Jacques Lecoq

Jacques Lecoq (1921-1999) was a French actor, mime, and teacher who pioneered a system of physical theater heavily influenced by his early work with the Commedia dell’Arte in Italy. Trained as a phys-ed instructor and a gymnast, Lecoq’s interest in athletic modes of expression started early; and he eventually became interested in the connection between sport and theater, especially after an introduction to the work of Jacques Copeau. Copeau was a huge influence on the young Lecoq; but it was the eight years he spent living in Italy - when he discovered the Commedia traditions of mime, mask, and physical performance - which would truly shape his approach to theater.

In 1956, Lecoq returned to Paris to open his school, L’École Internationale de Théâtre Jacques Lecoq (the Jacques Lecoq International School of Theater), where he would continue teaching until his death. The school is a two-year full-time training course generally intended for actors with some sort of previous professional experience or conservatory training, who are looking to expand their horizons as performers by exploring new modes of expression.

First-year teaching focuses on helping students to discover the world anew through observing movement dynamics around them (not only in their fellow men but in the material and animal worlds and through abstract elements like sound and color). Mask-work, which helps students to discover their natural habits and tendencies and improves stage presence, also constitutes a major part of the training. Second year teaching expands on these lessons with the exploration of dramatic territories such as tragedy, melodrama, and clowning. Highly physical work - including acrobatics and stage combat - is interwoven with classes in improvisation and a heavy focus on group-work and collaborative directing.

The school accepts ninety new students from all over the world each year. After a probationary first term, each student meets with the teaching staff to decide whether or not he should complete the first year of training. Of those who make it through this preliminary trial, thirty are selected to continue into the second year of training. The school promotes an atmosphere of “exchange and cross-fertilization, where the spontaneous blend of cultures contributes its own resonance to the teaching, extending the quest for a shared poetic wealth.” All classes are conducted in French.

L’École Internationale de Théâtre Jacques Lecoq (the Jacques Lecoq School)
http://www.ecole-jacqueslecoq.com
57 Rue de Faubourg Saint-Denis
75010 Paris
France
Phone: (+33) 014-770-4478
Fax: (+33) 014-523-4014
E-mail: contact@ecole-jacqueslecoq.com

Notable students of Jacques Lecoq: Steven Berkoff, Toby Jones, Simon McBurney (Théâtre de Complicité), Ariane Mnouchkine (Théâtre du Soleil), Mummenschanz, Yazmina Reza, Geoffrey Rush, Julie Taymor

Further reading:

Lecoq, Jacques with Jean-Gabriel Carasso and Jean-Claude Lallias
The Moving Body (Le Corps Poétique): Teaching Creative Theatre
(translated by David Bradby, with foreword by Simon McBurney)

Lecoq, Jacques
Theatre of Movement and Gesture
(translated and edited by David Bradby)