In addition, while I lived in Brussels, I did some volunteer work with the English-speaking theatrical groups (American Theater Company, English Comedy Club, an

In addition, while I lived in Brussels, I did some volunteer work with the English-speaking theatrical groups (American Theater Company, English Comedy Club, and Irish Theatre Group), who had all gotten together and purchased an old beer factory for set production and rehearsal space, as well as a small stage location across the courtyard. For one particular production, the volunteer lighting designer was also a professional lighting designer for Francophone theater, and was with the touring version of the French Language "Lion King" production. He explained to me that he was volunteering with our group because he wanted an opportunity to practice his English. I got drafted in to be his assistant [0], and we talked a bit about what the world is like for professional theater company members in the French-language world. One striking thing he told me was that there was a rule that regardless of how different places in the world might speak French on the street or elsewhere in their lives, when it came to how French was spoken on the stage, they insisted that it must be the official Parisian style as regulated by Le Académie française. So, here was a Belgian, who spoke French in the Bruxellois style, but he was also able to speak it in the Parisian style, and he knew and understood the difference and why there was a difference. And he could explain it to me, a "dumb American in Brussels". [0] Turned out that he was due to travel to Canada shortly for the opening of the "Lion King" there, and wouldn't be in town for the actual production. So, I got to learn how to operate a simple analog lighting board.