MARK  EVANS Author of Evaluating Organization Development
FEATURED AUTHOR

MARK EVANS

Professor of Theatre Training and Education
Coventry University

Mark is Professor of Theatre Training and Education at Coventry University. He trained in Paris in theatre, mime and movement with Jacques Lecoq, Philippe Gaulier and Monika Pagneux. He is an expert in actor training, movement training, the French tradition of ensemble theatre making (Copeau, Lecoq, et al.) and its influences on British theatre. He has published widely on these subjects. He is an Associate Editor for the Theatre, Dance and Performance Training journal.

Biography

After graduating from the University of York I went to Cardiff to study theatre practice on an innovative postgraduate course based at the Sherman Theatre, Cardiff. Whilst there I was exposed to the movement work of Moving Being, the Cardiff Lab and also to a number of mime artists (it was the early 1980s, when mime was not a dirty word). After Cardiff I determined to find out more about mime, physical theatre and movement - I started by going to study with Desmond Jones in London. Desmond had trained with Etienne Decroux and his passion for that work started my interest in the whole French mime tradition and its origins in the work of Jacques Copeau. I decided to explore this world further and went to Paris myself to study first with Jacques Lecoq for a year, and then with Philippe Gaulier and Monika Pagneux (two former Lecoq teachers who had set up their own school). That was a deeply formative part of my life. On my return I performed, directed and taught, until I found myself drawn towards teaching as a full-time career. I have worked at the Arts Educational School (Tring Park), Coventry Centre for the Performing Arts, and Coventry University. During this time I have also studied with Yoshi Oida (a leading member of Peter Brook's CIRT company). In 2003 I was awarded a PhD for my research into movement training for the modern actor. My thesis was later published by Routledge. In 2012 I was awarded a personal chair - Professor of Theatre Training and Education - at Coventry University.

Education

    BA (Hons) English with Philosophy, University of York, York, 1979
    PgDip in Practical Theatre Studies, Cardiff, 1981
    Theatre, Ecole Jacques Lecoq, Paris, 1983
    Theatre, Ecole P Gaulier et M Pagneux, Paris, 1984
    PGTC, Goldsmiths College, London, 1986
    PhD, Coventry University, 2003

Areas of Research / Professional Expertise

    I am interested in actor training and in particular how the body participates in training for performance. I have written on the work of Jacques Copeau and Jacques Lecoq and the influence of their work on UK theatre practice.

Books

Featured Title
 Featured Title - Actor Training Reader - 1st Edition book cover

Articles

Theatre Dance and Performer Training

Playing with history: personal accounts of the political and cultural self in ac


Published: Jun 15, 2015 by Theatre Dance and Performer Training
Authors: Mark Evans

This article attempts to explore and reveal ways in which practical movement work for actors conceals and reveals cultural histories and political significance. In doing so, it makes use of personal reflection as well as a critique of existing writing and practices.

Theatre Dance and Performance Training

Answer the Question ‘How do power dynamics in the studio affect training?’


Published: Mar 26, 2015 by Theatre Dance and Performance Training
Authors: Joel Anderson, Kane Husbands, Rachel Cockburn & Mark Evans

Reflections on the operation of power in the context of the training environment.

Theatre Dance and Performance Training

Inside Out - review of videos on/by Pagneux and Arnold


Published: Apr 16, 2013 by Theatre Dance and Performance Training
Authors: Mark Evans

A review of two videos featuring the work of two influential women movement teachers, Trish Arnold and Monika Pagneux.

Theatre Dance and Performance Training

The influence of sports on Jacques Lecoq's actor training


Published: Jun 25, 2012 by Theatre Dance and Performance Training
Authors: Mark Evans

This article seeks to examine the extent to which Jacques Lecoq's early experiences of sports, athletics and gymnastics informed his later work as an internationally influential specialist in movement-based theatre training. The article draws on personal experience as a student with Lecoq in the early 1980s, as well as writings on his work by recent commentators and by Lecoq himself.

Theatre Dance and Performer Training

Interview with Frantic Assembly: Beautiful Burnout and training the performer


Published: Jun 25, 2012 by Theatre Dance and Performer Training
Authors: Mark Evans

In 2010, the physical theatre company Frantic Assembly, in collaboration with the National Theatre of Scotland, began a training process to prepare for the creation and rehearsal of their production of Beautiful Burnout by Bryony Lavery. In an interview in June 2011, Scott Graham and Steven Hoggett, talked about what drew them to this project; about what they learned about physical training; and about how the experience has changed and developed their own approach to training and performance.

News

The Actor Training Reader featured by The Stage

By: MARK EVANS

My latest book, an edited collection entitled 'The Actor Training Reader' (Routledge, 2015), has been featured by The Stage as a book for theatre professionals.