Philippe Gaulier
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Philippe Gaulier (born in Paris, 1943) is founder of L'École Philippe Gauliere, a theatre school located in Paris, France. He is notable for his work in Physical theatre, particularly in the areas of Clown and Bouffon. Gaulier is generally recognized as the worlds leading teacher in Bouffon, an artform which he holds as a sort of inverted Clown, where a balance is struck between Grotesqueness and charm.
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[edit] Bouffon
According to Gaulier, Bouffon is an art form which originated with the 'Ugly People' of France during the French Rennaissance. Gaulier said excessively ugly people, lepers, and those with disfiguring scars or deformities were "banished to the swamp." The exception was during festivals, when the bouffon (or ugly people) were expected to entertain the 'beautiful people'.
During these performances, the buffon's goal was to get away with insulting or disgusting the beautiful people as much as possible. Typically, the Bouffon would target their attack on the leaders within the mainstream of society, such as the government or the Roman Catholic Church.
The ideal performance for a bouffon would be one where the audience is wildly entertained, and then go home, realize their lives are meaningless, and commit suicide. This of course is a theoretical ideal instead of an anticipated outcome.
[edit] L'École Philippe Gaulier
Founded in 1980 in Paris, Ecole Philippe Gaulier is a theatre school where the focus is placed on enjoying oneself during the creation of live theatre. in 1991, The Arts Council of England invited Philippe to move his school to England, he accepted, and the school moved to England for eleven years. In 2002, the school returned to Paris, it celebrates its 25th anniversary this year.
