PEDAGOGY OF A RESEARCH

AND CREATION BASED THEATER​

​

​

THE JOURNEY

My approach to theater is deeply rooted in my academic background in the humanities and pedagogy, as well as in my long-standing experience as an educator across diverse social and educational contexts. These two dimensions—theoretical and practical—nurture a vision of theater not merely as performance, but as an open-ended journey of exploration.

​

I conceive of theatrical practice as a continuous path of inquiry—into expressive languages, into pedagogy, and ultimately into the human condition. This 'poetic path' serves as a means through which I, together with the students and the artists I collaborate with,  investigate the fundamental nature of existence,

​

A finished form is never truly final; rather, it is a horizon—something to move toward, yet never reach definitively. Each production, each training process, becomes a threshold: a point of passage toward new questions, new exploration. In this way, the work is always in motion, always in transformation.

​

Within this vision, workshops and theater schools are merely stages—brief but meaningful moments—in each student's larger personal journey. Some may initially perceive these experiences as beginnings. Over time, however, as they attune to the deeper rhythm of becoming and transformation, they come to recognize them for what they truly are: part of a longer trajectory that had already been unfolding

​

​

THE SPIRIT OF RESEARCH AND CREATION

​

At the core of my practice lies a commitment to research and creation—two inseparable processes that bring theatre to life. In the context of theatrical training, this commitment becomes a formative journey, where learning and artistic creation are not distinct phases but deeply intertwined experiences of discovery and transformation.

My work always holds together two essential dimensions: the search for new theatrical forms and the design of formative experiences that are themselves artistically meaningful. These two aspects constantly nourish one another and are present in every project I undertake.

​

From this perspective, a theatre production is not a fixed outcome but a living process—one that evolves over time and becomes an opportunity for both personal and collective growth. When the rehearsal space is embraced as a place of inquiry and experimentation, the performance turns into a moment of shared exploration. Likewise, a school or workshop should not merely aim to transmit technique, but should become a creative environment where doubt, curiosity, and discovery coexist; where getting lost is as important as finding one’s way.

 

The spirit of research, then, is not only a method but a mindset—an attitude of openness, risk-taking, and invention. The primary goal of pedagogy, in this sense, is to create spaces in which students can encounter this spirit, experiment freely, and make it their own—learning not only how to perform, but how to explore, question, and reinvent their art.

​

THE NECESSITY OF A TEACHER’S PERSONAL PRACTICE

In a pedagogical approach grounded in creation and research, it is essential that the teacher is not only a guide or facilitator, but also an active artist. Pedagogical knowledge and skill are necessary, of course—but they are not sufficient. Only through direct engagement with creative practice can a teacher maintain the depth and authenticity needed to guide others.

​

Theater is a discipline of presence, of encounter, and of risk. As such, the teacher must remain in direct contact with the creative act, continually challenging and renewing their own work in front of an audience. This sustained practice allows the teacher to stay connected to the intuitive, non-linear, and often mysterious aspects of creation—the very same aspects their students are learning to navigate.

​

Through this ongoing personal practice, the teacher develops a heightened sensitivity to the materials, themes, and processes that define theatrical work. This sensitivity is not theoretical; it is experiential. It is what enables a teacher to design a learning path that is coherent, alive, and responsive—one that offers concrete tools while remaining flexible enough to adapt in real time to the unique needs of each group and individual.

Ultimately, to cultivate a pedagogy of research and creation, the teacher must embody it. Teaching, in this framework, is not separate from artistic practice; it is one of its deepest expressions.

.

​​

THE PEDAGOGICAL SPACE

Within a pedagogical framework grounded in theatrical research and creation, both the educator and the student must remain in continuous and conscious engagement with the forms they are exploring. This relational process generates an awareness of three interdependent components: the student, the teacher, and the form itself. Central to this dynamic is the pedagogical space—the fluid, shared territory that emerges in the interplay between these elements.

