They can also use physical and vocal techniques to embody the animal in their performance. In a time that continually values what is external to the human being. First, when using this technique, it is imperative to perform some physical warm-ups that explore a body-centered approach to acting. Lecoq believed that masks could be used to create new and imaginative characters and that they could help actors develop a more expressive and dynamic performance. Lecoq's Technique and Mask. eBook ISBN 9780203703212 ABSTRACT This chapter aims to provide a distillation of some of the key principles of Jacques Lecoq's approach to teaching theatre and acting. He founded cole Internationale de Thtre Jacques . I wish I had. He was clear, direct and passionate with a, sometimes, disconcerting sense of humour. We then bid our farewells and went our separate ways. Parfait! And he leaves. If two twigs fall into the water they echo each other's movements., Fay asked if that was in his book (Le Corps Poetique). Dipsit Digital de la Universitat de Barcelona; Tesis Doctorals; Tesis Doctorals - Departament - Histria de l'Art He is a truly great and remarkable man who once accused me of being un touriste dans mon ecole, and for that I warmly thank him. If you look at theatre around the world now, probably forty percent of it is directly or indirectly influenced by him. All actors should be magpies, collecting mannerisms and voices and walks: get into the habit of going on reccies, following someone down the road and studying their gait, the set of their shoulders, the way their hands move as they walk. 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. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Kenneth Rea writes: In the theatre, Lecoq was one of the great inspirations of our age. (Extract reprinted by permission from The Guardian, Obituaries, January 23 1999.). 29 May - 4 June 2023. 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. Lecoq had forgotten to do up his flies. I went back to my seat. He was essential. For example, the acting performance methodology of Jacques Lecoq emphasises learning to feel and express emotion through bodily awareness (Kemp, 2016), and Dalcroze Eurhythmics teaches students. Its nice to have the opportunity to say thanks to him. (Reproduced from Corriere della Sera with translation from the Italian by Sherdan Bramwell.). 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. Curve back into Bear, and then back into Bird. So how do we use Jacques Lecoqs animal exercises as part of actors training? So the first priority in a movement session is to release physical tension and free the breath. As part of his training at the Lecoq School, Lecoq created a list of 20 basic movements that he believed were essential for actors to master, including walking, running, jumping, crawling, and others. Indeed, animal behavior and movement mirrored this simplicity. 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. He taught us accessible theatre; sometimes he would wonder if his sister would understand the piece, and, if not, it needed to be clearer. Bear and Bird is the name given to an exercise in arching and rounding your spine when standing. I was able to rediscover the world afresh; even the simple action of walking became a meditation on the dynamics of movement. Their physicality was efficient and purposeful, but also reflected meaning and direction, and a sense of personality or character. Required fields are marked *. But this kind of collaboration and continuous process of learning-relearning which was for Marceau barely a hypothesis, was for Lecoq the core of his philosophy. The training, the people, the place was all incredibly exciting. However, it is undeniable that Lecoq's influence has transformed the teaching of theatre in Britain and all over the world if not theatre itself. Like Nijinski, the great dancer, did he remain suspended in air? These are the prepositions of Jacques Lecoq. 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. But one thing sticks in the mind above all others: You'll only really understand what you've learnt here five years after leaving, M. Lecoq told us. . Beneath me the warm boards spread out like a beach beneath bare feet. 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. Thank you Jacques, you cleared, for many of us, the mists of frustration and confusion and showed us new possibilities to make our work dynamic, relevant to our lives and challengingly important in our culture. He was interested in creating a site to build on, not a finished edifice. 