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Jacques Lecoq

Jacques Lecoq
Born (1921-12-12)December 12, 1921
Paris, France
Died January 19, 1999(1999-01-19) (aged 77)
Paris, France
Cause of death Cerebral hemorrhage
Occupation Mime, theater director, teacher
Years active (1945-1999)
Organization L'École Internationale de Théâtre Jacques Lecoq
Spouse(s) Fay (Lees) Lecoq

Jacques Lecoq (December 15, 1921 – January 19, 1999), born in Paris, was a French actor, mime and acting instructor.

He is most famous for his methods on physical theatre, movement, and mime that he taught at the school he founded in Paris, L'École Internationale de Théâtre Jacques Lecoq from 1956 until his death in 1999.

Jacques Lecoq was known as the only noteworthy movement instructor and theatre pedagogic with a professional background in sports and sports rehabilitation in the twentieth century. As a teen Lecoq participated in many sports such as track, swimming, and gymnastics. Lecoq was particularly drawn to gymnastics. He began learning gymnastics at the age of seventeen, and through work on the parallel and horizontal bars, he came to see and to understand the geometry of movement. Lecoq described the movement of the body through space as required by gymnastics to be purely abstract. He came to understand the rhythms of athletics as a kind of physical poetry that affected him strongly. 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. In 1937 Lecoq began to study sports and physical education at Bagatelle college just outside of Paris. He received teaching degrees in swimming and athletics. In 1941, Lecoq attended a physical theatre college where he met Jean Marie Conty, a basketball player of international caliber, who was in charge of physical education in all of France. Conty's interest in the link between sport and theatre had come out of a friendship with Antonin Artaud and Jean-Louis Barrault, both well-known actors and directors and founders of L'Education par le Jeu Dramatique. While Lecoq still continued to teach physical education for several years, he soon found himself acting as a member of the Comediens de Grenoble. While Lecoq was a part of this company he learned a great deal about Jacques Copeau's techniques in training. One of these techniques that really influenced Lecoq's work was the concept of natural gymnastics. This company and his work with Commedia dell'arte in Italy (where he lived for eight years) introduced him to ideas surrounding mime, masks and the physicality of performance. During this time he also performed with the actor, playwright, and clown, Dario Fo.


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