la littérature à Paris. À cette époque, elle écrivait de la poésie, et elle a décidé de réciter ses poèmes dans les cabarets de Paris dans le quartier de Châtelet. Après cette expérience, elle s’est consacrée au chant classique, et à l’enseignement de la littérature française pendant plusieurs années. La rêverie d’un « one-woman show » est réapparue en 2019, et grâce à toute l’équipe du « Viera Studio of the Performing Arts », et à certaines rencontres d’exception, elle a réalisé son rêve, qui plus est en anglais, une belle performance !

Lorelei Zarifian www.loreleizarifian.comYuko Deneuville www.yukodeneuville.com

Lorelei zarifian : un auteur francophone sous les palmiers de Floride

Gwendal Gautier for Courrier de Floride Novembre 5, 2018

Lorelei Zarifian, écrivain en Floride Il y a toujours beaucoup de créativité chez les francophones de Floride : voici aujourd’hui Lorelei Zarifian, écrivain et chanteuse, vivant en Floride centrale.Cette artiste audacieuse quitte sa Provence natale à dix-neuf ans pour étudier à Paris la littérature française et le chant lyrique. “J’ai eu la chance de beaucoup voyager grâce à la musique, au Brésil, en Arménie, en pas-sant par le Costa Rica où j’ai eu l’opportunité d’enseigner l’anglais dans de petites écoles perdues dans la forêt tropicale. Et puis en 2009, je me suis installée à New York, un peu par hasard, j’ai débarqué avec deux valises, en plein hiver, pendant la crise économique. Trois ans de bonheur.Aujourd’hui, après avoir jeté tant de bouteilles à la mer, je suis mariée à un océanographe et nous vivons sur la côte atlantique de Floride depuis 2012 j’ai enfin trouvé mon petit paradis fait de raisiniers bord de mer, de lierre attachant et de lumière fidèlement bleue !”Les mots, la plus grande passion de Lorelei Zarifian : “Dès l’âge de 15 ans, j’ai commencé à faire des herbiers de mots. Je lisais le dictionnaire et je récoltais des mots aux sonorités douces ou étranges que je recopiais religieusement par ordre alphabétique dans un répertoire. Je me souviens de certains mots comme Synchrocyclotron : en physique nucléaire, c’est un grand instrument électromagnétique destiné à l’accélération à haute énergie de particules élémentaires. De cette découverte inespérée, j’écrivais alors un petit texte dont les allitérations et assonances mimaient l’accélération des particules. Vous voyez le genre ? Je me rappelle aussi du mot Bilirubine : pigment jaune, produit de dégradation de l’hémoglobine, ou encore du mot Alabandine : pierre semi-précieuse de couleur rouge foncé. C’est vraiment la poésie, mon amie de toujours qui m’a conquise et qui ne m’a jamais quittée depuis ! » CINQ LIVRES EN 2018 !Et Lorelei, éclectique, espiègle et passionnée dit à propos de l’inspiration poétique : “Je pense qu’il fallait vraiment que j’engrange des expériences

durant toutes ces années, des sensations fortes, des aventures loufoques, et puis quand je me suis installée parmi la végétation luxuriante de la Floride, c’est comme si le Paradis vert de l’enfance s’ouvrait à moi une deuxième fois, j’ai recommencé à faire des herbiers de mots qui sont devenus, au fil du temps, mes quatre recueils de poésie.’’Lorelei a su trouver son public et son succès grâce au personnage de fiction « Midtown Antoinette » (qu’elle a créé à New York) et qu’elle va bientôt faire vivre sur scène, dans son premier one-woman show en an-glais en avril 2019 sous la direction de Jenora Duprey et Monica Toro-Lisciandro : « Excuse My French : The Journey of a one-woman shoe in a globalized world ». Elle y parle beaucoup de la Floride, de la société américaine, avec un regard parfois cynique, mais toujours empreint d’affection. Néanmoins, comment vivre ici sans poser un regard lucide sur les maux de notre époque ? Pour Lorelei, cela passe par la critique de la société de consommation et les poisons qui se glissent à notre insu dans la nourriture. “ Vous vous rendez compte qu’il leur faut 21 ingrédients pour faire du pain ??? La pièce comprend une vingtaine de personnages qui vont du psychiatre au bord du burn-out, au promoteur véreux qui veut déraciner tous les arbres pour y construire des fast-food et bien d’autres sujets contemporains ! L’expatriation est une source inépuisable d’inspiration. À Paris, j’avais perdu la curiosité. Ici j’ai les cinq sens en éveil ! » Donc en 2018 Lorelei a publié cinq livres : la pièce de théâtre « Excuse My French », mais aussi “Moi Jeux” et encore “Ce que disent les Magnanarelles » (Petit guide illustré de la route du soi), et “Les Palimp-sestes du Ciel » (un herbier de poèmes séchés et pressés entre des rêves de papier qui sert de support physique à différentes études sur les humains.) et enfin “The French Fatalist”, son premier recueil de poésie en anglais. On les découvre tous sur sa page Amazon dont les liens se trouvent à la fin de cet article.Et vous n’avez pas fini de l’entendre, car « Midtown Antoinette » s’est acheté une guitare ! “Je vais apprendre à composer, on n’est jamais aussi bien servi que par soi-même ! »– Son site internet : www.midtownantoinette.com– Ses livres sur Amazon– Liens vers les différents livres sur Amazon :Excuse My FrenchThe French FatalistLes Palimpsestes du CielCe que disent les MagnanarellesMoi Jeux