"I hate standup comedy, he growled at me when I interviewed him a decade ago. I would never teach something so horrible. And nor did he. But he did teach skills of playfulness and alertness to a crowd; of being vividly alive in the moment; of celebrating your own ridiculousness that made standups, sketch comics and clowns much better at their jobs."
"The list of his students and acolytes is long and illustrious, and includes Sacha Baron Cohen (who called him the funniest man I have ever met), Emma Thompson, Helena Bonham Carter and Roberto Benigni. And more recently, the granddaddy of nu-clown, Phil Burgers, alongside smash-hit acts such as Julia Masli, Damian Warren-Smith (of West End hit Garry Starr: Classic Penguins) and Britain's Got Talent champ Viggo Venn."
Philippe Gaulier trained performers in playfulness, presence and clown techniques that emphasized shared innocence, transcendent idiocy and vivid aliveness. His pedagogy taught alertness to a crowd, celebration of ridiculousness, and skills that improved standups, sketch comics and clowns. Gaulier disliked standup but influenced comedy through graduates who applied his methods. His students included Sacha Baron Cohen, Emma Thompson, Helena Bonham Carter and Roberto Benigni, and newer acts such as Phil Burgers, Julia Masli, Damian Warren-Smith and Viggo Venn. Gaulier became better known in comedy than in formal theatre training and died aged 82.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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