Introduction to Berkoff
Monday 24th + Wednesday 26th April
We also talked about Jacques Lecoq, a French actor, mime and acting instructor who taught Berkoff when he studied in Paris. His work focused on masks and physical theatre, the first activity we did on Monday was based on his methods - he believed that every personality type could be found on the circle that changes your body language (explained in the video) and the importance of finding a voice, body language and physicality that suited each mask and the importance of gesture. Rhythm, tension and breathing patterns were all given great importance in his teaching and gives an infinite range of possibilities for characters. He respected the traditional form of commedia dell'arte and you can see how this influenced his work. In his teaching, he stressed the word 'efficace' which translates as efficient and effective - in terms of movement the more simple it is, the better, and gesture can be a better form of communication than words. However he was known for mixing styles and Berkoff's work has been clearly influenced by his time with Lecoq in how he mixes mime with the spoken word and the importance of playing for the audience and involving them, not uniquely keeping the play self-contained. To me, Lecoq has incredibly interesting methods and ideas and I can see how Berkoff uses some of them in his own work and it has helped me understand Berkoff's style more too.
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