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. Bim Mason writes: In 1982 Jacques Lecoq was invited by the Arts Council to teach the British Summer School of Mime. He became a physical education teacher but was previously also a physiotherapist. After all, very little about this discipline is about verbal communication or instruction. Feel the light on your face and fill the movement with that feeling. When creating/devising work, influence was taken from Lecoqs ideas of play and re-play. The Animal Improv Game: This game is similar to the popular improv game Freeze, but with a twist: when the game is paused, the students must take on the movements and sounds of a specific animal. Contrary to what people often think, he had no style to propose. Conty's interest in the link between sport and theatre had come out of a friendship with Antonin Artaud and Jean-Louis Barrault, both well-known actors and directors and founders of Education par le Jeu Dramatique ("Education through the Dramatic Game"). Let your arms swing behind your legs and then swing back up. Lecoq never thought of the body as in any way separate from the context in which it existed. This teaching strategy basically consists of only focusing his critiques on the poorer or unacceptable aspects of a student's performance. Lecoq was particularly drawn to gymnastics. He will always be a great reference point and someone attached to some very good memories. Photograph: Jill Mead/Jill Mead. a lion, a bird, a snake, etc.). Don't let your body twist up while you're doing this; face the front throughout. with his envoy of third years in tow. Not only did he show countless actors, directors and teachers how the body could be more articulate; his innovative teaching was the catalyst that helped the world of mime enrich the mainstream of theatre. Lecoq believed that this mask allowed his students to be open when performing and to fully let the world affect their bodies. He received teaching degrees in swimming and athletics. 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. No reaction! Lecoq believed that actors should use their bodies to express emotions and ideas, rather than relying on words alone. His training involved an emphasis on masks, starting with the neutral mask. One may travel around the stage in beats of four counts, and then stop, once this rule becomes established with an audience, it is possible to then surprise them, by travelling on a beat of five counts perhaps. [1] He began learning gymnastics at the age of seventeen, and through work on the parallel bars and horizontal bar, he came to see and understand the geometry of movement. What he taught was niche, complex and extremely inspiring but he always, above all, desperately defended the small, simple things in life. June 1998, Paris. I cannot claim to be either a pupil or a disciple. This is a list of names given to each level of tension, along with a suggestion of a corresponding performance style that could exist in that tension. Who was it? Chorus Work - School of Jacques Lecoq 1:33. However, rhythm also builds a performance as we play with the dynamics of the tempo, between fast and slow. Lecoq strove to reawaken our basic physical, emotional and imaginative values. 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. Practitioner Jacques Lecoq and His Influence. [3][7] The larval mask was used as a didactic tool for Lecoq's students to escape the confines of realism and inject free imagination into the performance. He believed that to study the clown is to study oneself, thus no two selves are alike. 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. Thousands of actors have been touched by him without realising it. Andrew Dawson & Jos Houben write: We last saw Jacques Lecoq in December last year. Teachers from both traditions have worked in or founded actor training programs in the United States. Like a poet, he made us listen to individual words, before we even formed them into sentences, let alone plays. 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. [4] The goal was to encourage the student to keep trying new avenues of creative expression. 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. In a way, it is quite similar to the use of Mime Face Paint. One exercise that always throws up wonderful insights is to pick an animal to study - go to a zoo, pet shop or farm, watch videos, look at images. Moving in sync with a group of other performers will lead into a natural rhythm, and Sam emphasised the need to show care for each other and the space youre inhabiting. Lecoq, Jacques (1997). No reaction! 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. Let your arm swing backwards again, trying to feel the pull of gravity on your limbs. I am only a neutral point through which you must pass in order to better articulate your own theatrical voice. Who is it? I cry gleefully. As with puppetry, where the focus (specifically eye contact) of all of the performers is placed onstage will determine where the audience consequently place their attention. Lecoq was a pioneer of modern theatre, and his work has had a significant influence on the development of contemporary performance practices. 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. 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? Unfortunately the depth and breadth of this work was not manifested in the work of new companies of ex-students who understandably tended to use the more easily exportable methods as they strived to establish themselves and this led to a misunderstanding that his teaching was more about effect than substance. He was the antithesis of what is mundane, straight and careerist theatre. We visited him at his school in Rue du Faubourg, St Denis, during our run of Quatre Mains in Paris. They enable us to observe with great precision a particular detail which then becomes the major theme. (Lecoq, 1997:34) As the performer wearing a mask, we should limit ourselves to a minimal number of games. I can't thank you, but I see you surviving time, Jacques; longer than the ideas that others have about you. His techniques and research are now an essential part of the movement training in almost every British drama school. 