jacques copeau 57
i.e. not immediately giving in to the impulse; then attack, i.e. a complete commit-
ment of the body to the pre-formation; then the return to the neutral state.
As an aid to the discovery of the neutral state, the neutral mask has been
developed by Jean Dasté, Jacques Lecoq and others from Copeau’s use of the ‘noble’
mask, outlined below. I have sometimes had students approach me to ‘borrow some
of those neutral masks for the show we’re doing’. The whole point of such masks is
that they are not expressive and have no performative validity. They afford a tool with
which to deepen an understanding of the neutral state, which in itself is only a
foundation and no longer visible as part of the expressive edifice of performance. The
absence of such a foundation is precisely why Copeau wanted a school attached to his
theatre, but separate from it.
The noble mask
Copeau became aware of the potential of the mask, both in actor training and,
ultimately, in performance, during his visit to Craig. It made its appearance in his
work almost by accident – whilst rehearsing a scene at the Vieux Colombier he
despaired of an actress who found herself repeatedly physically blocked during a
scene and unable to move – a literal freezing of the blood. Copeau took his hand-
kerchief and covered her face, noting that her body was immediately released as an
expressive instrument. It was her face which had been making all the effort. This
experiment was immediately put to work in the School, using stockings as well as
pieces of cloth. Jean Dasté later noted:
When the face is masked or hidden, one is less timid, feels freer, more
daring and insincerity is quickly apparent. . . . The mask demands both a
simplification and an extension of gestures; something forces you to go
to the limit of the feeling being expressed.31
An invaluable tool had been discovered to aid the work on neutrality. Eventually the
students made their own ‘noble’ masks based on maquettes of their own faces,
modelled in clay to remove individual characteristics and regularise the features.
Copeau called them ‘noble’ after the expressionless masks worn by the aristocracy up
till the eighteenth century when wishing to pass incognito in the street. In order to
enhance rather than interfere with the neutral state, a ritual was developed for putting
on the mask:32
(a) Well seated in the middle of the chair, not leaning against the back of the seat.
Legs spaced to ensure perfect balance. Feet flat on the ground.
(b) Stretch the left arm horizontally forward, shoulder high; it holds the mask,
hanging by its elastic. The right hand also stretches out, thumb holding the
chin, index and second finger seizing the opening of the mouth.
(c) Stretch out the elastic over the top of the head and put the mask on the
forehead.
(d) Lower the mask over the face.
(e) Simultaneously inhale, close the eyes and shoe the mask.
In all this, only the arms and hands are active. They carry out the small move-
ments necessary to fasten the mask on the face, arrange the hair, verify the
