THE WAY OF THEATRE

The journey of the Poetic Body

Edited by Giovanni Fusetti, October 2019

Nature is the first book. Observation, curiosity, exploration, awe, imitation, synthesis and transposition of the amazing world of nature: this is the creative process of the poetic mind.
Everything moves, and “il moto è causa d’ogni vita” (Movement is the cause of all life) (Leonardo Da Vinci).
The “here and now” is really the only space and time in which we can be fully alive. However, human beings are storytellers and many great minds have transmitted their stories through great writings. Here are some books that I encourage you to “encounter”, in order to nurture your training experience with me. This is not a complete bibliography. I have tried to select “the best of”, among a wide landscape of texts.
My work gives priority to the experience versus the theory. However, one purpose of my work is to train conscious artists, capable of seeing their work in the wider perspective of theater history, world history, social history and the personal journey, as well as the arts and natural sciences. I have learnt through experience and observation, that, as human beings, we function best when we can integrate our right brain with our left brain, integrating the intuitive/symbolic mind with the logical/analytical mind. The ability to articulate what we do at an intellectual level is an important part of our artistic life. The awareness of the connections between the personal, the poetic and the collective, is something I highly value and cultivate, both in my life and in my work.

This bibliography includes a series of references to some fundamental principles that stand in the backbone of my practice of movement-based theater and the art of teaching it. These principles include the work of Jacques Lecoq as well as what other teachers and practitioners, including myself, have developed from his legacy. I also make reference to the work of other masters and other bodies of knowledge that have given me some specific and fundamental perspectives and tools within my work. You can find my lineage on the page THE ROOTS in the website http://www.helikos.com.

In particular in my practice I do refer consistently to the following approaches:
Gestalt Psychology and Gestalt Therapy.
Wilhelm Reich’s character analysis, and the body oriented psychotherapies that have been inspired by his approach, in particular the Bioenergetic Analysis of Alexander Lowen and the Core Energetics by John Pierrakos.
Arnold Mindell’s Process Work (also known as Process Oriented Psychology), directly related to C.G. Jung’s work and to Quantum Physics.
Joseph Campbell’s work on Mythology.
James Hillman’s work on Archetypal Psychology.

Here I have outlined in green the big ones of the list. Any one of them will greatly inspire your journey. If you know about other great books that you feel are connected with my practice, please let me know the titles.

There are also various articles that I wrote and you can download from the website, http://www.helikos.com at the page WRITINGS.

Don’t hesitate to contact me for any question. Enjoy the reading !

Giovanni Fusetti

By JACQUES LECOQ and about JACQUES LECOQ

Chamberlain, Franc (Editor), Yarrow Ralph (Editor): Jacques Lecoq and the British Theatre (Contemporary Theatre Studies, 42) Paperback – Routledge, 2002

Evans, Mark and Kemp, Rick (editors). The Routledge companion to Jacques Lecoq. Routledge, London, 2016.

Lecoq, Jacques (sous la direction de), Le théatre du geste: mimes et acteurs, BORDAS, Paris, 1987. (This book is out of print and unavailable, except for used copies, fairly expensive).

Lecoq, Jacques, Le corps poetique, Actes Sud, 1997. (English translation: The Moving Body.Paperback – Routledge, 2002). (Also translated in many other languages)

Lecoq/Bradby. Theatre of Movement and Gesture. Paperback, 2006. (This is a translation of some parts of the previous book Le théatre du geste)

Lecoq, Patrick. Jacques Lecoq, un point fixe en mouvement  Actes Sud, 2016

Murray, Simon. Jacques Lecoq. Routledge Performance Practitioners- Paperback (2003).

DVD: Les deux voyages de Jacques Lecoq par Jean-Noel Roy et Jean-Gabriel Carasso. In French.

MIME and MOVEMENT THEATRE

Barba, Eugenio e Savarese, Nicola. The secret art of the performer: a dictionary of theatre anthropology. Routledge, London and New York, 1991.

De Marinis, Marco (a cura di). Mimo e mimi: parole e immagini per un genere teatrale del Novecento. La casa Usher, Milano, 1980.

Decroux, Etienne. Paroles sur Ie Mime. (English translation: Words on Mime)

Evans, Mark. Jacques Copeau. Routledge, London & New York, , 2006.

Fo, Dario. Manuale minimo dell’attore. Einaudi, Milano, 1987. (English translation: The Tricks of the Trade, Methuen, London, 1991).

Murray, Simon & Keefe, John.  Physical Theatres: a Critical Introduction.  Paperback – Routledge, London, 2007.

Rolfe, Bari (edited by). Mimes on Miming. Writings on the Art of Mime. Penjandrum Books, Los Angeles-San Francisco, 1979.

ANALYSIS OF MOVEMENT

Barnier, Lucien. L’analyse des mouvements. Tome I: Technique de l’Analyse (1950)et Tome  II: Pratique de l’Analyse (1955). Editions P.U.F. (This book is the fundamental reference of Lecoq’s Movement Analysis practice and principles. It is available in French on e-bay. Contains many drawings).

