1st Edition

Jacques Lecoq

By Simon Murray Copyright 2018
    200 Pages
    by Routledge

    200 Pages
    by Routledge

    This volume offers a concise guide to the teaching and philosophy of one of the most significant figures in twentieth century actor training. Jacques Lecoq's influence on the theatre of the latter half of the twentieth century cannot be overestimated.

    Now reissued Jacques Lecoq is the first book to combine:

    • an historical introduction to his life and the context in which he worked
    • an analysis of his teaching methods and principles of body work, movement, creativity, and contemporary theatre
    • detailed studies of the work of Theatre de Complicite and Mummenschanz
    • practical exercises demonstrating Lecoq's distinctive approach to actor training.

     

    THE LIFE OF JACQUES LECOQ

      Jacques Lecoq (1921–99)

      Jacques Lecoq: actor, director and teacher 

      Jacques Lecoq and the Western tradition of actor training

      Jacques Lecoq: the body and culture

      Summary and conclusion

    THE TEXTS OF JACQUES LECOQ

      Lecoq’s pedagogy: from practice to principles (and back)

      Acting for the theatre of the future

      End words

    TRACES OF JACQUES LECOQ: THÉÂTRE DE COMPLICITÉ’S STREET OF CROCODILES AND THE WORK OF MUMMENSCHANZ

      The case of Théâtre de Complicité

      The Street of Crocodiles

      The case of Mummenschanz

    PRACTICAL EXERCISES

    Aims

    Background and context 

    Approach

    Preparatory exercises

    I push . . . I pull: towards the dynamics of melodrama

    I am pushed . . . I am pulled: towards the dynamics of tragedy

    I push myself . . . I pull myself: towards the dynamics of commedia dell’arte

    Debrief

    CONCLUSION

    Biography

    Simon Murray is Senior Lecturer in Theatre Studies at the University of Glasgow.