18th] The first thing that we have done when we entered the class was checking our homework about writing about what we have done in last class, just like drama journal. There are moments when the errors or mistakes give us an opportunity for more breath and movement. Born in Paris, he began his career as an actor in France. All quotes from Jacques Lecoq are taken from his book Le Corps Poetique, with translation from the French by Jennifer M. Walpole. They contain some fundamental principles of movement in the theatrical space. So she stayed in the wings waiting for the moment when he had to come off to get a special mask. Larval masks - Jacques Lecoq Method 1:48. Jacques was a man of extraordinary perspectives. But the most important element, which we forget at our peril, is that he was constantly changing, developing, researching, trying out new directions and setting new goals. Stand up. This was blue-sky research, the NASA of the theatre world, in pursuit of the theatre of the future'. 7 Movement Techniques for Actors. Then take it up to a little jump. All these elements were incorporated into his teaching but they sprung from a deeply considered philosophy. Fay Lecoq assures me that the school her husband founded and led will continue with a team of Lecoq-trained teachers. The idea of not seeing him again is not that painful because his spirit, his way of understanding life, has permanently stayed with us. His desk empty, bar the odd piece of paper and the telephone. Jacques Lecoq. Toute Bouge' (Everything Moves), the title of Lecoq's lecture demonstration, is an obvious statement, yet from his point of view all phenomena provided an endless source of material and inspiration. John Martin writes: At the end of two years inspiring, frustrating, gruelling and visionary years at his school, Jacques Lecoq gathered us together to say: I have prepared you for a theatre which does not exist. As Trestle Theatre Company say. Start to breathe in, right down inside your ribcage, let your weight go on to your left leg and start lifting your left arm up, keeping your arm relaxed, and feeling your ribcage opening on that side as you do. Thank you Jacques Lecoq, and rest in peace. Among the pupils from almost every part of the world who have found their own way round are Dario Fo in Milan, Ariane Mnouchkine in Paris, Julie Taymor (who directed The Lion King) in New York, Yasmina Reza, who wrote Art, and Geoffrey Rush from Melbourne (who won an Oscar for Shine). And if a machine couldn't stop him, what chance had an open fly? For the actor, there is obviously no possibility of literal transformation into another creature. The great danger is that ten years hence they will still be teaching what Lecoq was teaching in his last year. Look at things. 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. to milling passers-by. He remains still for some while and then turns to look at me. It developed the red hues of claret, lots of dense, vigorous, athletic humps from all the ferreting around, with a blooming fullness, dilations and overflowings from his constant efforts to update the scents of the day. for short) in 1977. One of these techniques that really influenced Lecoq's work was the concept of natural gymnastics. Jacques Lecoq talks about how gestures are created and how they stay in society in his book . 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. Franco Cordelli writes: If you look at two parallel stories Lecoq's and his contemporary Marcel Marceaus it is striking how their different approaches were in fact responses to the same question. He said exactly what was necessary, whether they wanted to hear it or not. Many things were said during this nicely informal meeting. L'Ecole Jacques Lecoq has had a profound influence on Complicit's approach to theatre making. August. His Laboratoire d'Etude du Mouvement attempted to objectify the subjective by comparing and analysing the effects that colour and space had on the spectators. Keep the physical and psychological aspects of the animal, and transform them to the human counterpart in yourself. He offered no solutions. [4] Lecoq emphasizes that his students should respect the old, traditional form of commedia dell'arte. IB student, Your email address will not be published. Jacques Lecoq, a French actor and movement coach who was trained in commedia dell'arte, helped establish the style of physical theater. What he offered in his school was, in a word, preparation of the body, of the voice, of the art of collaboration (which the theatre is the most extreme artistic representative of), and of the imagination. He provoked and teased the creative doors of his students open, allowing them to find a theatrical world and language unique to them. September 1998, on the phone. Keep balancing the space, keep your energy up Its about that instinct inside us [to move]. He believed commedia was a tool to combine physical movement with vocal expression.