London International School of Performing Arts

Now based in both Berlin and London, the London International School of Performing Arts (LISPA) was founded in 2003 by Thomas Prattki - the former pedagogical director of the Jacques Lecoq International School of Theatre (Ecole Jacques Lecoq) in Paris. LISPA is a private educational institution offering full-time postgraduate Masters-level training programs in Devising Theatre based on the teachings of Jacques Lecoq and personal and artistic development/Jungian process (Integral Movement and Performance Practice), as well as short workshops and a regular Summer School.

LISPA began life at the Playground Studios, Latimer Road, London. Due to increased student numbers, an additional studio was used in Hackney, North London and the courses ran for a number of years as double groups. Eventually in January 2008 the whole school moved to a studio and office in 3 Mills studios, East London.

Since January 2016, all full-time courses now take place in at the EDEN Studios, Pankow, Berlin, Germany.

The Devising Theatre and Performance course (DTAP) focuses on physical preparation and observation of the physical world, enabling the student to transpose these elements through the body and the space around them.

Starting with the Neutral Mask the students learn the state of calmness. Later human passions, emotions and behaviours are explored through the use of Larval and Expressive Masks. Dramatic transpositions and creativity are unlocked by observing animals, the elements, art, poetry and architecture.

Classes take many forms including, movement analysis, improvisation, acrobatics, vocal preparation, writing, painting and sculpting.

Collaborative work or Devising as it is known, is a vital part of the work at LISPA. Every week the students are given the opportunity to devise their own theatre. They work in small groups to develop a theme given by the teachers which allows them to explore the territory they are currently learning in class. They then present this exercise to the teachers.

The DTAP Course culminates with a final project or investigation where the students are given a longer time to develop a presentation based on observation of a particular theme or subject of their choice (i.e. location, activity or human condition).

The Advanced Devising Practice course (ADP) follows much of the same structure of class form, i.e. improvisation, acrobatics, voice, writing and creation. However, work is focused to explore further the dramatic genres: Dramatic storytelling, Epic drama and Melodrama, Commedia dell'arte, the Grotesque theatre, Fantastical and Mysterious worlds, the Chorus and Tragic hero and the world of the Clown.

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