Actor training based on Copeau’s work

Abstract

This study explores Jacques Copeau’s actor training techniques, directed towards analysing and (re-) discovering to what extent certain physical exercises can help in developing performance skills. Copeau sought a ‘natural’ way of being for actors that conditions their behaviour, gestures, and reactions on stage. Étienne Decroux, one of Copeau’s students who then went on to develop corporeal mime as an aesthetic, placed the ‘drama’ inside the moving human body. The dissertation concentrates on Copeau and his idea of establishing L’École de Vieux-Colombier, including some of the games/exercises on silent improvisation and animal improvisation. The focus is on exploring physical actor training techniques, including body and voice warm-ups that involve stretching and breathing exercises. The dissertation also highlights elements of Decroux’s corporeal mime work (such as counterweights and body coordination) to further explore and develop the improvisation technique from Copeau. The historical research into Copeau and Decroux is complemented by practical training aimed at adapting their techniques for acting purposes. To this end, the study includes a comparative appreciation of pole dance to complement and extend insights that emerge from Copeau and Decroux aimed investigating effective physical ways of training actors.