Thousands of actors have been touched by him without realising it. His approach was based on clowning, the use of masks and improvisation. Once Lecoq's students became comfortable with the neutral masks, he would move on to working with them with larval masks, expressive masks, the commedia masks, half masks, gradually working towards the smallest mask in his repertoire: the clown's red nose. Lecoq never thought of the body as in any way separate from the context in which it existed. Philippe Gaulier writes: Jacques Lecoq was doing his conference show, 'Toute Bouge' (Everything Moves). You can train your actors by slowly moving through these states so that they become comfortable with them, then begin to explore them in scenes. His training involved an emphasis on masks, starting with the neutral mask. Lecoq's theory of mime departed from the tradition of wholly silent, speechless mime, of which the chief exponent and guru was the great Etienne Decroux (who schooled Jean Louis-Barrault in the film Les Enfants Du Paradis and taught the famous white-face mime artist Marcel Marceau). With play, comes a level of surprise and unpredictability, which is a key source in keeping audience engagement. In order to convey a genuine naturalness in any role, he believed assurance in voice and physicality could be achieved through simplification of intention and objective. Jacques Lecoq always seemed to me an impossible man to approach. No ego to show, just simply playful curiosity. I met him only once outside the school, when he came to the Edinburgh Festival to see a show I was in with Talking Pictures, and he was a friend pleased to see and support the work. Who is it? Jacques Lecoq, mime artist and teacher, born December 15, 1921; died January 19, 1999, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning. In devising work, nothing was allowed to be too complex, as the more complex the situation the less able we are to play, and communicate with clarity. Don't try to breathe in the same way you would for a yoga exercise, say. If everyone onstage is moving, but one person is still, the still person would most likely take focus. As part of this approach, Lecoq often incorporated animal exercises into his acting classes, which involved mimicking the movements and behaviors of various animals in order to develop a greater range of physical expression. To actors he showed how the great movements of nature correspond to the most intimate movements of human emotion. As Trestle Theatre Company say. Next, by speaking we are doing something that a mask cannot do. Who is it? I cry gleefully. I use the present tense as here is surely an example of someone who will go on living in the lives, work and hearts of those whose paths crossed with his. In order to avoid a flat and mono-paced performance, one must address rhythm and tempo. I remember attending a symposium on bodily expressiveness in 1969 at the Odin Theatre in Denmark, where Lecoq confronted Decroux, then already in his eighties, and the great commedia-actor and playwright (and later Nobel laureate) Dario Fo. His rigourous analysis of movement in humans and their environments formed the foundation for a refined and nuanced repertoire of acting exercises rooted in physical action. But acting is not natural, and actors always have to give up some of the habits they have accumulated. Fay Lecoq assures me that the school her husband founded and led will continue with a team of Lecoq-trained teachers. The ski swing requires you to stand with your feet hip-width apart, your knees slightly bent and your upper body bent slightly forwards from the hips, keeping your spine erect throughout. He received teaching degrees in swimming and athletics. I feel privileged to have been taught by this gentlemanly man, who loved life and had so much to give that he left each of us with something special forever. Workshop leaders around Europe teach the 'Lecoq Technique'. Alternatively, if one person is moving and everyone else was still, the person moving would most likely take focus. One of the great techniques for actors, Jacques Lecoqs method focuses on physicality and movement. If two twigs fall into the water they echo each other's movements., Fay asked if that was in his book (Le Corps Poetique). I am only there to place obstacles in your path, so you can find your own way round them.' We thought the school was great and it taught us loads. On the other hand, by donning a mask, the features of which were contorted in pain, downcast in grief, or exultant in joy, the actor had to adjust his body-language to that facial mood. The usage of the word Bouffon comes from the French language and was first used in a theatrical context by Jacques Lecoq in the early 1960s at his school (L'Ecole Internationale de Thtre Jacques Lecoq) in Paris. He was known for his innovative approach to physical theatre, which he developed through a series of exercises and techniques that focused on the use of the body