This space is not static; rather, it is a delicate and evolving balance that requires ongoing attentiveness. Its integrity is essential: when the balance is disrupted, the pedagogical process risks losing coherence and veering into directions that may be counterproductive to its artistic and educational aims.

 

Imbalances Within the Triad

• Teacher–Student Emphasis:
  An overemphasis on the interpersonal relationship between teacher and student may inadvertently shift the educational experience toward the psychological or emotional realm. In such cases, the teacher may begin to adopt the role of therapist or life coach, thereby reducing the creative process to a form of personal development and diluting its artistic focus.

• Student–Form Emphasis:
  Conversely, when the student is left to engage with the material independently, without adequate pedagogical support, the creative process can become a quest for an ideal or absolute form—an unattainable objective. This can lead to an implicit elevation of the teacher to the status of a guru or spiritual guide, undermining the dialogic and co-constructive nature of the pedagogical relationship.

• Teacher–Form Emphasis:
  When the teacher focuses primarily on the aesthetic or structural aspects of the work, they may slip into the role of director. While this may fulfill the teacher's own creative impulses, it deprives students of the opportunity to develop their own artistic language and weakens the educational dimension of the work.

 

The Educator’s Responsibility

Maintaining equilibrium within this triadic relationship is a core responsibility of the pedagogue. Doing so requires the educator to remain actively engaged in both ongoing professional development and a personal creative practice. Without these, the clarity, sensitivity, and adaptability necessary to navigate the pedagogical space are gradually lost.

When this foundational engagement wanes, the teacher may, even unconsciously, redirect the pedagogical process toward adjacent disciplines—such as therapeutic, wellness-based, or spiritual practices—in an attempt to preserve their role as guide. While these domains may naturally intersect with the student’s artistic journey, they fall outside the scope and objectives of a theater-based pedagogy.

 

Staying Present in the Work

Students, too, are called to inhabit this pedagogical space fully—even, and especially, in moments of difficulty or creative impasse. In times of crisis, blockage, or uncertainty, the deepest learning often arises not from retreating or redefining the space, but from continuing to engage with the process itself. The act of remaining present within this shared space—despite discomfort or doubt—is central to the pedagogical value of theater as a site of research, creation, and transformation.

 

​

 

A PEDAGOGY OF MASKS

​

​

“Art is made with one’s hands.”

                                             Donato Sartori

 

 

We need to give a face to our perception of the world. A face that can be seen and that

can tell stories, evoke, and suggest. The Mask is born from the necessity to understand

and to represent the world around us, visible and invisible, ordinary and extraordinary.

​​

​

THEATRICAL MASKS

Theatrical and dramatic uses of the mask have spread across virtually every culture worldwide. This phenomenon reflects not merely a taste for fiction or disguise, but rather a deeper expression of the inherent duplicity and contradiction within the human experience. The mask gives form to those moments in which we encounter realities radically different from the ordinary dimensions of daily life.

​

The moment in which human existence brushes against a mysterious, unknowable “elsewhere” finds its theatrical expression in the mask. Through the playing of characters and archetypal themes—ones that are both familiar to and resonant with the audience—the mask becomes a powerful medium for exploring the tension between opposing forces, most notably that between life and death.

​

The mask should be understood not solely as a representation of a face, but within a much broader and more complex theatrical framework. It is a dynamic, spatial phenomenon—something that exists not only in form but in movement through space, in interaction with the stage environment. In this sense, we encounter in the mask the very principles that underpin theatrical performance: the set, the characters, the choreography, and even the text can all be conceived as forms of masking. The performance itself becomes a mask.

 

Thus, the mask—as a phenomenal entity—manifests fully only when all the constitutive elements of performance are present. Its physical structure and the materials from which it is crafted are, of course, significant. Yet equally crucial is the performer: the one who animates the mask, who moves through and with it, who engages with the physical space that sustains the performance, and who responds to the dramatic space that gives it meaning.

