Dolly West

Born in Memphis, Tennessee, Dolly West began her career as an actress in Washington, D.C. with The American Light Opera Company in 1967. In New York, she studied acting and directing for the theatre, earning an M.F.A. from Brooklyn College of the City University of New York in 1973, where her thesis production of Samuel Beckett's "Waiting for Godot" was very favorably reviewed in "Show Business" (Deborah Wasserman). Moving to Paris, she worked with Gordon Heath and Lee Payant in the theatre and also in cabaret, performing as a guest soloist at the famed L'Abbaye in St. Germain des Prés. A selection of her songs, compositions and interpretations, accompanying herself on the guitar, was transferred to CD in 2001 in Paris by Alan Crosthwaite. On stage she debuted opposite Mike Marshall in Jack Fitzgerald's "Cold Duck" at the Théâtre du Tertre, and a number of other productions followed, as well as radio, voiceover, dubbing work and some film extra work. In 1992, she earned a Certificate in Filmmaking from New York University School of Continuing Education, studying with the late Thierry Pathé and Benjamin Hayeem. She subsequently authored the short film script, "Peinture à l'eau," which was cited by the Maison du Film Court, and later by the ECU International Film Festival, both in Paris. Her début as a filmmaker came with "Palette" (2013) at the Festival du Film National de Hyères. Settled in the South of France in 2008, she obtained dual nationality (U.S./France) and began writing for the theatre as well: Four plays have been read in public in Paris, excerpts have been performed on two occasions in the South of France, and "Molly, A Dialogue with..." has been translated into French by the literary translator, Michel Lederer (2018). In 2020-21, she was featured in Madison Bycroft's art film, "BIOPIC Charles Geneviève Louis Auguste André Timothée," (role of Louis) shot at the Château de la Foltière in Brittany.