The Strasbourg improvisational theatre association Lolita has become invisible on Facebook and Instagram. An invisibility that forces the association to look for new communication channels.
Steeven Pellan
Published on August 1, 2024
Printed on August 1, 2024 at 11:25 a.m. ·
4 minutes
“Child sexual abuse is illegal. We believe that your search may be associated with child sexual abuse.” This is the slightly accusatory message that is displayed to those who search for “Lolita”, “Lolita Strasbourg” or “Lolita association” on the social networks of the American group Meta, namely Facebook and Instagram. Everything is blocked, due to the sexual connotation attached to the word. « lolita » by Meta. And it became a problem for the Open and free league of amateur theatrical improvisation of Strasbourgknown by its acronym “Lolita”.
A Lolita born in 1993
The story of this Strasbourg troupe launched in 1993 is unusual. “At the very beginning, we were a group of about ten passionate friends who wanted to get into improvisation. We didn’t come from a theatre background but the craze came very quickly.”remembers Marko Mayerl, co-creator of Lolita, who became a professional actor and is now director of Inédit Théâtre.
Lolita was originally called Lisa, for Ligue d’improvisation Strasbourg Alsace. But the collective ran into a problem. “The name is already taken. We had a complicated relationship with the professional leagues that did not make things easy for us, so we decided to change the name,” he continues. This is how the Open and Free League of Improvised Theatrical Culture of Alsace was born (later becoming the Open and Free League of Amateur Improvised Theatrical Culture).
“We could have been called Lucienne, but we liked Lolita. We wanted a feminine name that would indicate that we were open and free, hence the letters L and O.”
Marko Mayerl
Lolita is the first improvisation troupe in Strasbourg, one of the first in France. It trains around 150 people in improvisation each year. Many professional troupes in Strasbourg now welcome former members of its ranks: Inédit Théâtre, Impro Alsace, etc.
No feedback from Facebook
But for about a year now, the pages Facebook (4,000 subscribers) and Instagram (1,000 subscribers) of Lolita Strasbourg are still active but for the user, there is no way to access the show dates. He is faced with a warning message about pedocriminal content.
“Lolita” (1955) is the title of the novel by Russian writer Vladimir Nabokov. in which a sexual predator abuses a child. At the time, society saw Lolita as a seductive and perverse young girl.. This name later became common and defined lolita as a young girl who arouses the desire of adults because of her youth, according to Robert.
“The term has nothing to do with the activity of our associationdefends Christophe Kahlfuss, president of Lolita. We only do theatrical performances.” The teams have tried several times to get answers from Meta regarding this blockage. “To date, we have not received any feedback from the Facebook Help Center,” confirms the association.
The Strasbourg association Lolita, founded in 1993, is one of the first French improvisation troupes. Photo: Céline Bescont
Drop in attendance
Still stunned by this censorship against which she cannot fight, Lolita believes she has been suffering the consequences for several months. “We realized that we had suffered a drop in attendance at our shows”testifies the president Christophe Kahlfuss, a little bitter. The president of Lolita Strasbourg mentions a 60% occupancy rate for the halls for the year 2023-2024 against 80 to 90% the previous year. Usually, the performance halls welcome 4,000 people per year, or 170 spectators on average per evening at the center of the Fossé-des-Treize, according to the association’s figures.
“We know that our financial results for 2024 will be at a loss. Every year we aim for a balance between our income and our expenses.” Lolita must take into account the cost of renting performance halls, paying external professional coaches, travel expenses and renewing equipment.
Through social media, the amateur troupe hopes to reach a new audience. Something it can no longer do without Facebook and Instagram. “I feel like social media is what works best to get yourself known today. But we can’t do it anymore.”.
No name change
If the Open and Free League of Amateur Improvisational Theater survives, it is thanks to the proceeds from the shows. Without any income, there is no more troupe. But in the face of the Silicon Valley multinational, the power of the Lolita association is nil. Christophe Kahlfuss nevertheless refuses to back down:
“We wondered if we should change our name, but we don’t want to do it. We don’t want to erase all our history because of the stupidity of an algorithm.”
Lolita’s teams are therefore trying to explore new communication channels, perhaps more traditional advertising but also more direct and which would not be subject to the filters decided in Menlo Park, California. Contacted, Facebook’s communications in France chose not to comment on this situation.
