jacques lecoq animal exercises

This vision was both radical and practical. With notable students including Isla Fisher, Sacha Baron Cohen, Geoffrey Rush, Steven Berkoff and Yasmina Reza, its a technique that can help inspire your next devised work, or serve as a starting point for getting into a role. Jacques Lecoq, born in Paris, was a French actor, mime and acting . Freeing yourself from right and wrong is essential: By relieving yourself of the inner critic and simply moving in a rhythmic way, ideas around right or wrong movements can fade into the background. And besides, shedding old habits can also be liberating and exciting, particularly as you learn new techniques and begin to see what your body can do. Like a gardener, he read not only the seasonal changes of his pupils, but seeded new ideas. What Is Physical Theatre? | Backstage Thus began Lecoq's practice, autocours, which has remained central to his conception of the imaginative development and individual responsibility of the theatre artist. He was certainly a man of vision and truly awesome as a teacher. During World War II he began exploring gymnastics, mime, movement and dance with a group who used performance . 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. He taught at the school he founded in Paris known ascole internationale de thtre Jacques Lecoq, from 1956 until his death from a cerebral hemorrhage in 1999. where once sweating men came fist to boxing fist, Desmond Jones writes: Jacques Lecoq was a great man of the theatre. 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. To actors he showed how the great movements of nature correspond to the most intimate movements of human emotion. Parfait! And he leaves. Did we fully understand the school? Jacques Lecoq - Simon Murray - Google Books 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. One way in which a performer can move between major and minor would be their positioning on the stage, in composition to the other performers. 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). He is survived by his second wife Fay; by their two sons and a daughter; and by a son from his first marriage. and starts a naughty tap-tapping. What is he doing? Repeat. [8], The French concept of 'efficace' suggesting at once efficiency and effectiveness of movement was highly emphasized by Lecoq. You can buy Tea With Trish, a DVD of Trish Arnold's movement exercises, at teawithtrish.com. 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. In the workshop, Sam focused on ways to energise the space considering shape and colour in the way we physically respond to space around us. The students can research the animals behavior, habitat, and other characteristics, and then use that information to create a detailed character. He was clear, direct and passionate with a, sometimes, disconcerting sense of humour. The breathing should be in tune with your natural speaking voice. 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. 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. Jacques Lecoq. All these elements were incorporated into his teaching but they sprung from a deeply considered philosophy. Someone takes the offer 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. Jon Potter writes: I attended Jacques Lecoq's school in Paris from 1986 to 1988, and although remarkably few words passed between us, he has had a profound and guiding influence on my life. To actors he showed how the great movements of nature correspond to the most intimate movements of human emotion. The use of de-construction also enables us to stop at specific points within the action, to share/clock what is being done with the audience. Its a Gender An essay on the Performance. an analysis of his teaching methods and principles of body work, movement . I was very fortunate to be able to attend; after three years of constant rehearsing and touring my work had grown stale. One of the great techniques for actors, Jacques Lecoq's method focuses on physicality and movement. It is necessary to look at how beings and things move, and how they are reflected in us. Jacques Lecoq, In La Grande Salle, The Mirror Exercise: This exercise involves one student acting as the mirror and another student acting as the animal. The animal student moves around the space, using their body and voice to embody the movements and sounds of a specific animal (e.g. So the first priority in a movement session is to release physical tension and free the breath. Jacques Lecoq was a French actor and acting coach who developed a unique approach to acting based on movement and physical expression principles. So next time you hear someone is teaching 'Lecoq's Method', remember that such things are a betrayal. You can make sounds and utter a phrase or two but in essence, these are body-based warm-ups. 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. 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. The exercise can be repeated many times. He emphasized the importance of finding the most fitting voice for each actor's mask, and he believed that there was room for reinvention and play in regards to traditional commedia dell'arte conventions. Practitioner Jacques Lecoq and His Influence - University of Lincoln He was a stimulator, an instigator constantly handing us new lenses through which to see the world of our creativity. I was the first to go to the wings, waving my arms like a maniac, trying to explain the problem. When your arm is fully stretched, let it drop, allowing your head to tip over in that direction at the same time. 