Paul Novak, Mariam Moustafa, and Amelia Ahn were part of a team of Fordham College at Lincoln Center students who competed with students from Columbia and New York Universities to tackle influential French poet Arthur Rimbaud’s famous assertion that, Je est un autre (“I [am]somebody else”).

Held at the French Embassy in Manhattan, the annual competition of eloquence challenged students to answer in French the complex question—“Do we experience ourselves as if it belongs to another person?”

“In the working world, public speaking is a vital skill to have, and students learned some valuable lessons about confidence and engagement,” said Hélène Godec, an artist-in-residence of Fordham’s Department of Modern Languages and Literatures, who helped the students prepare for the competition.

Ahn, in her presentation “The masks that we wear,” argued that when we use social media we’re not actually portraying our true selves. Rather, we are presenting an “other” self.

Ahn said she enjoyed presenting her ideas because it helped to her to become more comfortable speaking in public.

“It was a good learning experience,” she said.

Novak used Jean-Paul Sartre’s description of anti-Semitism and Jewishness to explore the philosophical concept of “alterity,” or otherness, in his presentation.

“The largest point of my piece was about how fear of the unknown and ignorance toward others is what creates ‘the other,’” he said.

He said the competition allowed him to further immerse himself in the French language.

“Hearing native and non-native speakers present their ideas is a great chance to practice listening, conversation, and overall interlingual communication,” he said.

Produced by L’Atelier Theatre Productions, Les Bonnes (The Maids), which runs through March 19, is based on a provocative 1947 play by French dramatist Jean Genet. It follows two sisters working as chambermaids, Solange (Hélène Godec) and Claire (Laura Lassy Townsend), as they plot an uprising against their master madame (Cloé Xhauflaire).

The experimental production, directed by Oliver Henzler, is performed in French with English subtitles created by Fordham College at Lincoln Center students Lucy O’Brien and Mariam Moustafa; and Fordham College at Rose Hill student Ellen Thome.

The students joined the Les Bonnes production team as part of an independent internship with Godec, who teaches courses in French theater and business culture. An accomplished French actress and oral communications expert, Godec runs a weekly atelier in French for Fordham students. Her credits include Dialogues en soliloque, Les nuits de la colère, and Au dessus des chiffons.

Working with Godec on the poetic Les Bonnes, provided a real-world experience in theater and English/French translation, the students said.

“The most challenging part happens as we run the subtitles when the actors change lines or skip a scene,” said Moustafa. “We start running through the PowerPoint [and]it is literally a mini panic attack trying to match the English subtitles with the actress’ lines in the play. But after the show, we laugh at these moments and we make sure to do our best the following show.”

O’Brien said the fast-paced nature of the play also has its perks.

“My translation skills have gotten infinitely better because I had to think on the spot,” she said.

Through the play’s physical movements and the students’ English subtitles, English-speaking theatergoers are able to immerse themselves in the play’s riveting storyline, the actress said.

“You can watch the performance without understanding every spoken word,” said Godec.

“We don’t approach our roles on a psychologically realistic level. I enjoyed exploring my character in a very visceral way.”