Etienne Debel (; 21 November 1931 – 19 May 1993) was a

Flemish Flemish may refer to: * Flemish, adjective for Flanders, Belgium * Flemish region, one of the three regions of Belgium *Flemish Community, one of the three constitutionally defined language communities of Belgium * Flemish dialects, a Dutch dialec ...

-born

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a Stage (theatre), stage. The performe ...

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

and

movie A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

and

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

set designer Scenic design, also known as stage design or set design, is the creation of scenery for theatrical productions including plays and musicals. The term can also be applied to film and television productions, where it may be referred to as prod ...

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes play (theatre), plays, which are a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between Character (arts), characters and is intended for Theatre, theatrical performance rather than just Readin ...

translator Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''trans ...

and a co-founder and co-owner of the

Debel Gallery The Debel Gallery was a private art gallery established by Etienne and Ruth Debel in 1973 in the Ein Kerem neighborhood of Jerusalem. It operated until 1990, exhibiting both established and avant-garde artists. Among the notable figures it presented ...

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

alongside his wife Ruth Debel.

Life

Youth and early days

Etienne Debel was born in

Izegem Izegem (; ) is a city and municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Izegem proper and the towns of Emelgem and Kachtem. Emelgem was added to Izegem in 1965, Kachtem in 1977. Izegem itse ...

, a small city in the

part of

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

. Etienne went to a

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

school A school is the educational institution (and, in the case of in-person learning, the Educational architecture, building) designed to provide learning environments for the teaching of students, usually under the direction of teachers. Most co ...

and was destined by his parents to be a

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

. at the age of 16 with the support of a priest-teacher who understood him and persuaded his parents, Etienne moved to a

drama school A drama school, stage school, or theatre school is an undergraduate and/or graduate school or Academic department, department at a college or university, or a free-standing institution (such as the drama section at the Juilliard School) that ...

Ghent Ghent ( ; ; historically known as ''Gaunt'' in English) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the Provinces of Belgium, province ...

and graduated

summa cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sout ...

from a drama academy in

Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...

. For a while after his

graduation A graduation is the awarding of a diploma by an educational institution. It may also refer to the ceremony that is associated with it, which can also be called Commencement speech, commencement, Congregation (university), congregation, Convocat ...

Etienne played lead roles in a local theatre. At the age of 23 Etienne Debel founded his own theatre, Het Vlaamse Schouwtoneel (The Flemish Theatre) in the

city of Brussels The City of Brussels is the largest List of municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, municipality and historical City centre, centre of the Brussels, Brussels-Capital Region, as well as the capital of the French Community of Belgium, the ...

. Etienne funded the theatre with his own money. Etienne was influenced by the works of

Jean Vilar Jean Vilar (25 March 1912– 28 May 1971) was a French actor and theatre director. Career Vilar trained under actor and theatre director Charles Dullin, then toured with an acting company throughout France. His directorial career began in 194 ...

who founded The

Théâtre National Populaire The (; "People's National Theater") is a theatre now at Villeurbanne, France. It was founded in 1920 by Firmin Gémier in Paris. Today, the TNP has a company of ten resident actors and the building is currently being completely renovated. His ...

(People's National Theatre) in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and like Vilar, Etienne wanted to take theatre out of the big city. Etienne traveled with his actors throughout Flanders in a

pickup truck A pickup truck or pickup is a Truck_classification#Table_of_US_GVWR_classifications, light or medium duty truck that has an enclosed cabin (truck), cabin, and a back end made up of a cargo bed that is enclosed by three low walls with no roof (th ...

. Before every play Etienne published a

brochure A brochure is an promotional document primarily used to introduce a company, organization, products, or services and inform prospective customers or members of the public of the benefits. Although, initially, a paper document that can be folded ...

under the name Dialoog (Dialog). After the plays there were discussions with the public. Etienne's

repertoire Repertory or repertoire () is the list or set of works a person or company is accustomed to performing. Whether the English or French spelling is used has no bearing, but it was the French word, with an accent on the first e, , that first took ho ...

included classic plays from

Ancient Greece Ancient Greece () was a northeastern Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of classical antiquity (), that comprised a loose collection of culturally and linguistically r ...

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

and Kleist as well as contemporary plays written by Belgian and non-Belgian authors. In 1962 Debel was forced to shut down his theatre for economic reasons and started working as a director for Flemish TV.

References

* This article is a translation from

Hebrew Wikipedia Hebrew Wikipedia (, ) is the Hebrew language edition of Wikipedia. This edition was started on 8 July 2003 and contains articles as of . History Timeline *8 July 2003: The Hebrew edition of Wikipedia was launched. * 25 October 2003: The 1,0 ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Debel, Etienne 1931 births 1993 deaths 20th-century Flemish male actors Belgian television directors Flemish translators Israeli people of Belgian descent Scenic designers 20th-century translators Burials at Har HaMenuchot

Life

Youth and early days

See also

References