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. This is because the mask is made to seem as if it has no past and no previous knowledge of how the world works. 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. You are totally present and aware. Kristin Fredricksson. [4] The aim was that the neutral mask can aid an awareness of physical mannerisms as they get greatly emphasized to an audience whilst wearing the mask. Required fields are marked *. 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. Lecoq believed that masks could be a powerful tool for actors. He only posed questions. 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. He founded cole Internationale de Thtre Jacques . This is a guideline, to be adapted. Other elements of the course focus on the work of Jacques Lecoq, whose theatre school in Paris remains one of the best in the world; the drama theorist and former director of the Royal Shakespeare . Chorus Work - School of Jacques Lecoq 1:33. 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. Lecoq doesn't just teach theatre, he teaches a philosophy of life, which it is up to us to take or cast aside. Stand up. L'cole Internationale de Thtre Jacques Lecoq, the Parisian school Jacques Lecoq founded in 1956, is still one of the preeminent physical training . I did not know him well. 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. [4] Lecoq's pedagogy has yielded diverse cohorts of students with a wide range of creative impulses and techniques. Your head should be in line with your spine, your arms in front of you as if embracing a large ball. He turns, and through creased eyes says There he met the great Italian director Giorgio Strehler, who was also an enthusiast of the commedia and founder of the Piccolo Teatro of Milan; and with him Lecoq created the Piccolo theatre acting school. Any space we go into influences us the way we walk, move. 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. Lecoq believed that actors should use their bodies to express emotions and ideas, rather than relying on words alone. It was amazing to see his enthusiasm and kindness and to listen to his comments. The excitement this gave me deepened when I went to Lecoq's school the following year. He arrives with Grikor and Fay, his wife, and we nervously walk to the space the studios of the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama. 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. He enters the studio and I swear he sniffs the space. During dinner we puzzle over a phrase that Fay found difficult to translate: Le geste c'est le depot d'une emotion. The key word is 'depot deposit? Jacques lecoq (Expressing an animal) - Angelina Drama G10 (BHA 2018~19) Who was it? I am only there to place obstacles in your path so you can find your own way round them. Among the pupils from almost every part of the world who have found their way round are Dario Fo, Ariane Mnouchkine in Paris, Julie Taymor (who directed The Lion King in New York), Yasmina Reza, who wrote Art, and Geoffrey Rush from Melboume (who won an Oscar for Shine). In life I want students to be alive, and on stage I want them to be artists." He takes me to the space: it is a symphony of wood old beams in the roof and a sprung floor which is burnished orange. 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. 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. Learn moreabout how we use cookies including how to remove them. It is the same with touching the mask, or eating and drinking, the ability for a mask to eat and drink doesnt exist. His influence is wider reaching and more profound than he was ever really given credit for. 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. He believed that to study the clown is to study oneself, thus no two selves are alike. [1] Lecoq chose this location because of the connections he had with his early career in sports. Lecoq himself believed in the importance of freedom and creativity from his students, giving an actor the confidence to creatively express themselves, rather than being bogged down by stringent rules. The body makes natural shapes especially in groups, where three people form a triangle, four people a square, and five or more a circle. Lecoq was a pioneer of modern theatre, and his work has had a significant influence on the development of contemporary performance practices. 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. Like Nijinski, the great dancer, did he remain suspended in air? These are the prepositions of Jacques Lecoq. only clarity, diversity, and, supremely, co-existence. 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. ), "Believing or identifying oneself is not enough, one has to ACT." Your email address will not be published. In fact, the experience of losing those habits can be emotionally painful, because postural habits, like all habits, help us to feel safe. Jacques Lecoq talks about how gestures are created and how they stay in society in his book . A key string to the actor's bow is a malleable body, capable of adapting and transforming as the situation requires, says RADA head of movement Jackie Snow, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning, RADA foundation class in movement/dance. [1], As a teenager, Lecoq participated in many sports such as running, swimming, and gymnastics. The mask is essentially a blank slate, amorphous shape, with no specific characterizations necessarily implied. He has invited me to stay at his house an hour's travel from Paris. He beams with pleasure: Tu vois mon espace! We looked at the communal kitchen and were already dreaming of a workshop, which would devote equal attention to eating and to working. To share your actions with the audience, brings and invites them on the journey with you. Jacques Lecoq. But there we saw the master and the work. 