Etienne Decroux

Etienne Decrouxis the primarycreator of Corporeal Mime and one of modern theatre’s most charismatic innovators, known for his ground-breaking use of the body as the principal means of expression on stage. This second edition combines: + an overview of Decroux’s life and work + an analysis of Decroux’s __Words on Mime__, the first book to be written about this art + a series of practical exercises offering an introduction to Corporeal Mime technique. As a first step towards critical understanding, and as an initial exploration before going on to further, primary research, **Routledge** **Performance Practitioners** are unbeatable value for today’s student. Etienne Decroux is the primary creator of Corporeal Mime and one of modern theatre's most charismatic innovators, known for his ground-breaking use of the body as the principal means of expression on stage. This second edition combines: an overview of Decroux's life and work an analysis of Decroux's Words on Mime, the first book to be written about this art a series of practical exercises offering an introduction to Corporeal Mime technique. As a first step towards critical understanding, and as an initial exploration before going on to further, primary research, Routledge Performance Practitioners are unbeatable value for today's student. Cover 1 Half Title 4 Series Page 5 Title Page 6 Copyright Page 7 Dedication 8 Table of Contents 10 List of plates 14 List of figures 16 Acknowledgments 18 Chapter 1: A PROMETHEAN LIFE 20 Introduction 20 The life of Etienne Decroux 21 Chez Copeau: the Chapel, the laboratory, the school 23 Jean-Louis Barrault 31 1789 and The Extravagant Captain Smith 32 Children of Paradise 33 Marcel Marceau 35 Performance at La Maison de la Chimie 37 New York years 43 Last years in Boulogne-Billancourt 43 Decroux’s “underground” school 45 What Decroux accomplished 49 Decroux and Asian theatre 52 Decroux and Grotowski 54 Decroux, Grotowski, and the audience 55 The vibrato and dynamic immobility in Decroux’s work 57 Transmission: patience is a long passion 59 Transmission of what? 61 “If Corporeal Mime survives, the world will survive” 62 The Great Project 64 Chapter 2: SUMMARY AND ANALYSIS OF WORDS ON MIME 68 Chapter 1: sources 69 Chapter 2: theatre and mime 84 Chapter 3: dance and mime 91 Chapter 4: mime and mime 92 Chapter 5: teaching 99 Chapter 3: DECROUX AS DIRECTOR/CREATOR: HOW DID DECROUX MAKE A PERFORMANCE? 104 Banishing text 104 Making performances from improvisation 105 Decroux’s actor 108 Funding for performances 108 The other “alien arts” 110 The movement itself: counterweights 110 The dynamic construction – “dynamo-rhythm” 112 Material actions suggest mental states 114 The Carpenter 116 The Washerwoman 129 Summary 139 Chapter 4: CORPOREAL MIME TECHNIQUE: PRACTICAL EXERCISES WITH IMMEDIATE APPLICATIONS 146 Inclinations on a lateral plane 149 Contradictions on a lateral plane 153 Segmented movement, lateral scale, cumulatively curved (the spine moving like a chain) 153 Pulling (and being pulled by) an extensor 157 Double, triple, and quadruple designs 165 Stages of consciousness 165 Movement research: how to create a “movement score” 167 Bibliography 172 Index 178