LEM

Portable structures are the abstract progression of the mask’s play. The theatre mask possesses a more or less expressive character, by referring to the human face which it hides under another larval, stylised or, in other words, symbolic face. The mask is also a form which plays in the space like a vehicle following the indications proposed by its form. It lunges, turns, points and hits like a true tool, following  its planes, lines, angles and masses.

The portable structures appear like abstract architectural forms, organizing the space into rhythms that bring it to life. They are played like masks, carried by the body or manipulated by the arms, moving in the space following their indications and forces. They should not be played like marionettes, in which one could imagine seeing a human figure with eyes and a mouth … and for whom the conflicts stem from everyday situations.

The portable structures lead to the discovery of a variety of objects’ play, which, outside of the utilitarian role for which they were built, take on a different significance.

This abstract play is not gratuitous, it is based on real themes which are “essentialized”, without anecdote, in a plastic space. I remember the emotion provoked by the play of portable structures based on the theme “Hurricane on a cornfield in Iowa, United States”: without any imagery, it was a sensation of colours, lights and volume playing in the space.
The actor’s body was integrated into the play of the structure itself, complementing and accompanying discretely or disengaged completely from the structure in order to serve its’ play.

This direction of mime-architecture approaches scenography by separating it from the idea of decoration and giving back to the object its plastic and dynamic sense.”

Jacques LECOQ