| The Theatre de l’Ange Fou and the
International School of Corporeal Mime
(formerly known as the Ecole de Mime Corporel
Dramatique) were created in Paris in 1984 by
Steven Wasson and Corinne Soum, the last assistants of
“the father of Modern Mime” Etienne Decroux,
and relocated to London in 1995. The International School
of Corporeal Mime is devoted to the development of the
technique, growing Repertoiree and dramaturgy of Corporeal
Mime, and offers a full range of professional training
programmes.
The company, the Theatre de l’Ange Fou, has toured
throughout Europe, Russia, the United States, Canada,
Brazil, Mexico and the Middle East. The Theatre de l’Ange
Fou has created over 20 original plays, devised pieces,
as well as adaptations, ranging from duets to large
ensemble works: The Little Dictator- parts I
& II, Beyond the Garden, Crusade, Entangled Lives,
The Government Inspector and their latest,
The Orpheus Complex... revealing different
aspects of the spiritual and human quest, portraying
the fraility and complexity of relationships between
individuals longing for love.
Impressions of the mind, the absurdity of life and
the resulting questions are a constant source of inspiration
for both the directors and the actors. Using Corporeal
Mime as the base of their creative work, the dramaturgical
construction of their plays takes the form of a voyage
where the characters traverse varied landscapes and
lifetimes, some real, some imaginary.
The world of the Theatre de l’Ange Fou, this
visionary world of contrasting light and darkness, of
metamorphosis, is populated by a family of invented
archetypes in unkown yet familiar settings. Throughout
their various productions, the Theatre de l’Ange
Fou explores the infinite possibilities of the interaction
between the corporeal score and the spoken text, music
and film.
Alongside this personal artistic development, Steven
Wasson and Corinne Soum, in 1992, took up the challenge
of re-introducing to the public the Repertoiree of Etienne
Decroux with their reconstruction, and performances
by the Theatre de l’Ange Fou, of most of his major
pieces (including La Meditation, Les Arbres,
L’Usine...) in The Man Who Preferred
to Stand, and more recently, Passage
of Man on Earth and Resonance.
This was the beginning of the transmission process that
is today the base of the teaching in the International
School of Corporeal Mime.
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