Embodied ecological awareness and the pedagogy of Jacques Lecoq

Abstract

This article explores Jacques Lecoq’s movement-based approach to actor training through an ecological lens and its potential impact in fostering embodied eco-consciousness. Reflecting on my experiences as a student at the Lecoq School in Paris from 2002 to 2004, I argue Lecoq’s pedagogy, which includes students embodying various animals, elements, and man-made and natural objects during their training, offers a framework for students to explore complex human experiences in relation to, and as part of, the more-than-human world. Furthermore, I contend Lecoq’s approach anticipates emergent eco-discourses which seek new ways for theatre and performance to challenge anthropocentrism by reimagining our relationship with the natural world. To illustrate the practical application of Lecoq’s pedagogy and its applicability for nurturing embodied ecological awareness and nature connectedness among the next generation of theatre makers, I draw on my experience teaching Eco-Theatre: Outdoor and Immersive Performance, a new module I introduced at the University of Exeter in 2022. I describe and reflect on my endeavours to adapt Lecoq’s approach into a model for green training, extending its reach into proto-environmental contexts.