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. He came to understand the rhythms of athletics as a kind of physical poetry that affected him strongly. Jacques Lecoq was a French actor and acting coach who developed a unique approach to acting based on movement and physical expression principles. by David Farmer | Acting, Directing and Devising, Features. He had the ability to see well. Start off with some rib stretches. Keep balancing the space, keep your energy up Its about that instinct inside us [to move]. Jacques Lecoq. 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. As part of this approach, Lecoq often incorporated "animal exercises" into . The one his students will need. Jacques was a man of extraordinary perspectives. People can get the idea, from watching naturalistic performances in films and television programmes, that "acting natural" is all that is needed. 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. Release your knees and bring both arms forward, curve your chest and spine, and tuck your pelvis under. During this time he also performed with the actor, playwright, and clown, Dario Fo. Dont be concerned about remembering the exact terminology for the seven tensions. Jacques Lecoq (15 December 1921 19 January 1999) was a French stage actor and acting movement coach. Later we watched the 'autocours'. Kenneth Rea writes: In the theatre, Lecoq was one of the great inspirations of our age. He had a unique presence and a masterful sense of movement, even in his late sixties when he taught me. Your feet should be a little further apart: stretch your arm out to the right while taking the weight on your right bent leg, leading your arm upwards through the elbow, hand and then fingers. The Saint-Denis teaching stresses the actor's service to text, and uses only character masks, though some of Who is it? And then try to become that animal - the body, the movement, the sounds. Lecoq believed that actors should use their bodies to express emotions and ideas, rather than relying on words alone. (By continuing to use the site without making a selection well assume you are OK with our use of cookies at present), Spotlight, 7 Leicester Place, London, WC2H 7RJ. This exercise can help students develop their character-building skills and their ability to use research to inform their actions. Now let your body slowly open out: your pelvis, your spine, your arms slowly floating outwards so that your spine and ribcage are flexed forwards and your knees are bent. 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. this chapter I will present movement studies from Lecoq and Laban and open a bit Jacques Lecoq's methods and exercises of movement analysis. Only then it will be possible for the actor's imagination and invention to be matched by the ability to express them with body and voice. Lecoq's school in Paris attracted an elite of acting students from all parts of the world. Sit down. De-construction simply means to break down your actions, from one single movement to the next. He taught us to make theatre for ourselves, through his system of 'autocours'. For him, there were no vanishing points. 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. Allow opportunities to react and respond to the elements around you to drive movement. 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. Jacques Lecoq View on Animal Exercises Jacques Lecoq was a French actor, mime artist, and theatre director. He had the ability to see well. Larval masks - Jacques Lecoq Method 1:48. John Wright (2006), 9781854597823, brilliant handbook of tried and tested physical comedy exercise from respected practitioner. This method is called mimodynamics. I can't thank you, but I see you surviving time, Jacques; longer than the ideas that others have about you. Tempo and rhythm can allow us to play with unpredictability in performance, to keep an audience engaged to see how the performance progresses. For example, if the game is paused while two students are having a conversation, they must immediately start moving and sounding like the same animal (e.g. [4] The expressive masks are basically character masks that are depicting a very particular of character with a specific emotion or reaction. Think, in particular, of ballet dancers, who undergo decades of the most rigorous possible training in order to give the appearance of floating like a butterfly. Thank you Jacques Lecoq, and rest in peace. Lee Strasberg's Animal Exercise VS Animal Exercise in Jacques Lecoq 5,338 views Jan 1, 2018 72 Dislike Share Save Haque Centre of Acting & Creativity (HCAC) 354 subscribers Please visit. 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. 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. Yes, that was something to look forward to: he would lead a 'rencontre'. Major and minor is very much about the level of complicite an ensemble has with one another onstage, and how the dynamics of the space and focus are played with between them. What a horror as if it were a fixed and frozen entity. We then bid our farewells and went our separate ways. [4] Three of the principal skills that he encouraged in his students were le jeu (playfulness), complicit (togetherness) and disponibilit (openness). 