Jean-Louis Rodrigue
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Jean-Louis Rodrigue (born May 23, 1951 Casablanca, Morocco,) is an acting coach, movement director, author, and senior teacher of the
Alexander Technique The Alexander technique, named after its developer Frederick Matthias Alexander (1869–1955), is an alternative therapy based on the idea that poor posture causes a range of health problems. The American National Center for Complementary a ...
. He has worked in Los Angeles and New York in theatre, film, television, and
digital media In mass communication, digital media is any media (communication), communication media that operates in conjunction with various encoded machine-readable data formats. Digital content can be created, viewed, distributed, modified, listened to, an ...
. Rodrigue has taught at the
Berlin International Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival (), usually called the Berlinale (), is an annual film festival held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festival has been held every February since 1978 and is one of Europ ...
, Generation Campus in Moscow,
Verbier Festival The Verbier Festival is a two week annual international music festival which is held in late July and early August in the mountain resort of Verbier southeast of Lausanne, Switzerland. Begun by Swedish expatriate in 1994, it has attracted int ...
in Switzerland, Universidad de la Comunicación (México) in Mexico City, Berlinale Talents in Guadalajara,
USC Thornton School of Music The USC Thornton School of Music is a private music school in Los Angeles, California. Founded in 1884 only four years after the University of Southern California, the Thornton School is the oldest continually operating arts institution in Los An ...
,
Manhattan School of Music The Manhattan School of Music (MSM) is a private music conservatory A music school is an educational institution specialized in the study, training, and research of music. Such an institution can also be known as a school of music, music a ...
,
National Institute of Dramatic Art The National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) is an Australian educational institution for the performing arts based in Sydney, New South Wales. Founded in 1958, it offers bachelor's, master's and vocational degrees in subjects including acting ...
in Sydney, and Digital Life Design Women in Munich. Rodrigue has been a faculty member at the
UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television The UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television (UCLA TFT), is one of the 12 schools within the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) located in Los Angeles, California. Its creation was groundbreaking in that it was the first time a leadi ...
and the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music for the past 34 years.


Early life and education

Jean-Louis Rodrigue was born on May 23, 1951 in
Casablanca Casablanca (, ) is the largest city in Morocco and the country's economic and business centre. Located on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of the Chaouia (Morocco), Chaouia plain in the central-western part of Morocco, the city has a populatio ...
,
Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...
and was raised in
Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...
,
Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
. At eight years old, he decided to become an actor after viewing Ferruccio Soleri in “ Arlecchino, Servant of Two Masters” at Piccolo Teatro di Milano. In 1967, he began working with
Herbert Berghof Herbert Berghof (September 13, 1909 – November 5, 1990) was an American actor, director and acting teacher.Kennedy, Dennis. ''The Oxford Companion to Theatre and Performance'', Oxford Univ. Press (2010) p. 61 Early life Berghof was born in ...
at the
HB Studio The HB Studio (Herbert Berghof Studio) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization offering professional training in the performing arts through classes, workshops, free lectures, theater productions, theater rentals, a theater artist residency prog ...
and Sonia Moore at the American Center for Stanislavski Theater Art in New York. In 1970,
William Ball William Ball may refer to: * William Ball (MP) ( 1571), MP for Nottingham * William Ball (astronomer) (1627–1690), English astronomer * William Lee Ball (1781–1824), Virginia congressman * William Ball (Shropshire Giant) (1795–1852), 40 st ...
awarded Rodrigue a full scholarship to study in the Advanced Training Program at the
American Conservatory Theater The American Conservatory Theater (ACT) is a nonprofit theater company in San Francisco, California, United States, that offers both classical and contemporary theater productions. It also has an attached acting school. History The American ...
(ACT) in San Francisco. During Rodrigue's training at ACT, he discovered the Alexander Technique. He then stayed three more years to train at the American Center for the Alexander Technique, San Francisco. In post-formal training, Rodrigue studied with Alexander Technique teachers Marjorie Barstow, Walter Carrington, Patrick McDonald, and Dilys Carrington. Rodrigue is also a certified teacher of Jessica Wolf's The Art of Breathing.