 

PEDAGOGICAL FUNCTION

The mask, with its unique universe of meaning and expressive potential, constitutes a foundational element in the study and practice of the theatrical arts. Engaging with the mask invites a deeper, more embodied exploration of theatrical creation, where the performer, the space, and the form are all interconnected in the process of artistic research.

The Body and the Space

By covering the face—the primary site of conventional expression—the mask radically shifts the performer’s relationship to their body and to the surrounding space. In doing so, it reorients the axis of expression and awakens new perceptual and physical sensibilities.

This transformation encourages a heightened awareness of presence, emotional fluidity, and dramatic intensity. It fosters a gestural language that is both instinctive and expressive, and it allows for a more holistic experience of perception and action on stage. Through the mask, performers can reconnect with the instinctual and primal dimensions of creativity.

In this framework, the body and the space emerge as essential reference points—not only for actors, but also for scenographers, writers, directors, choreographers, and dancers. They offer a pathway to greater authenticity in stage presence and in the compositional act of performance itself.

Forms

Working continuously with a predefined form—such as the mask— allows for a deeper understanding of the universal, structural principles that give form its expressive power.

Through this engagement, we begin to perceive and manipulate core elements of theatrical composition: lines, planes, volumes, spatial relationships, rhythm, timing, energy, effort, dramatic projection, unity, structural tension, organic flow, transposition, texture, fixed points and movement, and levels of dynamic layering. These are not merely technical aspects—they are archetypal qualities that inform the creation of an organic form, whether it manifests as a sculpture, a character, a scenographic design, a choreography, or a performance.

To work creatively with form, it is essential to develop the ability to recognize these elements, understand their function, and use them with intentionality. Through this process, we move toward a form of spontaneity that is both expressive and primordial—a spontaneity rooted in structure, intuition, and embodied knowledge.

 

 

TECHNIQUE AND PLAY

Technique: observation and the analysis of movement and form

Technical training equips us with the tools we need to express ourselves with clarity, intention, and depth. A refined technical understanding—especially in movement—broadens our physical vocabulary, allowing for more nuanced and powerful creative choices.

The development of technique is never separate from observation. The study of movement and the creation of masks must always be accompanied by an attentive gaze on the world: on nature, human behavior, and everyday life. These become sources of inspiration and essential reference points in the search for a poetic language that speaks to universal human experience.

From careful observation, we move into analysis—of how things move, how forms emerge and change, and how these patterns can inform the creative process. When grounded in observation and analysis, technique becomes more than a set of mechanical skills: it evolves into a dynamic process that supports both research and artistic exploration.

​

The role of play 

Play is the vital force that animates all artistic practice. In mask work especially, play is not an optional component—it is essential. The mask cannot exist on stage without play. It is through play that the mask becomes alive.

Without play, movement technique risks becoming a sterile display of skill—technically impressive, but emotionally distant. The purpose of technique is not simply to demonstrate control, but to serve expression. Technique must be activated through play in order to become meaningful.

Play introduces freedom, vitality, and spontaneity. When combined with the precision of technique, it produces a creative state where structure and intuition meet. In this space, something emerges that goes beyond personal expression or fiction—something that resonates with a shared, universal truth.

To play means to move and to be moved—by inner impulses, by emotional qualities, and by something larger than ourselves. This kind of play is not limited to pleasure or amusement; it embraces the full range of human experience. Even suffering, when brought into the realm of play, becomes a creative force—not a personal wound, but a dramatic motor that can be explored and shared on stage.

 

Play as poetic distance

One of the most powerful functions of play is that it creates distance between the performer and the material. This distance does not diminish intensity; rather, it opens a space—an imaginative and poetic space—where expression becomes accessible to all.

Through play, the actor is able to engage deeply with a theme without being consumed by it. This distance allows for transformation: personal experience becomes artistic material, and the stage becomes a shared space for meaning-making.