Jousse, Marcel. L’Anthropologie du Geste. Gallimard, Paris, 1974.(English Translation: The Anthropology of Gesture and Rhythm. 1997).

Jousse, Marcel. In Search of Coherence: Introducing Marcel Jousse’s Anthropology of Mimism. Pickwick Publications  2016

Morris, Desmond. Manwatching: A field Guide to Human Behaviour. Grifton, HarperCollinsPublishers, London, 1978.

CLOWN and PHYSICAL COMEDY

Fabbri, Jacques et Sallée, André (sous la direction de). Clowns et Farceurs, Paris, Bordas, 1982. In French

Fellini, Federico. I Clown. Cappelli Editore, Bologna 1988. In Italian.

Fusetti, Giovanni. Au commencement était le clown: le voyage du clown entre Art, Theatre et Therapie. Memoire de fin de Formation. Ecole Parisienne de Gestalt , Paris, 1999. (Download PDF)

Galante Garrone, Alessandra. Alla ricerca del proprio clown: le tecniche di movimento nell’esperienza di una scuola, Firenze, La casa Usher, 1980. In Italian.

Gaulier, Philippe. Le Génènur – The Tormentor. Paris, Éditions Filmiko, 2012. (Available on http://www.filmichiko.com/)

Hugill, Beryl.  Bring on the clowns. David and Charles Publishers, 1980.

Janik, Vicki K. (edited by). Fools and Jesters in Literature, Art and History. A bio-bibliographical sourcebook. Greenwood Press, 1998.

LeBank, Ezra & Bridel, David (editors). Clowns: In conversation with modern masters. Routledge, 2015.

Manea, Norman.  On Clowns: The Dictator and the Artist (essays). Paperback 1994.

Miller, Henry. The Smile at the Foot of the Ladder. New Directions Publishing Corporation, (1975)

Remy, Tristan. Entrées clownesques, (eng translation: Clown Scenes, 1997).

Remy, Tristan. Les Clowns. paperback, 2002.

Simon, Alfred. La planète des clowns. La Manufacture, Lyon, 1988.

Speaight, George. The book of clowns. Sidgwick & Jackson, London.

Towsen, John. Clowns. E P Dutton, 1976.

Welsford, Eni.The Fool: his social and literary history. Faber and Faber, London, 1935.

Willeford, William:.The Fool and his scepter: a study on clowns an their audience, London, Arnols, 1969

Wright, John. Why is That So Funny? A Practical Exploration of Physical Comedy (Softcover) Paperback – Limelight Editions, 2007

MASKS

AA.VV. Le Masque du rite au Theatre. Edition du CNRS. Paris, 1985

Centro Maschere e Strutture Gestuali: L’Arte Magica di Amleto e Donato Sartori, 2005.

Centro Maschere e Strutture Gestuali. Maschere e Mascheramenti: i Sartori tra arte e teatro (Catalogo della mostra), Il Poligrafo, Padova, 1996;

Centro Maschere e Strutture Gestuali: The Commedia dell’Arte and the masks of Amleto and Donato Sartori, La Casa Husher, Firenze, 1980

Levi-Strauss, Claude. La Voie des Masques, Agora, Plon, revised edition, 1999. (English Translation: The Way of Masks. University of Washington Press; Reprint edition, 1988).

Mack, John (editor). Masks: the Art of Expression. British Museum Press; Revised ed. Edition, 2013.

Nicoll, Alardyce. Masks, Mimes and Miracles. Hercourt, Brace and Company, New York, 1931.

COMMEDIA DELL’ARTE

Beaumont, Cyril. History of Arlequin. London, 1926. Reprint: Benjamin Blom, New York, 1967.

Duchartre, Pierre Louis. La Comedie Italienne, Paris, 1925. (English Tanslation: The Italian Comedy. The John Day Company, New York, 1929. Reprinted, London, Dover, 1966).

Fava, Antonio. The comic mask in the Commedia dell’arte: actor training, improvisation and the poetics of survival. Northwestern University press, 2007.

Gordon, Mel. Lazzi, PAJ Publication, New York, 1983

Mic, Constant. La Commedia dell’Arte. Editions de la Pléiade, Paris, 1927.

Rudlin, John. Commedia dell’Arte. An actor’s handbook. Routledge, London, 1994.

Sand, Maurice. Masques et Bouffons, Michel Lévy Frères, Paris, 1860.

Sartori, Donato e Lanata, Bruno (a cura di). Arte della maschera nella Commedia dell’Arte, La Casa Husher, Firenze, 1983)

Scala, Flaminio. Scenarios of the Commedia Dell’Arte: Flaminio Scala’s Il Teatro Delle Favole Rappresentative. Pompton Plains : Limelight Editions, 1990.

Smith, Winifred: The Commedia dell’Arte. New York, 1912. Reprint: Benjamin Blom, New York, 1964.