Teaching career

In 1980, Rodrigue founded Alexander Techworks. The company provides private instruction, training, coaching, group classes, and workshops in Los Angeles, New York, and other cities. He and Kristof Konrad own and operate the business together. From 1998 to 2005, Rodrigue was part of the faculty of
Verbier Festival The Verbier Festival is a two week annual international music festival which is held in late July and early August in the mountain resort of Verbier southeast of Lausanne, Switzerland. Begun by Swedish expatriate in 1994, it has attracted int ...
. Rodrigue teaches workshops at Larry Moss' Studio. He has taught masterclasses at the Howard Fine Acting Studios in Los Angeles and Australia. He founded the Alexander Technique program at the
Los Angeles Philharmonic The Los Angeles Philharmonic (LA Phil) is an American orchestra based in Los Angeles, California. The orchestra holds a regular concert season from October until June at the Walt Disney Concert Hall and a summer season at the Hollywood Bowl from ...
, where he taught for six years. He has worked with circus artists of
Cirque du Soleil Cirque du Soleil (, ; ) is a Canadian entertainment company and the largest contemporary circus producer in the world. Located in the inner-city area of Saint-Michel, Montreal, Saint-Michel, Montreal, it was founded in Baie-Saint-Paul on 16 Jun ...
's Ka at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. He had reportedly been hired in by the
FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...
to teach
stress management Stress management consists of a wide spectrum of techniques and psychotherapy, psychotherapies aimed at controlling a person's level of psychological stress, especially chronic stress, generally for the purpose of improving the function of everyda ...
and respiratory control for agents infiltrating Middle Eastern terrorist cells.


Film and television

Rodrigue has coached actors in films including:
I, Tonya ''I, Tonya'' is a 2017 American biographical sports film directed by Craig Gillespie and written by Steven Rogers. It follows the life and career of American figure skater Tonya Harding and her connection to the 1994 assault on her rival Nan ...
, ''Vice'', ''Mary Queen of Scots'', Love and Mercy (film), ''J. Edgar'', ''W.'', Passion Fish, ''The Time Machine'', Seabiscuit (film), and
The Normal Heart (film) ''The Normal Heart'' is a 2014 American television drama film directed by Ryan Murphy and written by Larry Kramer, based on his 1985 play of the same name. The film stars Mark Ruffalo, Matt Bomer, Taylor Kitsch, Jim Parsons, Alfred Molina, ...
. He collaborated with director
Ang Lee Ang Lee (; born October 23, 1954) is a Taiwanese filmmaker. His films are known for their emotional charge and exploration of repressed, hidden emotions. During his career, he has received international critical and popular acclaim and List o ...
and screenwriter David Magee in the development of the tiger movement for the film
Life of Pi ''Life of Pi'' is a Canadian philosophical novel by Yann Martel published in 2001. The protagonist is Piscine Molitor "Pi" Patel, an Indian boy from Pondicherry, who explores issues of spirituality and metaphysics from an early age. After a ...
. Rodrigue choreographed the period movement for the film
The Affair of the Necklace ''The Affair of the Necklace'' is a 2001 American historical drama film directed by Charles Shyer and written by John Sweet, based on the 1785 scandal at the court of Louis XVI that became known as the Affair of the Diamond Necklace, which con ...
. Since 2009, Rodrigue has conducted several workshops at the
Berlinale Talent Campus The Berlin International Film Festival (), usually called the Berlinale (), is an annual film festival held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festival has been held every February since 1978 and is one of Europ ...
program. He was involved in the development of a new hands-on training programs for emerging actors, the Talent Actors Stage, for which 15-20 international actors are selected annually.