It's a universal space that belongs to everyone, a space that invites the creative breath, a poetic space.

 

 

​

​

 

“ATELIER MASK MOVEMENT THEATRE”

(Three-month training program)

​​

​​​​​

​

This intensive atelier is designed for individuals engaged in a wide range of performance and creative disciplines, including actors, performers, theatre educators, directors, scenographers, choreographers, dancers, musicians, puppeteers, and all those with a strong interest in mask work and movement-based theatre.

 

OBJECTIVES OF THE ATELIER

Throughout the program, participants will be supported in:

• Developing a refined sense of observation—of movement, life, and the world around them

• Cultivating greater perceptual awareness and responsiveness, both internally and externally

• Exploring the foundational principles of the creative process across multiple disciplines

• Acquiring technical and expressive tools to shape and articulate their own poetic and performative language

The training is conceived as an immersive artistic journey that fosters personal exploration, creative autonomy, and interdisciplinary dialogue.

 

GUIDING THEMES

The Mask serves as the central thematic and methodological focus of the Atelier. It is explored not only as a performative object but as a structural and symbolic medium through which the invisible—emotion, presence, archetype, and impulse—can take on visible and embodied form.

​

In this framework, the Mask becomes a primary tool for accessing and deepening the essential dimensions of theatrical expression. Its relevance spans multiple domains of theatre-making: from acting and directing to dramaturgy, pedagogy, and design.

​

Working with the Mask requires a rigorous technical discipline, but also invites a generous spirit of play and creative openness. This dynamic interplay between structure and spontaneity lies at the heart of the training and serves as the foundation for the participants’ artistic development.

​​

TYPES OF LESSONS

Regardless of the specific themes explored, the training process consistently incorporates several key types of lessons, all of which contribute to a holistic understanding of the Mask and theatrical expression:

• Physical preparation

• Observation and analysis of movement, materials, and forms

• Movement technique

• Mask-making techniques

• Improvisation-based theatrical play, grounded in the principles of scenic construction and performative responsiveness

 

THE THREE STATES OF PRACTICE

The Atelier offers a comprehensive exploration of the Mask through three interconnected states of practice, each of which contributes to a multi-layered understanding of performance, creation, and embodiment.

 

1. Becoming the Creator of the Mask

• Exploring the expressive potential of form through hands-on mask creation

• Investigating the dynamic relationship between form, structure, and spatial movement

• Allowing forms to emerge through an intuitive, organic process

• Designing and constructing a variety of masks: full-face, half-masks, and larval masks

 

2. Becoming the Mask

• Studying the relationship between the body and the mask

• Understanding the Mask-body structure and the actor’s state of presence

• Training in movement analysis and physical technique: the body in action

• Developing improvisational skills and a responsive sense of play

• Learning to "play" the mask through dramatic motivation, action/reaction, physical articulation, and spatial projection

• Initiating the writing of scenes born from the mask’s movement and narrative potential

 

3. Becoming Part of the Mask

• Working with the Mask-chorus: the collective body, shared breath, and ensemble presence

• Creating dynamic group architectures through collective movement

• Developing scenes and stage compositions using shared lines, volumes, planes, rhythms, sensations, and narrative structures

• Investigating the poetics of group creation and choral dramaturgy

 

THE VALUE OF DAILY PRACTICE

The daily rhythm of practice within a school or workshop setting allows the three modes of mask work—creation, embodiment, and choral integration—to intersect and inform one another continuously. This intersection enables a more expansive approach to artistic research, inviting the gradual emergence of universal principles and expressive qualities that ultimately give meaning to the work with the Mask.

​

This process is inherently non-linear. The principles involved—such as rhythm, form, presence, and transformation—manifest in distinct ways depending on the state of practice, the context of exploration, and the sensibility of the individual.

