oq teaches does notattempt to represent an illustration of the physical world. In his theatre the action is its own subjectand needs no external focus to justify its reality. The approach places a high level of responsibilityon the performers ability to create honest moments foe themselves. Their ability to communicate thereality of their experience to an audience depends on the highest level of commitment to the actionthey are creating. The artists who have spent time and energy honing the techniques of Lecoqsteachings gain a high command of their communication abilities. The interest lies in the simplestgesture that fully illustrates the artists state. Lecoq refers to this as Pantomime Blance, wherein thegesture replaces the word, offers a study of language. The events that require this theatrical physicality in the performance of Street of Crocodilesare frequent. There is an ideal point of departure for an initial examination of this worksapplication. In one instance, the ensemble is called upon to portray the beloved group of birdsbelonging to the character of the Father. There is no offstage technical wizardry to encumber them. The actors simply form themselves into the familiar formation of a flock. Each of the actorsmanipulates a hardbound book directly over their head. The performers allow the books to take theeasily recognizable physical shape of the individual birds. The birds in the form of books flap noisilythen glide about the stage, reforming the shape and pattern of the flock as they move. The humanbodies manipulating them are never meant to become invisible. The intention is not that the actorsshould magically fade into the background, escaping the audiences attention. The books neverappear to be flying on their own. It is the shrewd use of the books as key signs of creatures capable offlight that allow the actors to appear to be flying themselves. This simple device allows theperformers to focus so...
