True art, not simply entertainment
Against the commercial theatre of the Boulevard, Copeau pushed an anti-naturalistic move away from realist theatre and towards an authentic poetic interpretation of life.
Jacques Copeau
The Vieux Colombier reflects Copeau's stance of the organisation of theatre and the relative importance with regards to set design versus the importance of the actor.
The performer, seen as key, and the stage seen as minimal, solid and durable. Albert M. Katz (1967) describes this,
"Copeau sought an "austere nudity" in stage design, what could suggest rather than depict a locale; what would 'speak to the imagination an spirit rather than the senses'".
It was Coppeau's belief that the stage should not try to mimic that which it were to represent (as done in realist theatre), but to imply or suggest (and therefore trigger imagination of) the scene through considered lighting and a marrying of the performers' gestures and vocal expressions.
Copeau was influenced by Adolphe Appia, of whom he shared opinion that theatre should be predominantly about the performer and the spatial setting: Light, intensity, colour and manipulation alongside bodily movement and spatial organisation.
Jaques Dalcroze founded an interest in Copeau in Eurythmics - the practice and emphasis of bodily training of the actors to align gestural control with vocal delivery. Copeau has been quoted speaking in relation to the Ecole du Vieux-Colombier (The performance school started and sited at The Vieux Du Colombier):
“I have been training the boys and girls, starting with them at the age of fifteen. Their first training is gymnastics and Dalcroze’s eurythmics, practiced assiduously." (Katz 1967, citing Willis Steele 1917).
However, if the space were to need any extra indication of a space or space, it may be done with simple drapery, tapestry or other simple but suggestive property. Romagnoli Richard V (1980) describes:
“The internal architecture of the theatre reflected the concepts Copeau had absorbed from Appia…Copeau created a new impression of the stage and house by continuing the architectural design of the auditorium beyond the foot of the stage, which included three broad partition portions of steps, and extending it to include the entire stage area. Outstage were platforms, stairs, various entrances and one exit, all made of concrete or wood. This permanent architectural façade was basically devoid of any specific historical period or place, adapting well to either interior or exterior scenes. In addition to the permanent façade, that which was not scenically suggested by light was indicated by an occasional drape, tapestry, or other simple but suggestive property…… he sought austere nudity in stage design, what would suggest rather than depict a locale, which would speak to the imagination and spirit rather than the senses…” (Romagnoli, 1980, The young vics: the development of a popular theatrical tradition.)
(There are criticisms of the Vieux Colombier which suggest that Copeau limited himself by only provided one entry/exit to the stage. )
By removing potential hindrances to the imagination of the audience through any realistic representation of space and place within the set, the actors create richness from the text and from action and relationship to one another. In training his actors Copeau employed improvisation as a tool to enable the students to find a persona that belonged to them, a space where the performers would become themselves in true ownership of the moment and in personal connection with the text or scene played.
The Theatre:
- The Vieux Colombier opened in 1913 on the Left Bank of the Siene in Paris.
- At it’s peak in 1914 the theatre was forced to close down.
- 1917 the French governement sent copeau to NY to establish a French speaking theatre.
- Late in 1919 the Vieux colombier found its new home in an old theatre redesigned by Louis Jouvet and Copeau
Paris: a poster aimed at a literate audience announcing Copeau's appeal to the youth to reject the commercial theater.
REFERENCES:
Smith, Maxwell
The Vieux Colombier and the Contemporary French Theater
The Modern Language Journal, Vol. 9, No. 8 (May, 1925), pp. 503-510
Published by: Blackwell Publishing on behalf of the National Federation of Modern Language Teachers Associations
Katz, Albert M.
The Genesis of the Vieux Colombier: The Aesthetic Background of Jacques Copeau
Educational Theatre Journal, Vol. 19, No. 4 (Dec., 1967), pp. 433-446
Published by: The Johns Hopkins University Press
Romagnoli, Richard V.
THE YOUNG VICS: THE DEVELOPMENT OF A POPULAR THEATRICAL TRADITION
University Micofilms International
1980
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