Jules Eugène Louis Jouvet (24 December 1887 â€" 16 August 1951) was a
French actor, director, and theatre director.Overcoming speech
impediments and sometimes paralyzing stage fright as a young man,
Jouvet's first important association was with Jacques Copeau's
Théâtre du Vieux-Colombier, beginning in 1913. Copeau's training
included a varied and demanding schedule, regular exercise for agility
and stamina, and pressing his cast and crew to invent theatrical
effects in a bare-bones space. It was there Jouvet developed his
considerable stagecraft skills, particularly makeup and lighting (he
developed a kind of accent light named the jouvet). These years
included a successful tour to the United States.While influential,
Copeau's theater was never lucrative. Jouvet left in October 1922 for
the Comédie des Champs-Élysées (the small stage of the Théâtre
des Champs-Élysées). In December 1923 he staged his single most
successful production, the satire Dr. Knock, written by Jules Romains.
His characterization of the manipulative crank doctor was informed by
his own experience in pharmacy school. It became his signature and his
standby; "Jouvet was to produce it almost every year until the end of
his life".[1]
French actor, director, and theatre director.Overcoming speech
impediments and sometimes paralyzing stage fright as a young man,
Jouvet's first important association was with Jacques Copeau's
Théâtre du Vieux-Colombier, beginning in 1913. Copeau's training
included a varied and demanding schedule, regular exercise for agility
and stamina, and pressing his cast and crew to invent theatrical
effects in a bare-bones space. It was there Jouvet developed his
considerable stagecraft skills, particularly makeup and lighting (he
developed a kind of accent light named the jouvet). These years
included a successful tour to the United States.While influential,
Copeau's theater was never lucrative. Jouvet left in October 1922 for
the Comédie des Champs-Élysées (the small stage of the Théâtre
des Champs-Élysées). In December 1923 he staged his single most
successful production, the satire Dr. Knock, written by Jules Romains.
His characterization of the manipulative crank doctor was informed by
his own experience in pharmacy school. It became his signature and his
standby; "Jouvet was to produce it almost every year until the end of
his life".[1]
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