COPEAU, JACQUES

born Feb. 4, 1879, Paris, Fr. died Oct. 20, 1949, Beaune French actor, literary critic, stage director, and dramatic coach who led a reaction against realism in early 20th-century theatre. After a brief career as an art dealer, Copeau became drama critic for L'Ermitage (190406) and La Grand Revue (190710). In 1909, with Andr Gide, Jean Schlumberger, and others, he founded La Nouvelle Revue Franaise and edited it until 1911. His adaptation of Fyodor Dostoyevsky's Brothers Karamazov, written in collaboration with Jean Crou, was staged in 1911. In 1913 Copeau founded the Thtre du Vieux-Colombier (from 1961 the Thtre du Vieux-Colombier-Jacques Copeau), where he produced dramatic works ranging from those of William Shakespeare to the 20th-century plays of such writers as Paul Claudel. Seeking to break down the barrier between actor and audience, he designed his theatre as a reconstruction of the Elizabethan apron stage without proscenium arch and with simple screens to suggest locale. The atmosphere of each play was created almost entirely by lighting. Emphasizing the play rather than its trappings, Copeau concentrated on training actors, and eventually his company ranked with the great Moscow Art Theatre of Konstantin Stanislavsky. In 1917 Copeau took his company to New York City, and in 1924 he left the Vieux-Colombier and moved his school of young actors to Burgundy. There, besides studying acting, they were employed throughout the countryside, the peasants calling them Les Copiaux, under which name they first appeared at Basel in 1926. The new companywhich toured Europe and had its own playwright, Andr Obeywas taken over by Michel Saint-Denis in 1930. One of Copeau's greatest contributions to the theatre was his idea of a permanent architectural stage for modern productions.