Clown Heritage (Lecoq / Gaulier / Copeau)
Early 20th century-present
The European clown lineage, Copeau, Lecoq, Gaulier, and its imprint on improv: play, vulnerability, the found comedic self over the constructed character.
Known for
- Copeau's Théâtre du Vieux-Colombier (1913) seeded the movement; Lecoq's École (1956) trained a generation; Gaulier broke off to open his own school in 1980.
- Bouffon (Lecoq's term) and Gaulier's 'play' tradition target the same material from different angles, the clown as the actor's own self under permission.
- Imprint on improv: Sacha Baron Cohen, Emma Thompson, Helena Bonham Carter, Simon McBurney, and many UCB-era performers studied at Gaulier. Clown vocabulary (the 'flop,' the 'bide,' 'being boring') has quietly infiltrated intermediate improv pedagogy.
Connected to
People
jacques lecoqphilippe gaulier
Concepts
Sources
Referenced by
Concepts