​

Each student follows a deeply personal trajectory through these three states. Some may find their initial grounding through physical training and improvisation, while others may connect more intuitively through the tactile and contemplative process of mask-making. For many, discoveries made in one area lead to breakthroughs in another—an insight found during creation may unlock a new dimension in scenic play, or a movement sequence may inform the sculptural choices in constructing a mask.

Crucially, these modalities are not siloed but mutually reinforcing, and the transitions between them are fertile ground for artistic growth.

​

The core objective of this pedagogical approach is to offer a shared and inclusive space where individual, embodied research can unfold organically—supported by a collective framework, but shaped by each participant’s unique path. Through this daily, integrated practice, the Mask becomes not only an object of study but a lived experience—one that continually evolves through the interplay of creation, movement, and play.

​

​

THE USE OF THEATRICAL MASKS IN THE ATELIER

​

The Neutral Mask

The Neutral Mask is a fundamental tool in theatrical training. It was invented and developed by theatrical pedagogue Jacques Lecoq and the sculptor Amleto Sartori. It was later revised and perfected by the sculptor Donato Sartori.

 

The Neutral Mask has a face with balanced characteristics which express a state of calm. Although there is no outward sign of emotion or feeling, the Neutral Mask expresses great vitality. The innate vitality in human beings that comes before all personal stories, that expresses an unadapted contact with the world. The state of receptivity and the desire to discover.

 

This way of approaching the concept of neutrality does not mean we are searching for lifeless or robot-like qualities. Neutrality in this sense does not relate to the dramatic dimensions of life, but to life itself. This kind of neutrality penetrates and takes on fully the fundamental principles of life, as well as the relationship between life and the physical and poetic worlds around us. The principles that make us move forward, backward, and through; that lead us to stand still or to take action. The neutral presence that carries no personal history, no memory, no conflict. Everything that happens takes place here and now between us and the world around us.

 

Jacques Lecoq defined this state as “…a blank page on which to write the dramas to come.” The Neutral Mask helps the actor work toward a clarity of gesture and movement, constantly confronted by the question of what is essential and what is superfluous.

 

From this work, the actors develop a level of consciousness and clarity necessary to transcend the habitual physical patterns which define them as an individuals, and thus they are available to shape themselves into any of the variations of forms human beings can take, to become every character imaginable.

 

The state of neutrality is a state of being available to immerse oneself in each of the infinite aspects of life.

 

Lecoq always said to his students, “Before you show me what makes you stand out and what makes you special, we are first searching for what we all have in common.”

 

 

The Larval Full Mask

This kind of Mask is inspired by the Masks of the Carnival traditions of Basel, Switzerland. Jacques Lecoq first introduced them as pedagogical tools in his school in Paris.

 

Over the years, working with Larval Masks has become a fundamental step in actor training. I felt compelled to take this concept to the next step, creating and developing new forms of masks that could adapt to specific needs of the actor’s pedagogical journey. For, after the period of work toward neutrality, the journey opens into the dimension of expressive movement.

 

This is a very delicate step because, leaving behind the Neutral Mask, we risk falling back into our old patterns and personal vices. Neutrality must therefore remain the basis from which we work, and from which emerge the origins of all expressive forms.

 

From this point of view, the forms proposed by the Larval Masks are simple and pure. The volumes are large and soft. Facial features disappear into just a few lines and essential directions, some playing even at the limit of abstraction. They have the minimum detail necessary to suggest facets and dynamics of humans, animals, or fantastic creatures; in every case some sort of living creature.They are called Larval because their forms are in an early stage of development, rich with potential, projected into the genesis of expression.

 

These masks propose to the actor/creator to experiment with the process of giving a body to a predetermined form. To give oneself fully to a given structure and to be able to search for a physical structure and movement quality different from one’s own.

 

The more precise and simple the proposal of the Mask, the more facility the actor will have in acting and reacting authentically with this new physicality.

