THOMAS PRATTKI - DIRECTOR

Former pedagogical director of the Jacques Lecoq International School of
Theatre in Paris, where he taught for almost a decade.

His initial interest in the moving body led him into physical education and
psychology as well as into dance and mime. He was introduced to mime and
physical theatre by the Czech Milan Sladek, founder of the reputed Kefka
Theater. He later became a graduate of the Jacques Lecoq School in Paris, where he
began to shift his interest towards dramatic creation. At the school he also
attained the pedagogical training programme diploma as well as following the
course in scenography (Laboratoire d'Etude de Mouvement)

He joined the touring company Mummenschanz in Zürich;, Switzerland, and
performed for several years around the globe. His interest in a more holistic
approach to creative expression led him to continue his studies at the
Dürckheim; Centre in Rütte;, Germany. When he was asked to become a teacher at
the Jacques Lecoq School, he returned to Paris and began to link his approach
to dramatic creation with the vision of the school. After the death of
Jacques Lecoq he became the pedagogical director of the school.

He has toured the world as a visiting teacher, giving lectures and
masterclasses, and collaborates with renowned theatres as the Guthrie
Theater in Minneapolis, where he teaches and directs young actors from the
leading American Acting Programms such as the Tisch School of the Arts/NYU,
Juilliard, the American Conservatory Theater and Yale. He also collaborated with
Simon Murray in writing a new book (JACQUES LECOQ/Routledge 2002) about the
pedagogy of Jacques Lecoq. In 2002 he left Paris in order to found the
LONDON INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL OF PERFORMING ARTS.

AMY RUSSELL  

Amy is presently the Chair of Graduate Theater and the Head of the Actor-Created Physical Theater Training Programme at Naropa University in Boulder/USA. She studied at the Ecole Jacques Lecoq, where she also completed the pedagogical training programme. She holds an MFA from the University of Tennessee and a certificate from the London Academy of Music and the Dramatic Arts. Her training also includes mask-work with Amleto Sartori in Italie and extensive studies of Topeng in Bali. She has worked professionally as an actor and playwright,both in the United States and in Europe. Amy will join the core faculty at LISPA in November 2003.

PAOLA RIZZA

Born in Italy, Paola graduated from the Ecole Jacques Lecoq in 1985 and then followed the Scenography course at the school in 1986. She also trained with Guy Freixe from Theatre du Soleil, and with Phillippe Gaulier and Monika Pagneux, who have both been teachers at the Ecole Jacques Lecoq. She works as a performer, director and teacher. Paola has directed many performances for independent theatre companies throughout Europe and performed herself internationally in a number of devised shows. Her particular interest in a new, more theatrical, approach to circus arts led her to teach and direct at the Ecole Nationale des Arts du Cirque in Paris and at the internationally-reputed Centre National des Arts du Cirque in Chalon-sur-Marne. In 1998 she was asked to become a teacher at the Ecole Jacques Lecoq.


SUSANA LASTRETO

Susana was born in Argentina and studied theatre and literature in Uruguay before deciding to become a student of Jacques Lecoq in 1975. Since then her artistic path has led her into writing, directing, acting, and teaching. She has written more than 10 plays, which were all published in France and in South America. Many of them have been performed in Argentina and Uruguay. In 1990 she formed her own company - Groupe Rire,Rage et Resistance - and directed many plays which toured in France and internationally. She won the prize for the best new French novel in 1989, and was given a distinguished mention in the novels category of the Prix des Lettres in France in 2002. In 1998 she was asked to become a teacher at the Ecole Jacques Lecoq. Since 2002 she has been the artistic director of the Education Department for Contemporary Writing at the Theatre du Rond-Point in Paris.


MICHAEL MURPHY

Michael Murphy, born in Ireland, is an actor, writer and director. He trained at the Ecole Jacques Lecoq in Paris, where he complemented his training by taking the year-long pedagogical training course to become a certified teacher of the Lecoq method. He is based in County Wicklow, Ireland. Michael is a founding member of Barabbas, one of Ireland's foremost physical and visual theatre companies. As an actor he has appeared in all the principal Irish theatres, including "The Tempest" and "The Comedy of Errors" at the Abbey Theatre. He has appeared in many films, including "The Commitments", directed by Alan Parker, "Butcher Boy" by Neil Jordan, and "The Last September" by Deborah Warner. As a writer and director his work includes the award-winning "The Last Days of Ollie Deasy", based on Homer's "Odyssey". Recently he has worked on a feature-length film in collaboration with the Irish Film Board.


ALAN FAIRBAIRN

Alan was born in England and trained at the Ecole Jacques Lecoq from 1985-1987, from which time he has worked as an international performer, director and teacher. In 1998 he founded Theatre Decale, which toured throughout Europe for several years. From 1991 he also toured with the German company Confederacy of Fools. In 1996 he joined the Belgium-based company The Primitives and made with them "Cook It!" and "Wash It!". He continues to tour these shows world-wide (recently to Australia, Japan and the USA). In 1998 he set up the British-based company Out of Synch. The majority of his work as a director and performer has been devised theatre with a strong comic element. His career in film has included recent roles in "Vivre Me Tue" (2002, Jean Pierre Sinapi) and "No Man's Land" (2002, Denis Tanovic). He continues to work as a teacher in France and England whenever possible.

MAIDER ILLANA EZPELETA - ADMINISTRATION AND DEVELOPMENT

Maider was born in Spain, where she received her diploma in International Business Studies. She holds language certificates from the Ecole des Langues in Luxembourg and the University of Cambridge. She completed a BA in European Studies in London as well as a postgraduate diploma in Arts Management at Birbeck University. Before becoming the administrator at LISPA in 2002,she worked for several art galleries and as a freelancer in film and performance projects.

DOROTHY MAX PRIOR - PUBLIC RELATIONS AND COMMUNICATIONS

Dorothy Max has over twenty years of experience in the performing arts (as performer, producer and teacher) and in arts journalism. A qualified teacher with extensive experience of working within and outside of the formal education sector, she has worked for the National Theatre Studio, the University of Brighton and the Open College of the Arts. She is the director of AURELIUS ARTS which provides performing arts education, production and project management and is editor of TOTAL THEATRE MAGAZINE , the UK's leading journal for physical and visual performance.