in movement and expression. The white full-face make-up is there to heighten the dramatic impact of the movements and expressions. People from our years embarked on various projects, whilst we founded Brouhaha and started touring our shows internationally. I did not know him well. Last year, when I saw him in his house in the Haute Savoie, under the shadow of Mont Blanc, to talk about a book we wished to make, he said with typical modesty: 'I am nobody. First, when using this technique, it is imperative to perform some physical warm-ups that explore a body-centered approach to acting. Nothing! Through his techniques he introduced to us the possibility of magic on the stage and his training and wisdom became the backbone of my own work. Bring your right hand up to join it, and then draw it back through your shoulder line and behind you, as if you were pulling the string on a bow. Later that evening I introduce him to Guinness and a friendship begins based on our appreciation of drink, food and the moving body. That was Jacques Lecoq. All quotes from Jacques Lecoq are taken from his book Le Corps Poetique, with translation from the French by Jennifer M. Walpole. Their physicality was efficient and purposeful, but also reflected meaning and direction, and a sense of personality or character. I can't thank you, but I see you surviving time, Jacques; longer than the ideas that others have about you. And from that followed the technique of the 'anti-mask', where the actor had to play against the expression of the mask. We needed him so much. This process was not some academic exercise, an intellectual sophistication, but on the contrary a stripping away of superficialities and externals the maximum effect with the minimum effort', finding those deeper truths that everyone can relate to. Passionately interested in the commedia dell'arte, he went to Italy to do research on the use of masks by strolling players of the 16th century. [5] I wish I had. Next, another way to play with major and minor, is via the use of movement and stillness. With a wide variety of ingredients such as tension states, rhythm, de-construction, major and minor, le jeu/the game, and clocking/sharing with the . Whether it was the liberation of France or the student protests of 1968, the expressive clowning of Jacques Lecoq has been an expansive force of expression and cultural renewal against cultural stagnation and defeat. But the fact is that every character you play is not going to have the same physicality. During the 1968 student uprisings in Paris, the pupils asked to teach themselves. This exercise can help students develop their character-building skills and their ability to use research to inform their actions. L'Ecole Jacques Lecoq has had a profound influence on Complicit's approach to theatre making. Jacques Lecoq is regarded as one of the twentieth century's most influential teachers of the physical art of acting. Stand up. He enters the studio and I swear he sniffs the space. to milling passers-by. Jacques, you may not be with us in body but in every other way you will. He challenged existing ideas to forge new paths of creativity. f The Moving Body: Teaching Creative Theatre, Jacques Lecoq (2009), 978-1408111468, an autobiography and guide to roots of physical theatre f Why is That So Funny? Wherever the students came from and whatever their ambition, on that day they entered 'water'. Magically, he could set up an exercise or improvisation in such a way that students invariably seemed to do their best work in his presence. When we look at the technique of de-construction, sharing actions with the audience becomes a lot simpler, and it becomes much easier to realise the moments in which to share this action. This exercise can help students develop their physical and vocal control, as well as their ability to observe and imitate others. Tempo and rhythm can allow us to play with unpredictability in performance, to keep an audience engaged to see how the performance progresses. Through exploring every possibility of a situation a level of play can be reached, which can engage the audience. [4] The goal was to encourage the student to keep trying new avenues of creative expression. Jacques Lecoq, born in Paris, was a French actor, mime and acting . It was nice to think that you would never dare to sit at his table in Chez Jeannette to have a drink with him. This neutral mask is symmetrical, the brows are soft, and the mouth is made to look ready to perform any action. You need to feel it to come to a full understanding of the way your body moves, and that can only be accomplished through getting out of your seat, following exercises, discussing the results, experimenting with your body and discovering what it is capable - or incapable - of. Jacques Lecoq said that all the drama of these swings is at the very top of the suspension: when you try them, you'll see what he meant. Along with other methods such as mime, improvisation, and