 

After the first phase of experimentation with basic Larval Masks, we move into work with Larval Masks which have a slightly higher level of complexity, which invites us to already begin to define the stylistic world of living beings.

 

At this point in our journey, even the themes of improvisations are at a larval stage. Simple themes help us focus on the basic dynamics of being alive and in contact with the world around us. This allows us to begin to extend the training also toward dramatic writing, as we find in this phase the foundational structures of dramaturgy.

 

 

The Full Mask/Counter Mask

This type of Mask proposes fully defined human faces. Their expressivity suggests basic emotions and a psychological dimension. In them we see all the elements which, through the play of the actor, will give shape to a specific character.

 

Most full masks currently used in theatre courses and performances tend toward caricaturization in order to have an immediate effect on the audience.

 

My masks, on the other hand, are inspired by the revolutionary research of Amleto and Donato Sartori into the world of Expressive Masks. These two great Italian sculptors created a vision in which the structure of the Mask defines the mask, rather than exaggeration or distortion of certain facial features, or, conversely, hyperrealism. This architectural / structural approach allows us, through even minimal movements of the Mask and body, to offer vastly different perspectives to the observer.

 

In this approach, the Mask is never fixed in a single form of expression. Rather, it is able to change expressions during dramatic developments on stage, allowing for the evolution of opposing and even contradictory aspects of the character that emerges (“counter-masks”). These are living masks that can reach – if used with technical expertise and extreme sensitivity – that magical moment when the Mask disappears in the eyes of the spectator, as it is overtaken by the depth of the emerging character and the authenticity of the drama.

 

Through the use of these masks the actors sharpen their sense of dramatic movement, entering into full contact with the physical experience of sentiments and emotions. This work dissolves the barrier between internal feelings and external expression, as feeling and expression become one within the body-Mask, which itself takes form from an alchemy of structure, timing, and space.

 

​

Primary Mono-directional Masks

Primary Mono-directional Masks are an original and important pedagogical tool I conceived and created.

 

There comes a point in our journey with masks – after having worked exclusively with full masks that cover the entire face and having explored the dramatic silence that comes before speech – when it becomes necessary to liberate the lower part of the face, namely the mouth and chin. The mobile mouth becomes part of the Mask itself and with it, the sound of the breath and the voice.

 

The particularity of these Masks is that in their conception they tend toward structural directions and relationships based in primary forces, through which the face takes shape. The structure projects toward the front or is pulled up or down; it melts down from the skull or is pushed toward the forehead or compressed toward the center…

 

As these Masks present simple and unambiguous forms, the actors must complete the Mask by supporting the dominant directions not only with their bodies but also with the exposed part of their faces (the mouth and chin). In this way, the breath and voice must also support the same directions.

 

Primary Mono-directional Masks are unique in their ability to guide us in the journey from silence to voice. Thanks to their simple proposals the actors can effectively experience the sensations and the richness of the journey toward fully becoming a Mask, gaining little by little the awareness that everything played on stage needs to be masked, including breath and voice. Through this articulation, we begin the search for grammelot (gibberish), in which the expressive forces of the Mask take life through speech before entering into the meaning of the words.

 

Having taken these steps, we are finally ready to enter the world of text, which will no longer be a mere literary container, but rather an organic extension of the body-Mask. In this way the text will also become structure, timing, and space.

 

 

Half Masks

• Human Trage-Comedic Masks

• Grotesque Masks

• Satirical / Buffon Masks

• Commedia dell’Arte Masks

• Cartoon Masks

 

Through different types of half Masks we enter into the various styles of theater. Each of them brings a different treatment and level of transposition of dramatic themes. We work from tragi-comic themes, based on everday life situations, to themes treated through more transposed theatrical styles, such as grotesque.

 

Over the centuries, human existence has been sublimated into Commedia dell’Arte, from satirical dimensions of social themes to the most timeless of archetypes. Each of these types of masks offers the opportunity to enter into contact with a specific aspect of play and dramatic writing.

