Jaccques Copeau French critic, actor, director Date of Birth: 04.02.1879 Country: France

1. Biography of Jacques Copeau
2. Theater Critic and Editor
3. Theater Director and Innovator
4. Work in the United States and Return to Paris
5. Closure of the Theater and Continued Influence

Biography of Jacques Copeau

Jacques Copeau was a French critic, actor, and director, known for his innovative contributions to theatrical style and stage design. He was born on February 4, 1879, in Paris.

Theater Critic and Editor

From 1904 to 1910, Copeau worked as a theater critic. His collection of articles, "Critiques d'un autre temps" (Critiques of Another Time), was published in 1923. In 1909, he contributed to the creation of "Nouvelle revue francaise" (New French Review) and served as its editor from 1912 to 1914.

Theater Director and Innovator

Copeau sought to depart from the excessive naturalism and cluttered stage details of his time. In 1913, he founded the "Théâtre du Vieux Colombier" (Theater of the Old Pigeon Loft) in Paris, which featured plays by Shakespeare, Molière, Antonin Artaud, Paul Claudel, and René Marten du Gar. His aim was to aesthetically simplify the stage space, allowing the audience to focus solely on the actors' performances and the meaning of the play.

Work in the United States and Return to Paris

Between 1917 and 1919, Copeau spent time in the United States, delivering lectures and assembling a troupe that performed in New York for two seasons with the support of the French government. Upon his return to Paris in 1920, he implemented his plan for permanent stage design, achieved through appropriate curtains and backdrops (known as "playing in rags"). Additionally, three sets of stairs from the stage to the audience were meant to break down the barrier between actors and spectators. The theater's repertoire expanded to include plays by Jean Romain, André Gide, and Charles Vildrac.

Closure of the Theater and Continued Influence

The theater closed in 1924, but Copeau's drama school continued to train theater actors. In 1927, the Theater Guild invited Copeau to New York to direct a production of "The Brothers Karamazov" based on Dostoevsky's novel. From 1936, Copeau worked as a director, and from 1940, he served as the artistic director of the "Comédie-Française." In 1931, he published his memoirs, "Souvenirs du Vieux Colombier" (Memories of the Old Pigeon Loft). Jacques Copeau passed away in Bone on October 20, 1940.