Michel Jacques Saint-Denis (13 September 1897 – 31 July 1971), ''dit'' Jacques Duchesne, was a French

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), lit ...

theatre director A theatre director or stage director is a professional in the theatre field who oversees and orchestrates the mounting of a theatre production such as a play, opera, dance, drama, musical theatre performance, etc. by unifying various endeavors a ...

, and drama theorist whose ideas on actor training have had a profound influence on the development of European theatre from the 1930s on.

Life and career

Saint-Denis was born in

Beauvais Beauvais ( , ; pcd, Bieuvais) is a city and commune in northern France, and prefecture of the Oise département, in the Hauts-de-France region, north of Paris. The commune of Beauvais had a population of 56,020 , making it the most popul ...

, the nephew of

Jacques Copeau Jacques Copeau (; 4 February 1879 – 20 October 1949) was a French theatre director, producer, actor, and dramatist. Before he founded the Théâtre du Vieux-Colombier in Paris, he wrote theatre reviews for several Parisian journals, work ...

, who had founded the Théâtre du Vieux-Colombier in 1913. Saint-Denis was exposed to theatre early in his life. He joined Copeau's troupe in 1919, after their return from

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, where they had performed for two years. Saint-Denis was greatly influenced by Copeau's approach to theatre taught at his Ecole du Vieux-Colombier, which embraced not only the play on stage but also the actor training itself. He soon became Copeau's right-hand man, like

Charles Dullin Charles Dullin (; 8 May 1885 – 11 December 1949) was a French actor, theater manager and director. Career Dullin began his career as an actor in melodrama:185 In 1908, he started his first troupe with Saturnin Fabre, the ''Théâtre de Foire ...

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before him. Together with other members of the troupe of the Vieux-Colombier, he followed his uncle to

Burgundy Burgundy (; french: link=no, Bourgogne ) is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. The ...

in 1924, where they formed a new troupe that would become famous as ''les Copiaus''. In 1929, Michel Saint-Denis together with some other members of the ''Copiaus'' and with the help of Copeau, moved to

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

and set up the ''Compagnie des Quinze'', transporting Copeau's teachings on international stages to wide acclaim. In 1935, he accepted an invitation to

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, where he founded the London Theatre Studio, together with

George Devine George Alexander Cassady Devine (20 November 1910 – 20 January 1966) was an English theatrical manager, director, teacher, and actor based in London from the early 1930s until his death. He also worked in TV and film. Early life and education ...

and

Marius Goring Marius Re Goring, (23 May 191230 September 1998) was a British stage and screen actor. He is best remembered for the four films he made with Powell & Pressburger, particularly as Conductor 71 in '' A Matter of Life and Death'' and as Julian Cr ...

, an actor school where he introduced Copeau's and his own concepts from his earlier experience in France. Working together with established actors like

Alec Guinness Sir Alec Guinness (born Alec Guinness de Cuffe; 2 April 1914 – 5 August 2000) was an English actor. After an early career on the stage, Guinness was featured in several of the Ealing comedies, including '' Kind Hearts and Coronets'' (1 ...

Peter Ustinov Sir Peter Alexander Ustinov (born Peter Alexander Freiherr von Ustinov ; 16 April 192128 March 2004) was a British actor, filmmaker and writer. An internationally known raconteur, he was a fixture on television talk shows and lecture circuits ...

Michael Redgrave Sir Michael Scudamore Redgrave CBE (20 March 1908 – 21 March 1985) was an English stage and film actor, director, manager and author. He received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in ''Mourning Becomes Elec ...

John Gielgud Sir Arthur John Gielgud, (; 14 April 1904 – 21 May 2000) was an English actor and theatre director whose career spanned eight decades. With Ralph Richardson and Laurence Olivier, he was one of the trinity of actors who dominated the Brit ...

Laurence Olivier Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier (; 22 May 1907 – 11 July 1989) was an English actor and director who, along with his contemporaries Ralph Richardson and John Gielgud, was one of a trio of male actors who dominated the British stage ...