 

Each style defines a territory of exploration that priviledges specific aspects of human nature: grandiose emotions, a sense of mystery, the sacred dimension… The style elevates expressive action to a poetic level through which reality is deconstructed and rebuilt – penetrating, giving form to, and sharing the most essential and universal aspects of the human experience.

 

 

The Red Nose Mask: the Clown

A certain period of research is dedicated to finding one’s clown through the use of the smallest mask in the world: the red nose.

 

The clown is born and takes form from a deeply personal state of presence. Like the Neutral Mask, the clown asks us to make contact with a primordial dimension of our relationship to the space that surrounds us. A state of total openness and receptivity. Unlike the Neutral Mask, though, the clown carries with him/her all of the personal characteristics of the actor. Instead of working to free ourselves from these, we amplify them, reaching a level of ridiculousness in which the sense of self is sublimated into pure poetic presence; extremely dramatic, comedic, and moving all at the same time. The state of the clown is an infantile state. Emotions and actions are communicated directly without passing through rational analysis, sometimes even becoming united as one. Thoughts are extremely simple, connected obviously and naively to the primary aspects of human existence.

 

Research into this state is a fundamental part of the pedagogic journey and will, along with the Neutral Mask, become a reference point for every character to come. Each of them, in fact, is the synthesis between a variation of universal and personal states.​

​

​

​

SOURCES OF INSPIRATION

​

My approach to theatrical pedagogy is the result of a rich interplay between personal experiences, deliberate choices, and formative encounters throughout my journey of study and practice.

 

STUDIES AND EXPERIENCES

My academic background has afforded me the opportunity to engage deeply with the ideas of influential philosophers, pedagogues, scientists, and artists. I have developed a particular interest in the history of philosophy and the evolution of human thought.

Equally significant to my artistic development are my early experiences working as a pedagogue in social projects involving people of diverse ages and backgrounds, before formally entering the theatrical world.

A foundational source of inspiration for my pedagogy stems from my active practice as a theater director, actor, mask maker, and designer—both in performance and educational contexts. These roles have brought me into collaboration with artists across various disciplines, whose work and life perspectives have profoundly shaped my own.

Furthermore, my extensive experience teaching workshops at universities, theater groups, and notably at Helikos: International School for Theater Creation, has been instrumental in refining and expanding my pedagogical approach.

​

MY ENCOUNTER WITH THE PEDAGOGY OF JACQUES LECOQ

My pedagogical proposal is deeply rooted in the work and teachings of Jacques Lecoq, under whom I trained professionally at his school in Paris. This experience allowed me to witness firsthand the core values that animate a dedicated pedagogue.

I came to understand that learning transcends the mere transmission of techniques or the replication of fixed methods. Rather, it is a transformative journey marked by continuous evolution, shaped through the dynamic relationship between teacher and student.

Lecoq’s pedagogy profoundly informs my work, emphasizing:

• The careful observation of the world and its movements

• The progression from neutrality to expression

• The layered spectrum of play, from “rejeu” to expressivity and style

• The ongoing quest for a universal poetic language

• Two essential frameworks for theatrical research: dramatic play (grounded in improvisation and its conventions) and movement analysis and technique 

 

IMPORTANT ENCOUNTERS

Beyond Lecoq, I have been fortunate to learn from several other influential teachers and artists who have deeply inspired my practice: 

• Maestro Donato Sartori, whose artistic integrity, honest practice, and profound exploration of materials and architectural transposition of drama—prior to the formation of a definitive shape—have left a lasting mark. His guiding question, “Always ask yourself, where are the planes?” continues to resonate deeply in my work.

• Norman Taylor, whose work in movement analysis and poetic perception of everyday life enriched my perspective.

• Pierre Byland, for his foundational work on clown, has revealed to me so much through his approach to the simplicity of play, comedy, and drama.