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. Summer 1993, Montagny. Jacques and I have a conversation on the phone we speak for twenty minutes. Dipsit Digital de la Universitat de Barcelona; Tesis Doctorals; Tesis Doctorals - Departament - Histria de l'Art Lecoq, in contrast, emphasised the social context as the main source of inspiration and enlightenment. The following suggestions are based on the work of Simon McBurney (Complicite), John Wright (Told by an Idiot) and Christian Darley. Lecoq is about engaging the whole body, balancing the entire space and working as a collective with your fellow actors. Marceau chose to emphasise the aesthetic form, the 'art for art's sake', and stated that the artist's path was an individual, solitary quest for a perfection of art and style. 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. If an ensemble of people were stage left, and one performer was stage right, the performer at stage right would most likely have focus. 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. During the fortnight of the course it all became clear the job of the actor was action and within that there were infinite possibilities to explore. He also taught us humanity. 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. This vision was both radical and practical. Lecoq strove to reawaken our basic physical, emotional and imaginative values. (Extract reprinted by permission from The Guardian, Obituaries, January 23 1999.). He was the antithesis of what is mundane, straight and careerist theatre. Jacques Lecoq was a French actor, mime artist, and theatre director. 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. One of the great techniques for actors, Jacques Lecoqs method focuses on physicality and movement. Magically, he could set up an exercise or improvisation in such a way that students invariably seemed to do . [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. The big anxiety was: would he approve of the working spaces we had chosen for him? Lecoq viewed movement as a sort of zen art of making simple, direct, minimal movements that nonetheless carried significant communicative depth. The first event in the Clowning Project was The Clowning Workshop, led by Nathalie Ellis-Einhorn. Firstly, as Lecoq himself stated, when no words have been spoken, one is in a state of modesty which allows words to be born out of silence. (Lecoq, 1997:29) It is vital to remember not to speak when wearing a mask. [6] Lecoq classifies gestures into three major groups: gestures of action, expression, and demonstration.[6]. Tap-tap it raps out a rhythm tap-tap-tap. 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. When Jacques Lecoq started to teach or to explain something it was just impossible to stop him. both students start waddling like ducks and quacking). We have been talking about doing a workshop together on Laughter. 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. While Lecoq still continued to teach physical education for several years, he soon found himself acting as a member of the Comediens de Grenoble. He will always be a great reference point and someone attached to some very good memories. Jacques Lecoq. He also believed that masks could help actors connect with their audience and create a sense of magic and wonder on stage. Lecoq's guiding principle was 'Tout bouge' - everything moves. His techniques and research are now an essential part of the movement training in almost every British drama school. This is the Bear position. 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. 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. Special thanks to Madame Fay Lecoq for her assistance in compiling this tribute and to H. Scott Helst for providing the photos. Raise your right arm up in front of you to shoulder height, and raise your left arm behind you, then let them both swing, releasing your knees on the drop of each swing. Go out and create it!. 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. Simon McBurney writes: Jacques Lecoq was a man of vision. Lecoq believed that every person would develop their own personal clown at this step. London: Methuen, Hi,Oliver, thank you for you blogging, you have helped me understand Lecoqs work much much better ! He was born 15 December in Paris, France and participated and trained in various sports as a child and as a young man. However, the ensemble may at times require to be in major, and there are other ways to achieve this. While Lecoq was a part of this company he learned a great deal about Jacques Copeau's techniques in training. Dipsit Digital de la Universitat de Barcelona: La Escuela Jacques Jacques Lecoq | Spectroom Then it walks away and arms and legs flying in space. I have always had a dual aim in my work: one part of my interest is directed towards the Theatre, the other towards Life." Think of a cat sitting comfortably on a wall, ready to leap up if a bird comes near. 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. We sat for some time in his office. Other elements of the course focus on the work of Jacques Lecoq, whose theatre school in Paris remains one of the best in the world; the drama theorist and former director of the Royal Shakespeare Company, Michel Saint-Denis; Sigurd Leeder, a German dancer who used eukinetics in his teaching and choreography; and the ideas of Jerzy Grotowski. 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. Lecoq believed that this mask allowed his students to be open when performing and to fully let the world affect their bodies. This is the case because mask is intended to be a visual form of theatre, communication is made through the physicality of the body, over that of spoken words.