Bio

Born in Morocco and educated in Italy and France, Jean-Louis Rodrigue began his actor training in 1969 with Herbert Berghof at the HB Studio in New York. Subsequently, William Ball awarded Rodrigue a full scholarship to study in the Advanced Training Program at the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco. During his training and performing at ACT, Rodrigue discovered the Alexander Technique. He spent three more years training as an Alexander teacher with Frank Ottiwell and Giora Pinkas at the American Center for the Alexander Technique. He also trained with F.M. Alexander's first generation of master teachers including Patrick Macdonald, Marjorie Barstow, and Walter Carrington.

Rodrigue has taught the Alexander Technique for the past twenty-eight years. His unique approach to movement education and to improving levels of performance has brought international recognition. In the music world, he has taught for the Verbier Festival and Academy, a music and theater festival in the Swiss Alps and the UCLA Department of Music. He founded the Alexander program for the Los Angeles Philharmonic Institute and taught the young musicians and conductors for six years.

As a theater and movement director, Rodrigue was awarded a fellowship grant from the Montalvo Arts Center to develop and direct the play adaptation of Bernhard Schlink's acclaimed novel "THE READER" which is set to open in late 2009. He has collaborated with Larry Moss on the movement and vocal aspects of Pamela Gien's THE SYRINGA TREE, Bo Eason's RUNT OF THE LITTER, and April Daisy White's SUGAR. Most recently he has worked with Gulu Monteiro and the cast of "THE BACCHAE" at the Getty Villa, collaborated with director Joanna Settle and Heather Raffo in her acclaimed one-woman play "NINE PARTS OF DESIRE" at the Geffen Playhouse, and with the artists of Cirque du Soleil's "KA" on improving their performance and preventing injuries. He has previously worked with Cirque du Soleil on "La Nouvelle Experience". Rodrigue has coached actors working at the Pasadena Playhouse, the Mark Taper Forum, the Geffen Playhouse, the Royal Shakespeare Company, and on Broadway. He teaches regularly for the Larry Moss Studio, the Howard Fine Acting Studio, the UCLA Department of Theater and the Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum.

In film, Rodrigue's unique style of movement training, character movement and choreography can be seen in the upcoming Oliver Stone's "W" with Josh Brolin, "Bee Season" with Juliette Binoche, "Seabiscuit" with Elizabeth Banks, "The Time Machine", "The Cat's Meow" with Kirsten Dunst, "The Affair of the Necklace" with Hilary Swank, "Passion Fish" with Mary MacDonnell, and "Human Nature" with Patricia Arquette. He has worked with many actors including Ian McKellen, Helena Bonham Carter, Keanu Reeves, Tate Donovan, Julia Sweeney, Jonathan Pryce, Simon Baker, Joely Richardson, Sally Kellerman, Courtney Thorne-Smith, JoBeth Williams, and Christopher Gorham.

Rodrigue is considered a Senior Teacher of the Alexander Technique. He is a founder and a faculty member of the Alexander Training Institute of Los Angeles, a teacher training program. He is a certified teacher and an active member of the American Society for the Alexander Technique (AmSAT). Rodrigue is also on the faculty at the UCLA Collaborative Centers for Integrative Medicine.

Jean-Louis Rodrigue

Kristof Konrad