Jacques Lecoq

Introduction

Jacques Lecoq was a French actor, mime and acting instructor. His most notable work is in the field of Physical Theatre, movement and mime. He taught most of his work at the school he founded in Paris, L'École Internationale de Théâtre Jacques Lecoq. 

Impact on Physical Theatre

Lecoq taught Physical Education for several years. He later went on to act. He worked with a company called Comediens de Grenoble. He also worked a lot on Commedia, this introduced him to Mime, masks and the physicality of performance which he would later use as his own. He also worked with Dario Fo a famous actor, playwright and clown. He opened his school in 1956 in Paris, where till his death he worked and perfected his trade.

Lecoq had quite a specific teaching style. He aimed to teach actors that encouraged them to investigate ways of the arts that suited them best. He wanted to nurture the creativity of the performer instead of giving them a specific set of skills. This was good otherwise we would only have one type of performer and not a variety. Lecoq never told students what was right he just encouraged them to try new avenues of creative expression. His training however did involve a lot of masks. He often used a natural faced mask so the emphasis was put on the physical expression of the performer. After he felt his students had mastered the physical mannerisms he would make the mask smaller while also encouraging them to keep the physical behaviour. This was a great technique used by Lecoq, as it allowed the actor to focus on one thing at a time, making it easier to get both the facial and physical expression to the best it can be. 

This great practitioner also set up a part of the school that looked at stage design, Sceneography and architecture this was great as it gave the performers a chance to collaborate with stage designers and also get a feel for that part of the business. 

People he Influenced

Because Lecoq encouraged that students followed their own path instead of being given a set of skills he managed to teach and influence a variety of different people in the industry ranging from comedians to directors to choreographers. Here are some of the people he influenced:

Steven Berkoff. Actor, Theatre Director and Writer. 

Geoffrey Rush. Actor.

Ariane Mnouchkine. Theatre Director and founder of  Théâtre du Soleil.

Philipe Gaulier. Actor and a Pedagogue. 

Rene Bazinet. Actor.

and many more great names. 

Lecoq influenced many different performers in the arts industry, through his mime and physical work and through his teaching.