Theatre

Rodrigue has coached at several Los Angeles locations throughout his career. At the
Geffen Playhouse The Geffen Playhouse is a not-for-profit theater company founded in Los Angeles, California by Gilbert Cates in 1995. It produces plays in two theaters in Geffen Playhouse, which is owned by University of California Los Angeles. The Playhous ...
, Rodrigue was the movement coach on ''Nine Parts of Desire'' in 2005 and on ''
Long Day's Journey into Night ''Long Day's Journey into Night'' is a play in four acts written by American playwright Eugene O'Neill in 1939–1941 and first published posthumously in 1956. It is widely regarded as his magnum opus and one of the great American plays of the ...
'' in 2017. He was awarded a fellowship grant from the
Montalvo Arts Center The Montalvo Arts Center is a non-profit center for the arts in Saratoga, California, United States. Open to the public, Montalvo comprises a cultural and arts center, a park, hiking trails and the historic Villa Montalvo, an Italian Mediterran ...
to develop and direct a play adaptation of the novel, ''
The Reader ''The Reader'' () is a novel by German law professor and judge Bernhard Schlink, published in 1995. The story is a parable dealing with the difficulties post-war German generations have had comprehending the Holocaust; Ruth Franklin writes th ...
.'' He coached
Chris Pine Christopher Whitelaw Pine (born August 26, 1980) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as James T. Kirk in the ''Star Trek'' reboot film series (2009–2016) and Steve Trevor in the DC Extended Universe films ''Wonder Woman'' ...
in ''
The Lieutenant of Inishmore ''The Lieutenant of Inishmore'' is a black comedy by Martin McDonagh, in which the 'mad' leader of an Irish National Liberation Army splinter group discovers that his cat has been killed. It has been produced twice in the West End and on Br ...
'' at the Mark Taper Forum. He also worked with Gulu Monteiro on ''
The Bacchae ''The Bacchae'' (; , ''Bakkhai''; also known as ''The Bacchantes'' ) is an ancient Greek tragedy, written by the Athenian playwright Euripides during his final years in Macedonia, at the court of Archelaus I of Macedon. It premiered posthumou ...
'' at the Getty Villa. Rodrigue has collaborated with Larry Moss on Daisy White's ''Sugar'', '' The Syringa Tree'' at Playhouse 91 in New York and Bo Eason's ''Runt of the Litter'' at the 37 Arts Theater, N.Y. He has coached with Rita Maffei and Larry Moss in an Italian production of The Syringa Tree at the Teatro Stabile di Innovazione in Udine and at Il Piccolo Teatro di Milano, Italy.


Animal Studies

Rodrigue integrates
animal behavior Ethology is a branch of zoology that studies the behaviour of non-human animals. It has its scientific roots in the work of Charles Darwin and of American and German ornithologists of the late 19th and early 20th century, including Charle ...
and movement into his research and work. He is known for helping actors develop characters through animal movement studies. His primary areas of research are animal movement, behavior,
morphology Morphology, from the Greek and meaning "study of shape", may refer to: Disciplines *Morphology (archaeology), study of the shapes or forms of artifacts *Morphology (astronomy), study of the shape of astronomical objects such as nebulae, galaxies, ...
, nature perception, and human/animal connections. This interest was sparked by
Leonardo da Vinci Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (15 April 1452 - 2 May 1519) was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. While his fame initially rested o ...
and
Carlo Mazzone-Clementi Carlo Mazzone-Clementi (12 December 1920 – 5 November 2000) was a performer and founder of two schools of commedia, mime and physical theater as well as a contemporary and colleague of leaders of modern European theater. From his arrival in the U ...
. While in Milano in 1957, Rodrigue's father introduced him to the scientific and artistic work of DaVinci. They would often go to the National Museum of Science and Technology to view the models of DaVinci's inventions . They also would visit the Veneranda Biblioteca Ambrosiana, the largest archive of Da Vinci's drawings of animals. Later in his life while studying at the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco, Jean-Louis studied with Mazzone-Clementi who introduced him to the application of animal behavior and movement to character development.


Select awards and recognition

Rodrigue was awarded a fellowship grant in 2008 from the
Montalvo Arts Center The Montalvo Arts Center is a non-profit center for the arts in Saratoga, California, United States. Open to the public, Montalvo comprises a cultural and arts center, a park, hiking trails and the historic Villa Montalvo, an Italian Mediterran ...
to develop and direct a play adaptation of
Bernhard Schlink Bernhard Schlink (; born 6 July 1944) is a German lawyer, academic, and novelist. He is best known for his novel '' The Reader'', which was first published in 1995 and became an international bestseller. He won the 2014 Park Kyong-ni Prize. Ea ...
's novel, ''
The Reader ''The Reader'' () is a novel by German law professor and judge Bernhard Schlink, published in 1995. The story is a parable dealing with the difficulties post-war German generations have had comprehending the Holocaust; Ruth Franklin writes th ...
.''


Credits


Filmography


Theater


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rodrigue, Jean-Louis 1951 births Living people American directors