The Moving Body: Teaching Creative Theatre

Translated into English for the first time, this guide details Lecoq's unique philosophy of performance, improvisation, masks, movement, and gesture. Neutral mask, character masks, and other famous Lecoq techniques are included.

Jacques Lecoq was born in Paris in 1921. He taught until the day before his death in 1999 David Bradby is Professor of Drama and Theatre Studies at Royal Holloway, University of London. He is a director, translator, and the author of, among other books, Mise en scene: French Theatre Now

Foreword

ix

Simon McBurney

Biographical Note

xi

Bibliography & Filmography

xii

Translator's note

xiii

I PERSONAL JOURNEY

1

(24)

From Sport to Theatre

3

(11)

Italian adventure

6

(2)

Back to Paris

8

(1)

A school in motion

9

(3)

Finding a place

12

(2)

The Educational Journey

14

(11)

Towards a young theatre of new work

18

(3)

The search for permanency

21

(4)

II THE WORLD AND ITS MOVEMENTS

25

(70)

A Blank Page

27

(2)

Improvisation

29

(37)

Silence Before Words

29

(7)

Replay and play

29

(4)

Towards the structures of play

33

(3)

The Neutral Mask

36

(10)

Neutrality

36

(5)

The fundamental journey

41

(1)

Identification with the natural world

42

(2)

Transposing

44

(2)

Approach to the Arts

46

(6)

The universal poetic sense

46

(1)

The colours of the rainbow

47

(2)

The body of words

49

(2)

Music as partner

51

(1)

Masks and Counter-masks

52

(8)

Levels of acting

52

(4)

Entering into the form

56

(4)

Characters

60

(6)

States, passions, feelings

60

(2)

Place and milieu

62

(2)

Stylistic constraints

64

(2)

Movement Technique

66

(25)

Physical and Vocal Preparation

66

(4)

Giving meaning to movement

66

(4)

Dramatic Acrobatics

70

(1)

The body's limits

70

(1)

Movement Analysis

71

(20)

The foundation: natural everyday movements

71

(5)

Bringing out attitudes

76

(1)

Researching the economy of physical actions

77

(6)

Analysing the dynamics of nature

83

(4)

Studying animals

87

(2)

The laws of motion

89

(2)

The Students' Own Theatre

91

(4)

Auto-cours and investigations

91

(4)

III THE ROADS TO CREATIVITY

95

(64)

Geodramatics

97

(3)

Gestural Languages

100

(5)

From pantomine to cartoon mime

100

(5)

The Main Dramatic Territories

105

(50)

Melodrama

105

(3)

Grand emotions

105

(3)

Commedia dell'arte

108

(9)

The human comedy

108

(4)

Scenarios and strategic play

112

(5)

Bouffons

117

(9)

Mystery, the grotesque and the fantastic

117

(6)

A different body

123

(3)

Tragedy

126

(17)

Chorus and hero

126

(6)

A balanced stage

132

(5)

The necessity of text

137

(6)

Clowns

143

(12)

Finding one's own clown

143

(8)

Comic varieties: the burlesque, the absurd

151

(4)

The Laboratory for the Study of Movement (L.E.M.)

155

(4)

IV NEW PERSPECTIVES

159

(5)

Glossary

164

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The Moving Body: Teaching Creative Theatre

Summary

Author Biography

Table of Contents

Supplemental Materials