mask work, Lecoq put forth the idea of studying animals as a source of actor training. What is he doing? He pushed back the boundaries between theatrical styles and discovered hidden links between them, opening up vast tracts of possibilities, giving students a map but, by not prescribing on matters of taste or content, he allowed them plenty of scope for making their own discoveries and setting their own destinations. The objects can do a lot for us, she reminded, highlighting the fact that a huge budget may not be necessary for carrying off a new work. Allow your face to float upwards, and visualise a warm sun, or the moon, or some kind of light source in front of you. Repeat on the right side and then on the left again. [1] In 1937 Lecoq began to study sports and physical education at Bagatelle college just outside of Paris. He was certainly a man of vision and truly awesome as a teacher. His desk empty, bar the odd piece of paper and the telephone. Games & exercises to bring you into the world of theatre . All these elements were incorporated into his teaching but they sprung from a deeply considered philosophy. It is the same with touching the mask, or eating and drinking, the ability for a mask to eat and drink doesnt exist. This led to Lecoq being asked to lecture at faculties of architecture on aspects of theatrical space. Lecoq's wife Fay decided to take over. [1] Lecoq chose this location because of the connections he had with his early career in sports. Think about your balance and centre of gravity while doing the exercise. He will always be a great reference point and someone attached to some very good memories. To meet and work with people from all over the world, talking in made-up French with bits of English thrown-in, trying to make a short piece of theatre every week. Jacques Lecoq is regarded as one of the twentieth century's most influential teachers of the physical art of acting. You changed the face of performance in the last half century through a network of students, colleagues, observers and admirers who have spread the work throughout the investigative and creative strata of the performing arts. The breathing should be in tune with your natural speaking voice. These exercises were intended to help actors tap into their own physical instincts and find new ways to convey meaning through movement. The documentary includes footage of Lecoq working with students at his Paris theatre school in addition to numerous interviews with some of his most well-known, former pupils. Jacques Lecoq method uses a mix of mime, mask work, and other movement techniques to develop creativity and freedom of expression. This text offers a concise guide to the teaching and philosophy of one of the most significant figures in twentieth century actor training. Lecoq's influence on the theatre of the latter half of the twentieth century cannot be overestimated. The fact that this shift in attitude is hardly noticeable is because of its widespread acceptance. You can buy Tea With Trish, a DVD of Trish Arnold's movement exercises, at teawithtrish.com. by David Farmer | Acting, Directing and Devising, Features. Jacques Lecoq was known as the only noteworthy movement instructor and theatre pedagogue with a professional background in sports and sports rehabilitation in the twentieth century. Instead, the physicality of an animal is used as inspiration for the actor to explore new rhythms and dynamics of movement, committing themselves to concentration, commitment, and the powers of their imagination. He insisted throughout his illness that he never felt ill illness in his case wasn't a metaphor, it was a condition that demanded a sustained physical response on his part. The exercise can be repeated many times. Then take it up to a little jump. By putting a red nose on his face, the actor transformed himself into a clown, a basic being expressing the deepest, most infantile layers of his personality, and allowing him to explore those depths. Last edited on 19 February 2023, at 16:35, cole internationale de thtre Jacques Lecoq, cole Internationale de thtre Jacques Lecoq, l'cole Internationale de Thtre Jacques Lecoq - Paris, "Jacques Lecoq, Director, 77; A Master Mime", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jacques_Lecoq&oldid=1140333231, Claude Chagrin, British actor, mime and film director, This page was last edited on 19 February 2023, at 16:35. The word gave rise to the English word buffoon. Jacques Lecoq. We draw also on the work of Moshe Feldenkrais, who developed his own method aimed at realising the potential of the human body; and on the Alexander Technique, a system of body re-education and coordination devised at the end of the 19th century. Sam Hardie offered members a workshop during this Novembers Open House to explore Lecoq techniques and use them as a starting point for devising new work. That is the question. The Animal Character Study: This exercise involves students choosing a specific animal and using it as the inspiration for a character. Magically, he could set up an exercise or improvisation in such a way that students invariably seemed to do their best work in his presence. For the high rib stretch, begin with your feet parallel to each other, close together but not touching. an analysis of his teaching methods and principles of body work, movement . His influence is wider reaching and more profound than he was ever really given credit for. He strived for sincerity and authenticity in acting and performance. You move with no story behind your movement. Bear and Bird is the name given to an exercise in arching and rounding your spine when standing. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. This vision was both radical and practical. In mask work, it is important to keep work clean and simple. Required fields are marked *. You are totally present and aware. The communicative potential of body, space and gesture. - Jacques Lecoq The neutral mask, when placed on the face of a performer, is not entirely neutral. Lecoq was particularly drawn to gymnastics. [4] Lecoq emphasizes that his students should respect the old, traditional form of commedia dell'arte. Any space we go into influences us the way we walk, move. The idea of not seeing him again is not that painful because his spirit, his way of understanding life, has permanently stayed with us. The building was previously a boxing center and was where Francisco Amoros, a huge proponent of physical education, developed his own gymnastic method. Allison Cologna and Catherine Marmier write: Those of us lucky enough to have trained with this brilliant theatre practitioner and teacher at his school in Paris sense the enormity of this great loss to the theatrical world. One of these techniques that really influenced Lecoq's work was the concept of natural gymnastics. Thus began Lecoq's practice, autocours, which has remained central to his conception of the imaginative development and individual responsibility of the theatre artist. as he leaves the Big Room [4] Lecoq's pedagogy has yielded diverse cohorts of students with a wide range of creative impulses and techniques. His eyes on you were like a searchlight looking for your truths and exposing your fears and weaknesses. I'm on my stool, my bottom presented As students stayed with Lecoq's school longer, he accomplished this through teaching in the style of ''via negativa'', also known as the negative way. There are moments when the errors or mistakes give us an opportunity for more breath and movement. There can of course be as many or as few levels of tension as you like (how long is a piece of string?). Perhaps Lecoq's greatest legacy is the way he freed the actor he said it was your play and the play is dead without you. Here are a few examples of animal exercises that could be useful for students in acting school: I hope these examples give you some ideas for animal exercises that you can use in your acting classes! The conversation between these two both uncovers more of the possible cognitive processes at work in Lecoq pedagogy and proposes how Lecoq's own practical and philosophical . We then bid our farewells and went our separate ways. The aim of movement training for actors is to free and strengthen the body, to enliven the imagination, to enable actors to create a character's physical life and to have at their disposal a range of specialist skills to perform. He remains still for some while and then turns to look at me. Try some swings. Like a gardener, he read not only the seasonal changes of his pupils, but seeded new ideas. The Moving Body. Jacques Lecoq, who has died aged 77, was one of the greatest mime artists and perhaps more importantly one of the finest teachers of acting in our time. He was a stimulator, an instigator constantly handing us new lenses through which to see the world of our creativity. Following many of his exercise sessions, Lecoq found it important to think back on his period of exercise and the various routines that he had performed and felt that doing so bettered his mind and emotions. Indecision. Lecoq described the movement of the body through space as required by gymnastics to be purely abstract. Beneath me the warm boards spread out like a beach beneath bare feet. As a young physiotherapist after the second world war, he saw how a man with paralysis could organise his body in order to walk, and taught him to do so. Contrary to what people often think, he had no style to propose. Finally, the use of de-constructing the action makes the visual communication to the audience a lot more simplified, and easier to read, allowing our audience to follow what is taking place on stage. This is the Bird position. They can also use physical and vocal techniques to embody the animal in their performance. Lecoq opened the door, they went in. The great danger is that ten years hence they will still be teaching what Lecoq was teaching in his last year. Lee