La Troupe des Anciens is a non-profit theatre group within the University of Toronto that performs plays by Molière and other playwrights in French. The troupe was founded in 1969, when Madame Paulette Collet - a professor at St. Michael’s College – asked the college’s French department for permission to put on a play with her students. This initiated a yearly tradition of French theatrical productions lead by Collet and performed by St. Michael’s College students and alumni. Since then, the cast and crew has expanded to include the rest of the University of Toronto community, as well as other interested individuals.
The theatre group had initially gone by several different names in the past, as it was in 1996 when they officially started being recognized as La Troupe des Anciens. This name is derived from the troupe’s faithfully returning crew of alumni, who remain as the backbone of the group.
**Website**: http://latroupedesanciens.org/tda_wp/
Published
Fonds consists of records created by La Troupe des Anciens, a theatre group founded within the University of Toronto. Records in this fonds illustrate the troupe’s various theatrical operations since its founding, including photographs, posters, sample tickets, books, newspaper articles, audio recordings, video recordings, and performance programmes.
Fonds was arranged into 6 series based on the various material formats of the records.
1. Photographs
2. Posters
3. Media
4. Programmes
5. Recordings
6. Books
Records were donated to the archive by Paulette Collet.
- First accrual of records occurred in 2019 (accession 2019 36)
- Second accrual of records occurred in 2023 (accession 2023 31)
Unrestricted.
Finding aid available.
Files contain writing in French.
Published
Series largely consists of photographs documenting La Troupe des Anciens' various performances throughout 1971 to 2011, but also includes photographs of cast members, production members, and several after-parties.
Series maintains original order of material as received by Paulette Collet.
Several years are missing posters.
Files contain writing in French.
Published
Series consists of promotional posters for performances put on by La Troupe des Anciens over the years, as well as one poster celebrating the troupe's 50th anniversary.
Series maintains original order of material as received by Paulette Collet.
Files contain writing in French.
Published
Series consists of publications about La Troupe des Anciens and Professor Paulette Collet. Publications include articles, reviews, and promotional material for the troupe's various theatrical productions, all of which are largely found in full-length issues of newspapers and newsletters.
Series maintains original order of material as received by Paulette Collet.
Files contain writing in French.
Published
Series consists of collected programmes from performances of La Troupe des Anciens from 1975 to 2019. Series also includes ticket examples from several shows, as well as records relating to the group's 50th anniversary event.
Series maintains original order of material as received by Paulette Collet.
Files largely contain audio in French.
Many of the recordings are unlabeled.
Published
Series consists of various video and audio recordings of La Troupe des Anciens' performances over the years, including recordings of "Tartuffe", "L’Avare", "Le bourgeois gentilhomme", "Les precieuses ridicules", "Le malade imaginaire", "Le medecin malgre lui", and more.
Series additionally includes several videos of commercial productions of Molière's plays.
Series maintains original order of material as received by Paulette Collet.
Published
Series consists of 2 published books about La Troupe des Anciens and Paulette Collet.
Published
File consists of one book, titled "La Troupe des Anciens de l'Universite de Toronto: 50 ans de theatre francais a Toronto" by Paulette Collet (2019).
University of Toronto Libraries Catalogue: https://librarysearch.library.utoronto.ca/permalink/01UTORONTO_INST/14bjeso/alma991106413869506196
Book written entirely in French.
Published
File consists of one book, titled "Quarante ans de Theatre Francais a Toronto" by Paulette Collet (AnthropoMare, 2006).