Taviani Ferdinando- Schino Mirella. Il Segreto della Commdia dell’Arte. LaCasa Usher Firenze, 1984: (French Translation : Le secret de la Commedia dell’Arte: Bouffonneries)

Tessari, Roberto. Commedia dell’Arte: la maschera e l’ombra. Mursia, 1981.

BOUFFONS AND GROTESQUE

Bakhtin, Mikhail. Rabelais and his world. Indiana University Press, 1984

Enrenreich, Barbara. Dancing in the street. A history of collective joy. Macmillan 2006.

Siefker, Phyllis. Santa Claus, Last of the Wild Men. McFarland 1997.

Wright, Thomas.  A History of Caricature and Grotesque In Literature. Illustrated by  F. W. Fairholt, 1875. Reprinted by Transcript in 2014.

Other books relevant to physical theatre, physical comedy and Theatre PROCESSES

Bergson, Henri. Le Rire. Essai sur la signification du comique. Paris, 1924. English translation: Laughter: An essay on the Meaning of the Comic.

Boal, Augusto. Theatre of the Oppressed. 1979.

Boal. Augusto. Games for Actors and Non-Actors.

Copeau, Jacques. Notes sur le métier de comédien, Michel Brient, Paris, 1955.

Huizinga, Johan. Homo Ludens. A study of the Play-element in Culture. Beacon Press, 1971.

Mederos Syssoyeva, Kathryn and Proudfit, Scott (editors.) A history of collective creation. Palgrave Macmillan, London, 2013.

Nietzsche, Friederich. The Birth of Tragedy. Vinatage Books: New York, 1967.

Schechter, Joel. Durov’s Pig: Clowns, Politics and Theatre. Theatre Communications Group: New York, 1985.

PLAYWRITING

Lavandier, Yves: La dramaturgie, Les mécanismes du récit, (English Translation: Writing Drama; a Comprehensive Guide for Playwrights and Scriptwriters) This is THE book if you are interested in writing for theatre.

HISTORY OF THEATRE

The Oxford Illustrated History of Theatre (Oxford Illustrated Histories) by John Russell Brown (Paperback – 2001).

GESTALT

Ginger, Serge. Gestalt Therapy: The Art of Contact. Paperback 2007.

Perls, Fritz. The Gestalt Approach & Eye Witness to Therapy. Science and Behavior Books, Inc.,1973.

Zinker, Joseph.  Creative Process in Gestalt Therapy, 1978.

The REICHIEN Lineage

Lowen, Alexander: Joy: The Surrender to the Body and to Life.

Lowen, Alexander: The Betrayal of the Body.

Lowen, Alexander: The Language of the Body.

Lowen, Alexander: Bioenergetics.

Lowen, Alexander, Lowen, Leslie and Skalecki, Walter. The Way To Vibrant Health: A Manual of Bioenergetic Exercises (Paperback)

Pierrakos, John. Core Energetics: Developing the capacity to love and heal. 1987

Reich, Wilhelm: Character Analysis. 1933.

Reich, Wilhelm: Listen Little Man. 1945

Reich, Wilhelm: Mass Psychology of Fascism. 1933

TRAUMA and Somatic Release

Maté, Gabor. In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters with Addiction. 2010

Maté, Gabor. When the Body Says No: Exploring the Stress-Disease Connection. 2011

Levine, Peter. Waking the Tiger: Healing Trauma. 1997

Levine, Peter A. In an Unspoken Voice: How the Body Releases Trauma and Restores Goodness. 2010

Van der Kolk, Bessel. The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma. 2014

The JUNGHIAN Lineage and Mythology

Bly, Robert. Iron John.

Campbell, Joseph and Moyers, Bill. The Power of Myth. (available also in a DVD)

Campbell, Joseph. The Hero with a Thousand Faces. Bollingen Series Hardcover – 2008)

Hillman, James & Ventura, Michael. We’ve had a hundred years of psychotherapy and the world’s getting worse. 1993.

Hillman, James. The Soul’s Code. In search of Character and Calling. 1997.

Jung, Carl Gustav. Man and his Symbols, 1964.

Mazis, Glenn A. The Trickster, Magician and Grieving Man. Santa Fe, Mexico, USA, Bear and Company Publishing, 1993.

Mindell, Arnold. Dreambody: the Body’s role in revealing the Self. Penguin Arkana, London 1982.

Mindell, Arnold. The Shaman’s Body. Penguin Arkana, 1993.

Mindell, Arnold. Working with the Dreambody. Penguin Arkana, London 1985.

Pincole Estess, Clarissa. Women who run with the wolves.

OTHER SOURCES

Lao Tzu. Tao Te Ching.

Kandinsky, Wassilly. Concerning the Spiritual in Art.

Herrigel, Eugene.  Zen and The Art of Archery .

Nisker, Wes Scoop. The Essential Crazy Wisdom. Ten Speed Press, Berkeley, USA, 2001.

Most of the books contained in this bibliography are available online. And many also exist in different translations. When possible, I always recommend the reading in the original language.