Strasberg's Animal Exercise VS Animal Exercise in Jacques Lecoq. JACQUES LECOQ EXERCISES - IB Theatre Journal Exploration of the Chorus through Lecoq's Exercises 4x4 Exercise: For this exercise by Framtic Assembly, we had to get into the formation of a square, with four people in each row and four people in the middle of the formation. This is the Bear position. Someone takes the offer He became a physical education teacher but was previously also a physiotherapist. The main craft of an actor is to be able to transform themselves, and it takes a lot of training and discipline to achieve transformation - or indeed just to look "natural". Larval masks - Jacques Lecoq Method 1:48. Parfait! And he leaves. [4] Three of the principal skills that he encouraged in his students were le jeu (playfulness), complicit (togetherness) and disponibilit (openness). . And then try to become that animal - the body, the movement, the sounds. Keeping details like texture or light quality in mind when responding to an imagined space will affect movement, allowing one actor to convey quite a lot just by moving through a space. By putting on a bland, totally expressionless mask, the actor was forced to use his whole body to express a given emotion. Lecoq believed that masks could be a powerful tool for actors. He had a unique presence and a masterful sense of movement, even in his late sixties when he taught me. Pascale, Lecoq and I have been collecting materials for a two-week workshop a project conducted by the Laboratory of Movement Studies which involves Grikor Belekian, Pascale and Jacques Lecoq. Like a gardener, he read not only the seasonal changes of his pupils, but seeded new ideas. This make-up projects the face of Everyman during the performance, which enables all members of the audience to identify with the situation. They include the British teacher Trish Arnold; Rudolph Laban, who devised eukinetics (a theoretical system of movement), and the extremely influential Viennese-born Litz Pisk. He taught there from 1956 until his death from a cerebral hemorrhage in 1999. Moving beyond habitual response into play and free movement, highlighting imagination and creativity, is where Lecoq gets the most interesting and helpful, particularly when it comes to devising new work. Problem resolved. While we can't get far without vocal technique, intellectual dexterity, and . He was interested in creating a site to build on, not a finished edifice. Everybody said he hadn't understood because my pantomime talent was less than zero. His training was aimed at nurturing the creativity of the performer, as opposed to giving them a codified set of skills. He believed that masks could help actors explore different characters and emotions, and could also help them develop a strong physical presence on stage. [1] In 1941, Lecoq attended a physical theatre college where he met Jean Marie Conty, a basketball player of international caliber, who was in charge of physical education in all of France. This use of de-construction is essential and very useful, as for the performer, the use of tempo and rhythm will then become simplified, as you could alter/play from one action to the next. Compiled by John Daniel. I attended two short courses that he gave many years ago. After a while, allow the momentum of the swing to lift you on to the balls of your feet, so that you are bouncing there. Last year, when I saw him in his house in the Haute Savoie, under the shadow of Mont Blanc, to talk about a book we wished to make, he said with typical modesty: I am nobody, I am only a neutral point through which you must pass in order to better articulate your own theatrical voice. He said exactly what was necessary, whether they wanted to hear it or not. For me it is surely his words, tout est possible that will drive me on along whichever path I choose to take, knowing that we are bound only by our selves, that whatever we do must come from us. One of the great techniques for actors, Jacques Lecoq's method focuses on physicality and movement. His work on internal and external gesture and his work on architecture and how we are emotionally affected by space was some of the most pioneering work of the last twenty years. As you develop your awareness of your own body and movement, it's vital to look at how other people hold themselves. Did we fully understand the school? No reaction! Monsieur Lecoq was remarkably dedicated to his school until the last minute and was touchingly honest about his illness. Working with character masks, different tension states may suit different faces, for example a high state of tension for an angry person, or a low state of tension for a tired or bored person. The school was also located on the same street that Jacques Copeau was born. I turn upside-down to right side up. Jacques Lecoq's father, or mother (I prefer to think it was the father) had bequeathed to his son a sensational conk of a nose, which got better and better over the years.