, he soon became known as a renowned director. At one time, he also co-directed the

Royal Shakespeare Company The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and produces around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, St ...

.British Library:
The Michel Saint-Denis Archive
'. URL last accessed July 18, 2006. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, he worked for the French Service of the BBC,

Radio Londres ''Radio Londres'' (, French for "Radio London") was a radio station broadcast from 1940 to 1944 by the BBC in London to Nazi-occupied France. It was entirely in French and was operated by the Free French who had escaped from occupied France ...

, under the pseudonym of "Jacques Duchesne", and was a regular participant in the programme

Les Français parlent aux Français ''Les Français parlent aux Français'' was a daily radio broadcast in French transmitted on the BBC (Radio Londres). It was broadcast from the 14 July 1940: , « Le poème de Verlaine diffusé en deux fois » and « La BBC s'installe au châ ...

. After the war, Saint-Denis founded a new theatre school at the damaged

Old Vic Old or OLD may refer to: Places *Old, Baranya, Hungary *Old, Northamptonshire, England * Old Street station, a railway and tube station in London (station code OLD) *OLD, IATA code for Old Town Municipal Airport and Seaplane Base, Old Town, Ma ...

that existed from 1947 to 1952. In 1952, Saint-Denis accepted a call by the ''Centre Dramatique de l'Est'' first at

Colmar Colmar (, ; Alsatian: ' ; German during 1871–1918 and 1940–1945: ') is a city and commune in the Haut-Rhin department and Grand Est region of north-eastern France. The third-largest commune in Alsace (after Strasbourg and Mulhouse), it i ...

, and then—since 1953—at

Strasbourg Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label= Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label= Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the ...

, where he founded the ''Ecole Supérieure d'Art Dramatique'' at the Théâtre national.Théâtre National de Strasbourg:
Les directeurs du TNS depuis sa création
''. In French. URL last accessed July 18, 2006. After his retirement for health reasons in 1957, he taught at the

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a Private university, private performing arts music school, conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely ...

in New York, where he instituted the Juilliard Drama School, and served as an advisor to the

National Theatre School of Canada The National Theatre School of Canada (NTS, french: École nationale de théâtre du Canada) is a private institution of professional theatre studies in Montreal, Quebec. Established in 1960, the NTS receives its principal funding from grants ...

. In 1961 he was named artistic advisor at the new Royal Shakespeare Company, and in 1966 he appeared as a storyteller on the BBC children's programme ''

Jackanory ''Jackanory'' is a BBC children's television series which was originally broadcast between 1965 and 1996. It was designed to stimulate an interest in reading. The show was first transmitted on 13 December 1965, and the first story was the fair ...

'' narrating in five episodes.

Death

Having suffered from health problems for a long time, Michel Saint-Denis died in

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, B ...

from a stroke, aged 73.“SAINT-DENIS Michel Jacques / 13Se1897 / Westminster 5e 1819” in ''General Index to Deaths in England and Wales'' (1971)

Filmography

Actor

Producer

Director

Selected bibliography

*Saint-Denis, M.: ''Theatre, a Rediscovery of Style''; New York, Theatre Arts Books; 1963. *Saint-Denis, M.: ''Training for the Theatre: premises and promises'', New York, Theatre Arts Books; 1982.

References

Main reference: *Gourmel, J.-B.:
Michel Saint-Denis
'; in French. Abstract of a thesis. URL last accessed July 18, 2006. Other references:

External links

*
Michel Saint-Denis website
' Website dedicated to Michel Saint-Denis *Topolski, A.:

', Journal of the National Theatre School of Canada, No. 16, November 2000. URL last accessed July 18, 2006. *Saint-Denis Archive in th
British Library Manuscripts Collections
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint-Denis, Michel 1897 births 1971 deaths People from Beauvais French male stage actors French theatre directors Instructors of the London Theatre Studio National Theatre School of Canada faculty